Doing Business in Russia Pg2

As well as the different value placed on relationships there will be dissimilar attitudes towards business meetings, for example.  Consider something as simple as punctuality.  In Britain we like to start meetings on time and work logically through agenda items to reach workable conclusions.  Russians on the other hand, prefer long meetings which are all part of the relationship building culture.  They rarely start or finish on time.  In Russia it is advisable to arrange a meeting first thing in the morning – there is then at least a chance it will actually happen on that day!

During meetings and ongoing negotiations, Russians tend to see the bigger picture and then agree details later.  This is often where contract negotiations get stuck, as Britons prefer to work with a sequential approach, moving between agenda points and dealing with details as they come up. 

British executives come from a culture of debate and discussion, coming openly to acceptable, eventual conclusions.  This contrasts with the Russian nature, which doesn’t accept compromise easily and doesn’t incorporate feedback.  Successful cross-cultural negotiators will ensure that Russians are not seen to lose face through concession.

In addition, the Russian culture is one of absolute truths.   Categorical and direct statements such as ‘we can work like this or not at all’ or ‘only in five years’  are the norm.  Compare this to the British preference for statements like: ‘maybe’ or ‘perhaps’ which can be equally frustrating for those sat on the other side of the desk.

The initial approach in Russian culture is based on the word “no” rather than the word “yes”.    According to the sociological research, conducted in the United States, the word ‘no’ is apparently used in conversation on average nine times more frequently, than in America.  British business people may find this surprising.  However, contrary to the typical British culture of ‘walking away,’ - British negotiators will need to persevere to find out how to change that ‘no’ to a ‘yes’ for successful business transactions to take place.

Historically in Russia, information is given on a strictly need to know basis and transferred only when necessary from top level executives down the decision making chain.  Russian workers always want to know who is going to tell them what to do.  

Britain, on the other hand, has a tendency towards a matrix infrastructure within business, which can understandably be confusing for the outsider.   Open discussion and appreciation of ideas from any level within the work force are actively encouraged, but can be disconcerting in cross cultural meetings.

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