Your 'Russian connections' are fake news.
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Top Ten Dos and Don’ts for US Companies Doing Business Internationally
Overview: Make note of dates here kidos.
"Many US companies, small and large, want to distribute their products effectively and efficiently in international markets - and to make a profit doing so. In 2010, the US government established the National Export Incentive (More details on the NEI) and set the ambitious goal of doubling US exports by the end of 2014. The NEI provides for some government assistance, but the decisions on how to export and do business outside the US must be made by each company. Even large companies often don't know how to address very different ways of doing business - this article identifies ten issues that always need to be considered."
Point 1: Ya'll are stupid when it comes to business in foreign countries - own it.
"1. Understand that Doing Business Overseas is Different than Doing Business in the USA.
The vast majority of American business people and lawyers have no experience with business or law outside the US. This is not surprising. Only 1% of American college students spend even a single semester studying outside the US, and a miniscule number of US high school students study abroad. The US education system is notoriously poor at creating fluent speakers of other languages. On top of that, even the largest US companies rarely send US employees overseas for extended periods of work."
Point 2:
"8. Show Up.
In foreign countries, American business people are famous for being the ones who show up, act very busy for a short time, make a lot of promises, then leave and are never seen again. That is, if they ever show up at all.
Communication with most parts of the world has become instantaneous and it is cheaper to do business by phone, fax and the Internet.Cheaper is not always better. Emails coming out of the net from an unknown person with a vague title are not likely to get as much credibility as future dealings with a colleague you have met. Credibility and trust take time to develop. I was involved in an investigation in Russia and asked the foreign regional business manager who had been responsible for his company’s Russian operation for several years who he trusted among their roughly 120 employees in Russia. “No one.” he replied.The same could probably have been said about operations in Brazil, India and many other countries. It is a sad, but normal, situation for many companies.
Face to face meetings are important. The business culture in the US is often not a good measure for dealing with foreign business people. It is not an overstatement to say that in many situations a person is not real until you have met them face to face and assessed them as a person. Whatever his failings may be, Greg Mortinson was right on his key point – taking the time to sit with a person and drink those 3 cups of tea and learn something about who they are and where they are coming from is necessary to achieving understanding and respect. That understanding and respect can get you a lot further in resolving disputes than even the best contract. It will help you explain why a well-written contract and compliance with ethical standards are important to you as part of American business culture.
Showing up, making connections and continuing to show up to keep them in place requires patience, time and expense. It helps if you have an actual interest in finding out something about the cultures in which you are doing business. No matter how boring and ritualistic some of the interactions may seem, you can open your eyes and look for the underlying cultural reasons and learn things that will benefit you personally and your company."
