Cultural Differences Are Not Errors but Alternative Solutions

Anyone who works abroad eventually wants to shout, "Unbelievable!" People arrive late, meetings decide nothing, and promises seem to mean something else. When I was young, I assumed Japan's way was right and theirs was wrong.

Then I realized that from their side, we are the unbelievable ones. Why do the Japanese never state a conclusion? Why does no one rest? Culture, I now think, is an alternative solution grown over centuries by climate, faith, geography and history. Just as a math problem can have more than one method, life can have more than one right answer.

Seeing it this way made overseas work much easier. I began looking for the reason behind each surprise. Cultures relaxed about time are often rich in relationships, and meetings slow to decide can move fast once they do. Learning begins when judging stops. What do you work for?