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Neil Miller November 24, 2015 Filed Under: #GreyIsWhite, Podcast, Team Management

Episode 13: Craig Storti

Podcast

As you can tell if you listen to this podcast, I was really excited to get to have a personal conversation with Craig Storti. It was only after reading his book, Speaking of India, that I was first able to pinpoint some of the unique challenges that face anyone working with India.

Craig, who started out as a US Peace Corps volunteer, is extremely down-to-earth, and shares a lot of the wisdom he has gained over his many years.

 

Here are some highlights:

  • Why being an expat doesn’t qualify you for cultural understanding
  • What’s in the new edition of Speaking of India?
  • Virtual working tips
  • How different India is today vs. the Y2K years
  • Why the best advice is still to pick up the phone
  • The current state of intercultural training
  • What Craig still struggles with about India

 

We reference a few articles in this conversation that you can find here:

  • Training tips in India
  • Why I Wouldn’t Spend $500 on Cross-Cultural Training
  • Grey is White

 

You can find Craig’s website here, and all of his books on Amazon here.

http://media.blubrry.com/workingwithindia/p/podcast.learningindia.in/Episodes/Ep13Storti.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Neil Miller September 14, 2015 Filed Under: #GreyIsWhite, #PowerPlays, Daily Living, On the Job

How to Squeeze a No into a Yes

Turning a No to a Yes

 

No, sir. You can’t come in here.

I left some papers at my office inside one of those huge IT buildings and wanted to pick them up on a Saturday. I didn’t have a parking permit, since I usually came on a two-wheeler, but I knew the parking lot would be nearly empty and I only needed about 10 minutes to go in and out.

As I pulled in, I came to the place where you wave an electronic card to lift the gate. I pulled up, showed my ID card and asked the security guard if he would let me go through.

No, sir. You can’t come in here.

“Please, sir” I said, closing one eye and cocking my head to the side. “Just 10 minutes.”

No, sir. He seemed like he had been through this before.

“Ok, then please let me park here by the entrance; I’ll go in quickly and come back.”

No, sir. Visitor parking is outside.

By “outside” he was referring to the 6 meter wide service lane that was supposed to accommodate two lanes of traffic. I pulled around, found a place to park and started to walk inside.

Sir! Sir! Hello! Sir! Hello! I tried to ignore the calls as I was walking to the office, but I knew they were after me. [Read more…]

Neil Miller July 27, 2015 Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, #GreyIsWhite, Be Prepared

Indian FRRO Registration Overview

FRRO

 

One common rite of passage for long-term outsiders in India is a trip (or trips) to the FRRO. It is probably too much of India to throw on a newcomer, but many must visit within the first 14 days. Here is an overview of what the Indian FRRO is and why FRRO Registration might be important for you.

 

What is the FRRO?

The Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) handles all the services related to foreigners living in India.

 

Do I have to register?

It depends on your visa and how long you plan on being in India. Your printed Indian visa may mention if you need to register and under what terms. If your visa says you must register, then you should. Otherwise, you can follow these guidelines:

Category 1 (Need to Register): If you are on an Employment, Student, Research, Project, or Medical (and attendant) visa, you must register regardless of the length of your stay (provided the visa is valid for at least 180 days).

Category 2 (Maybe Register): If you are on a Business, Entry, or Journalist visa, you must register if you plan on making one continuous stay for more than 180 days OR wish to extend your validity.

Category 3 (No Register): Foreign Diplomats and OCI cardholders do not need to register. Tourist visas are not valid for a single visit of more than 180 days, and therefore do not need to register.

Failing to register is illegal and can get you in big trouble when you try to leave the country (up to 5 years in prison and a fine upwards of Rs. 10,000). [Read more…]

Neil Miller March 30, 2015 Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, #GreyIsWhite, #IndiasNotIndia, Team Management

The True Secret to Motivating Indian Teams

Motivating India

Janelle felt like she was having one of those dreams where no matter how hard you try to run, you can’t go any faster.

Her team of six HR professionals was attempting to process all the yearly employee evaluations within three weeks. Knowing how sizable a challenge this would be, Janelle clearly set out a plan for how many evaluations would need to be processed per day to meet their goal. She talked about how if they exceed the target, it would create a little more work now but would far outweigh the stress that would happen if they fell behind.

One week in, they were already behind. Janelle adjusted the required target, and talked about how the rest of the company was depending on them completing on time and that some people’s promotions and salaries were on the line.

In the middle of the second week, one team member asked for a day’s leave because a close relative was ill. Thinking her team would perform better if they felt that she was sympathetic, she agreed to the leave.

