Chinese want respect. Malaysians, Singaporeans look for competence. Israelis will test your competence. Honesty, transparency critical in the United States. Assessing compatibility can take time in the Middle East. Track records of success valued by Germans, Japanese.
Electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers routinely struggle to gain insights on how they can fit into an OEM’s product roadmap. And rightly so, since many OEM’s are concerned their product roadmaps, if revealed, could be given to a competitor the EMS provider is also serving.
Risk and vulnerability felt by both sides require trust to build the bridge to partnership.
In today’s global markets1, trust will speed up agreements and collaboration, but cultural differences affect priorities in the decision to trust and trust is further challenged by working across distance.
Here are five trust components from a well-researched international framework: competence, integrity, compatibility, predictability and goodwill.
These components are each critical for teams to build trust, for joint ventures to collaborate, and for OEMs and EMS providers to build trust in meetings; contracts, negotiations and ongoing work processes.
I want you to think about your OEM or EMS partner.
Do you trust each other in your relationships right now?
If not, how will you decide2 to trust them? How will they decide to trust you?
Which of the trust components outlined below would be top priority for all parties to have trustworthiness?
Trust component that build global partnerships
Competence – Do you have the skills; expertise, qualifications, experience and reputation? Competence exhibited by thorough analysis, data and past track records of success are especially valued by Germans; Dutch, Indians, Britons, and Japanese.
In addition, presenting one’s competence well is valued by Italians, French and U.S. cultures.
While your history of success will lead many to trust you, be sure to emphasize your competence for the longer-term future with Chinese, Malaysians, and Singaporeans.
For Taiwanese, a key competence is the ability to save on costs.
Israelis will test your competence, so be prepared and enjoy ‘refining the gold’ of your position.
Integrity – Do you walk-the-talk? Keep your promises? Do you behave in accordance with a moral code? Learn what the moral code or highest values are in the culture you’re working with.
For example, in the U.S., honesty and transparency with information are critical to building trust in business. Germans will trust those who speak directly, and follow through on their commitments on time.
Chinese look for respect, giving and saving mian-ze or ‘face’ to reflect integrity, while in Mexico a similar sense of personal dignity ‘el honor’ must be observed.
Compatibility – Do we have similar background; values, approaches, interests and objectives in common? Dinners and karaoke, building rapport, are common in Asia because compatibility is essential to trust, hence foundational to forming business partnerships.
Likewise in the Middle East, taking time to assess compatibility may take an entire week, with business finally discussed Friday afternoon just before your return to the airport!
Having good manners, offering a personalized gift, having a thorough understanding of the country background are must-haves to show that you care.
Add your conversation-builders around national aspirations or points of pride, sports, food, education, or other non-business topics and you will develop interpersonal chemistry leading to compatibility trust and business will follow!
Predictability – Is your behavior consistent over time and in different contexts? Whether you are sending a Blackberry message or making a formal presentation, your partners want to see that you are predictable.
This trust component is especially critical when most of your relationship is virtual, and the picture of who you are is filtered through phone or email.
Our studies of trust show predictability is most highly valued in Asian societies, where spontaneity, change or uncertainty are less desirable than in the West.
Get all contract terms in writing to increase predictability.
Even when your business partner makes changes, strategically keep your changes to a minimum to increase the perception that you are a strong and stable partner.
Goodwill – Are you concerned with my overall welfare? Can I be sure there is nothing to fear with you? If you’ve built compatibility, then interpersonal goodwill easily follows.
However, a common blind spot for U.S. business people is the larger interests of the company and the country they are dealing with.
For BRIC, emerging markets, and NICs in Asia, go beyond the deal at hand, and focus on the larger relationship between your companies and the related benefit to the host nation.
Koreans, for example, will want to know how working with you affects the chaebol, and your plans to benefit the Korean economy. Openly address what measures you take to protect their interests, decreasing vulnerability and risk, to build goodwill trust.
To trust or not to trust?
Most cultures approach trust cautiously. Trust is something earned over time. The U.S. is a notable exception, in the urgency of short-term business cycles and rush-to-market, Americans usually make a deposit of trust, extending ‘trust credits’ until trust is broken.
This gives Americans the advantage of speed, but can backfire as less-than-thorough due diligence or assumed naïveté.
When considering or starting engagements with a new country, executives and organizations should check the Transparency International Corruption Index (2010), and if any of the 178 countries are rated lower than yours, be vigilant for corruption. As U.S. president Ronald Reagan once said, “Trust, but verify.”
Building the trust you need
As you perform due diligence and develop collaborative processes, incorporate these five trust components into your regular and off-site meetings and reporting processes.
How is this accomplished? Levels of trust can be measured and trust gaps can be identified to give teams or groups a clear focus for their trust-building energy.
Discussing trust can uncover assumptions that lie buried in the team, and are holding it back; however, through engaged discussion, learning and commitment, higher levels of trust, collaboration and performance will follow.
With high levels of trust, communication flows faster, morale is higher, consumer confidence improves, and studies show productivity increases. Get the performance multiplier – TRUST – operating for you.
1. A Question of Trust, David Trickey, London, 2006
2. The Decision to Trust, Harvard Business Review, Dr. Robert F. Hurley, 2006
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