The American Businesswoman's Politically Incorrect Guide to Bangalore in the Press

Interview in the Tooele Transcript Bulletin

__________________________

Press Release

From: Ravenwerks

Contact: Paula Williams, 801-792-5292

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AMERICAN WOMEN CAN BOOST THEIR CAREERS BY GETTING OUT OF THE OFFICE

One American author thinks that women are bypassing a huge opportunity that men take without a second thought.   “There’s a perception that men are more effective than women in international business. Some executives are hesitant to select a woman for a foreign assignment, and some women are hesitant to take an international trip.“ says Paula Williams, the author of the American Businesswoman’s Politically Incorrect Guide to Bangalore.   “But women are missing out on a huge opportunity to make valuable contacts and enhance their careers.”

Over one hundred international corporations have major offices in Bangalore, India.  Orchestrating business operations across the globe sometimes requires in-person visits, and the vast majority of management employees making those visits are men. 

Williams wrote the book as a result of her experiences in India, and her conversations with other American women who expressed misgivings about international business travel because of things they’ve heard. Most of these misgivings are simply fear of the unknown, which can be easily dispelled with some good, clear, unfiltered information.   She said that information currently on bookstore shelves is outdated, not specific to a particular destination, or frank enough to be helpful to women traveling to this extremely popular business destination.

“There are a lot of books out there, and before my trip this year I bought and read a huge stack of them! What I found was not that helpful.  I needed one small section from each of these huge books to plan my trip. Many books are just for tourists, some books are too general by region, most books are too sanitized to talk about real issues and concerns, and all but a very few of the regional business etiquette books applied only to men!”

Businesspeople in Bangalore are very open, warm and helpful to American businesswomen, but there are some cultural expectations that one needs to be aware of.  An American woman can unintentionally make her Bangalorean co-workers uncomfortable.  There are some very simple ways to improve the experience for everyone.  Among other things, Williams advises her readers to:

• Wear pants or long skirts.  Most skirted suits that women wear in the U.S., even ones that would be considered quite conservative here, are much too short by Bangalorean standards.
• Be very respectful to the oldest person in the room, whether or not that person is organizationally part of the meeting or issue at hand.   “Age discrimination” is reversed from what it is in the U.S. 
• Learn the Indian numbering system. If you pick up a newspaper anywhere in India, you will find numbers referred to as “lakhs” and “crores” in place of thousands and millions.   A lakh equals one hundred thousand, while a crore is ten million, or one hundred lakhs. A different convention is also used for noting numbers- rather than every three spaces, commas are used every two spaces after the first thousand.

Examples of the Indian comma system:	12,34,56,789	4,04,000	9,00,00,00,000.
The same examples in the Western system:	123,456,789	404,000	9,000,000,000

You can ruin your credibility quickly in Bangalore by being clueless as to the value of “25 lakhs,” or by putting commas in the wrong place in your presentations when proposing a deal in Bangalore.

• Hire a Car and Driver. Traffic in Bangalore is crazy, confusing and intimidating to a non-native. Hiring a car and a driver is actually very economical. Leaving the driving to a professional takes one huge worry off your mind and leaves you free to concentrate on business.  If you’re lucky, (or diligent about checking references) your driver may also become your guide, mentor and ally in navigating local customs, as well as city streets.  
• Check your judgments, your ego, and your political agendas at the door.   Bangalore has managed to thrive for thousands of years despite enormous cultural differences and economic ups and downs – much of its success is due to the ability of its citizens to see past their point of view and empathize with people who differ across the spectrum on nearly every issue. 

Besides gleaning the relevant pieces from the available literature, Williams interviewed many men and women in Bangalore and the U.S. for the book.  The slim 80-page volume also includes many photographs and illustrations.  “It’s not enough to read about a place like Bangalore.  You have to see it. Even that’s not enough - but I haven’t figured out how to make the book smell like coconut chutney or the spice market.”
Williams is planning other destination guides for the American Businesswoman’s Politically Incorrect series. Mumbai, Dubai, Beijing and Singapore are on the short list of topics for the next guide to be published.

The American Businesswoman’s Politically Incorrect Guide to Bangalore will be available from www.BangaloreForBusinesswomen.com on November 19, 2008 and will be available in e-book and printed format.

Photos

Click on any photo to download full-sized image.

Contact me for interviews, questions and quotations about American businesswomen, international business travel, or Bangalore.

Contact: Paula Williams,

801-792-5292

paula@ravenwerks.com