3 Essential Characteristics For Performing Well In 

Any Cross-Cultural Business Situation

(This article expands on another recent article of mine related to this topic. Some content is repeated.)

（本文在我之前一篇文章的基础上做了补充和拓展，部分内容可能有重复。）

Performing successfully in cross-cultural business situations begins with your mindset and approach towards these situations. By definition, they involve people from different backgrounds, with different habits, perspectives, and ways of doing things. As a result, there are many things you’re not going to know. And many situations you’re not going to be very familiar with.  Misunderstandings and mistakes are going to happen. Disagreements and even conflicts are likely to occur. 

在跨文化商业环境中是否能够表现出色，取决于你对待这个环境的态度与方式。当然，这也与人们处于不同的文化环境、拥有不同的习惯、观点以及行为方式有关。因此，可能很多事情你无从得知，你会接触到你并不熟悉的情况和事件，从而不可避免地产生误解和错误，分歧甚至争吵也有可能发生。

But when doing business with people from another country, you can talk all you want about what you don’t know and what I don’t know. About how different we are. But that’s not going to help us be successful together. What will is figuring out how to come up with solutions, solve problems, and get the result. 

尽管，当你与来自不同国家的人进行商业合作时，你可以去谈论任何你不知道的或者他不知道的事情。也就是谈论我们彼此之间有多少不同。但是这并不能帮助我们取得成功。取得成功的关键是提出问题、解决问题、取得成果。

From my personal experience as a foreigner working daily with Chinese professionals for over 20 years, your English skills and cultural understanding are not the most important factors for performing well in these cross-cultural situations. For your English skills, of course, you need to be able to communicate at a basic level. But for cross-cultural understanding, to me, it’s too often overemphasized. Instead, what has a much bigger impact on your ability to interact and communicate well with others from a different country and culture are three fundamental characteristics. These are:

我跟中国同事们一起朝夕相处、工作已经有20多年了，从我个人经验来看，你的英语水平并不能完全决定你在这些环境中的表现。当然啦，你至少得会一点基础的英语，可以跟人沟通。但对于跨文化的理解，我觉得大多数情况下还是被人过分解读了。相反，决定你和外国人是否沟通顺利的是这三个重要的特质，分别是：

The sincerity I’m referring to is your sincere desire to understand and work with others to achieve a result together. Sincere people are more genuine and transparent. They’re down-to-earth and easier to work with.

我所说的诚意是指你去理解他人的意愿，以及和别人一起工作并达成最终结果的意愿。真诚的人更直率坦诚，和他们一起工作更轻松。

For instance, I always tell our consultants that others can tell what kind of person you are by the way you do and say things. Especially when you’re dealing with experienced and successful people, they can tell where you’re coming from and what your intentions are. Whether you’re someone who genuinely wants to help them, and who is committed to doing a good job for them. As opposed to tricky, clever people, who are more me-oriented. Who mainly care about what’s best for them.

比如，我总是告诉我们公司的咨询师，别人能从你的言行中看出你是什么样的人。特别是当你和有经验的成功人士共事，他们能看出你背后的意图，你是否能真诚地贡献自己的力量，是否是一个能为他们做好工作的人。反之，是否是个狡猾、耍小聪明的人，以自我为中心，只关注对自己最有利的事。

Which type of person do you prefer working with? Well, when in very challenging, cross-cultural business situations, what motivates others to work things out with you is the feeling you give them that you’re making a sincere effort to do everything you can, to understand them and deliver the solution or result that’s needed.

你更想要跟哪类人合作？在一个富有挑战性、跨文化的商务环境中，能促使别人和你一起工作的，是你带给别人的感受，你是否能真诚地对待每件事、能理解他们并给出所需的解答和结果。

In cross-cultural business situations, people also like working with others who are highly professional. Highly professional people are viewed as reliable. They have a mature, straightforward approach to how they do things, so are also easier to work with. The standards and consistency they bring to the situations they’re in helps them to stay focused on their objective and responsibilities, even when things get very difficult. 

在跨文化商务环境中，人们同样喜欢和高度专业的人一起工作。高度专业意味着可靠，他们工作有一套成熟而直接的方法，所以也很容易共事。即使工作变得困难，他们所坚持的高标准也让他们能专注于自己的目标和责任。

The opposite is unprofessional. This describes people who are overly emotional. They’re easily frustrated. They’re negative. When things don’t go according to plan, they complain a lot and blame others. They give you excuses or long explanations why something didn’t work or wasn’t done well. Who wants to deal with this kind of person?

相反，不专业指的是容易过分情绪化的人。他们很容易受挫、想法消极。当事情没有随着计划进行，他们会不停抱怨，把错怪在别人身上。他们总是给你很多借口，解释为什么工作没有做好。谁想和这样的人共事？

In a word, professional people are solid. Especially in international business situations where you’re often dealing with tough problems and trying to achieve challenging results, you want to work with solid people who are focused on solving problems and delivering results. 