At the start of the last week, they were still far behind and the possibility of finishing seemed hopeless. Another team member asked for leave to go on a holiday he had planned a few months before and for which he had already booked the tickets. Janelle was furious and said, “No more leave for anyone until we get all these reports processed!”. She turned into a very strict disciplinarian, started monitoring how many minutes people took for lunch breaks, and forced them all to stay late every day until it was done. [Read more…]

Neil Miller March 23, 2015 Filed Under: #GreyIsWhite, #PowerPlays, #ThinSkinned, #TimeIsEternal, On the Job

How to Ruin Your Relationships in India

Runining Relationships

 

You repeatedly email and call an old contact who won’t reply or pick up.

The manager of your Indian operations suddenly quits for no apparent reason.

You get a legal notice in your office mailbox.

 

Even though Relational Capital can be straightforward to build, it can be a pain to maintain. And worse, it can all come crashing down very quickly. Months or years of effort can be reduced to nothing in what seems like an instant.

Sometimes it is necessary to intentionally end a business relationship in India, such as calling out a vendor who is using unscrupulous practices. But more often, you will find yourself bankrupt in Relational Capital with someone without a clue as to why. Relational Capital is high-risk/high-reward and can be a dangerous game to play.

Thankfully, there are patterns in the ways that outsiders lose all their relational investments, and you can learn from those of us who have lost more than we have gained. The following items are character traits that most Indians hate about other people, particularly outsiders. [Read more…]

Arjun Buxi February 23, 2015 Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, #CustomerIsAlwaysThere, #GreyIsWhite, #PowerPlays, Daily Living

The Art of ‘Jugaad’: Everyday Life

Editor’s Note: Today is the first guest post on LearningIndia.in. I’ve asked Arjun ‘John’ Buxi to give us a few articles to understand what Jugaad is and how to use it. 

 

Jugaad Monkey

 

Problem. Obvious solution. Better life.

Simple, right? But everyone in India knows it’s not always like that.

Take Rhesus monkeys for example. For years now, these monkeys have been entering neighborhoods, stealing food, and even harming people. Simple response, right? Get rid of the monkeys. Not so easy!

The monkey in India is associated with the Hindu god, Hanuman, who is depicted as a monkey king and devotee of Rama, protagonist of the Ramayana epic. Because many folks see the monkey as holy, the Municipal Government is a bit loath to ‘take care’ of the problem, and people continue to feed the monkeys. Sure, you could buy an ultrasonic monkey repellant, but they are too expensive for most folks. So what can ‘Average Joe’ do? [Read more…]

Neil Miller January 12, 2015 Filed Under: #GreyIsWhite, #PowerPlays, #See1See100, #ThinSkinned, #TimeIsEternal, Daily Living, On the Job

How to Recover from Offending Someone in India

Offended Bird

You made a careless phrase.

…or you forgot to cc someone on an email.

…or you unknowingly made a senior person look bad.

…or the hint of sarcasm in your email wasn’t taken the right way.

…or you forgot to invite someone to a meeting.

 

If you stick around India long enough, it’s not a question of if, but when you offend someone.Therefore, instead of discussing how to avoid it, let’s talk about how to recover from it. [Read more…]

Neil Miller January 5, 2015 Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, #GreyIsWhite, #PowerPlays, #ThinSkinned, Parent Leadership, Podcast, Team Management

Episode 4: Arjun Buxi

Podcast

You have identified an ideal partner for your business in India: strong financials, common interests, and experience in the field. The company is an older family-run business. You soon realize that the key to sealing an agreement is a meeting with the patriarch, an older man who doesn’t come to the office much anymore. His blessing is essential, but you are having a lot of trouble getting his attention. What do you do?

In this episode of Working With India, I talk with Arjun Buxi. Arjun is a native Indian who grew up in a Punjabi family business, and is now a Communication Consultant and Educator in the San Francisco area. Arjun is a true expert in the field of Indian business culture, especially when it comes to how family dynamics affect things. His knowledge is both experiential and scholarly.

Here are a few of my favorite moments in this show:

  • What an HUF is and why it’s central to understanding Indian business
  • How to ‘investigate the hierarchy’ of an Indian family business #PowerPlays
  • Practical tips on how to correct someone of higher status than you #ThinSkinned
  • Really insightful rules for gift-giving
  • Why Jugaad is essential for your ability to navigate Indian businesses #GreyisWhite, #ChaosBeatsLogic

Here are some of the links mentioned in the show: [Read more…]

http://media.blubrry.com/workingwithindia/p/podcast.learningindia.in/Episodes/Ep4Buxi.mp3

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© Neil A. Miller, LearningIndia.in, and Madras Media Marketing LLC 2013-2015. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given.