简单来说，专业的人总是很可靠。尤其在国际商务环境里，需要通过解决很多复杂、有挑战性的问题来得到结果，这样一来你就更倾向于和专注于解决问题、提供结果的人一起工作。

As a boss and foreigner, personally, I don’t care how much you know about American culture or American people. If you’re curious and interested, that’s good enough for us to connect with each other. So your cultural understanding isn’t going to define our working relationship. What will is the value you can bring to the situations that we’re in together.

作为一个外籍老板，我个人并不在意你了解多少美国文化。只要你好奇或是感兴趣，我们就有东西可以聊。所以你对文化的理解程度不会影响我们工作上的关系。你能给工作带去多少价值才是我在意的。

Why? Because people who deliver value to others are more supportive, solutions-oriented, and results-driven. If I know that you have something that’s beneficial or of value to me, I’m going to make every effort to try to understand you. If your English isn’t that good, I’ll ask you as many questions as it takes to clarify things. Do you mean this, or that? Are you trying to say this? 

为什么？因为能给他人传递价值的人更能支持团队、注重解决问题，并在意结果。如果我知道你能给我带来益处和价值，我就会尽力尝试去理解你。如果你的英语不好，我会问很多问题去弄明白，比如“你是这个意思吗? 你是想说这个吗？”。

If you’re working in a multinational company, with foreign executives, or with someone overseas, it’s likely because you have something of value to offer them. Whether that’s your insights, expertise, or knowledge about something.So think about what that is and focus on delivering it to others.

如果你在一个国际企业，和外籍高管或在国外的人一起工作，那么不论是你的想法还是知识储备，你一定是能为他们提供价值的。所以想想你能为别人提供什么，并且专注于传递价值吧。

As an example, I met a guy earlier this year who worked in a state-owned enterprise (SOE), but then got a new job in a multinational company. In his new role, he participated in weekly meetings with the U.S. team in San Francisco. It was his first time to face such a situation with foreigners, so he was very nervous. So I asked him, “Can you understand what I say?”

举个例子，今年年初，我遇到一个原本在国企工作的男生，之后他找了一份跨国企业的新工作。这份工作需要他每周参与美国旧金山团队的会议。这是他第一次在这样的场景下面对外国人，所以他很紧张。他问我：“你能理解我在说什么吗？” 

He said, “Yes.” 

他说，“可以。”

I said, “Well, I can also understand everything you say. So don’t worry about your English skills. They’re good enough.”

我说：“你说的话我也都能理解。所以不要担心你的英语水平。你的英语很棒。”

Then I told him, “Based on what you said, the reason your company hired you is because you understand this market. You know the users and competition. Your U.S. colleagues are relying on you to know these things so they can do their job well. And they don’t speak Chinese, do they?”

接着，我告诉他：“就像你说的，这家公司雇用你是因为你了解中国市场。你知道用户需求和竞争规则。你的美国同事依靠你提供信息才能做好他们的工作，但是他们并不会说中文，是吗？”

He said, “No.”

他说，“不会。”

I said, “So don’t overthink it. Trust me, they’re more than happy for whatever English you speak. Just focus on sharing with them your knowledge and expertise of this market.”

我说：“所以不要想太多。相信我，只要你会说英语他们就很满意了。你只要专注于向他们分享你对这个市场的了解及专业知识就可以。”

That’s what he did. Later, he told me that his meetings with his U.S. colleagues were going very smoothly.

他确实这么做了。后来他告诉我，他与美国同事的会议进行的非常顺利。

Cross-cultural business situations are challenging for anyone. But if you can find ways to help others be more successful, they’re going to be more motivated and patient to understand you and get along with you. If you don’t have much value to offer others, they’ll make less of an effort to do these.

跨文化商业环境对任何人来说都是一种挑战。但是，如果你能找到帮助和你共事的人更成功的方法，他们也会尽一切努力去理解你，和你相处。如果你不能为他人提供价值，他们就会认为也没有必要重视你。

So if you participate in a lot of international business situations, my advice is this. Stop thinking so much about what you don’t know. Because the list is endless. Instead, focus on and trust your sincerity, your professionalism, and the value you have to offer in these situations. More than additional English lessons and cross-cultural training, these three characteristics will have a much bigger impact on your effectiveness and success as a global-caliber professional.

因此，如果你想加入跨文化的商业环境，我的建议就是：不要多想那些你不了解的事。相反，你要关注你的诚意、你的敬业精神、以及你的价值。相较于英语课程和跨文化知识培训，这3个关键的特质将更加有效且成功地帮助你成为国际化专业人才。