“Why can’t I motivate the Indian workforce?” This is one of my 10 most common questions from small businesses doing business in India.

It often comes from well-meaning professionals who try to apply U.S. management styles in India without really understanding the differences in U.S. and Indian cultures. It’s a frustrating problem but a common pitfall that is easily avoidable. I’m sympathetic to frustrating, common and easily avoidable problems — especially since I once called my computer tech support to troubleshoot a computer issue only to realize several minutes into the call that my keyboard wasn’t plugged in.

A U.S. manager called me the other day annoyed about the declining participation by her young Indian staff during lunchtime meetings. She was in India on an extended trip during which she wanted to maximize her time and bond with the team. She thought she was being generous providing free sandwiches as an added incentive for the young employees to participate. What she didn’t realize there was a dietary disconnect: Most of the employees ate hot, fresh lunches comprised of several of different dishes. The cold sandwiches were a turnoff, not an incentive.

The manager had read up on the Indian culture before she left for her extended visit but had not fully realized the impact of cross-cultural nuances. It’s a common problem when doing business abroad. Cross-cultural disconnects are often to blame when people complain they only get 6o percent efficiency from their Indian staff (compared to their U.S. staff), or how Indians don’t take initiative or about why they have a high employee turnover rate.

In my experience, most people understand that different cultures think and act differently. But under the stress of a fast-paced business environment, people expect everyone to act the same as themselves. The U.S. manager is a bright woman but once she got annoyed, her ability to identify the problem became clouded. As far as she was concerned, since it worked well in the U.S. it should work well in India.

Her reaction wasn’t unlike my attitude when my computer stopped working. The computer worked fine the day before, so obviously the problem had to be more than an accidental plug disconnect. I know that checking the plugs is a basic step when investigating a computer problem but I went into high stress mode and my judgment became clouded. I immediately called tech support assuming the problem was within the computer.

I learned my lesson, but it still hasn’t stopped me from laughing when my IT friends tell entertaining stories of people complaining about computer problems. Especially when the problem was the computer wasn’t plugged-in.

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Last week, Bill Gates was visiting South Korea where he met with Korean President Park Geun-hye. When they met, Gates shook her hand while his left hand stayed in his pocket. In Korea, the hand-in-pocket handshake is considered extremely rude and offensive. Call it an error in etiquette, politeness or decorum: the worldwide media picked up the gaffe and major news outlets in the U.S. highlighted the story.

Coming from the very informal technology sector, perhaps Gates didn’t think anything of the hand-in-pocket. But after the media highlighted the incident, Park’s office felt compelled to comment on the handshake with an official statement downplaying the gesture as being an “American style of greeting.” (Thank goodness for American culture that Gates didn’t commit a faux pas of accidentally sneezing on the president or unwittingly pick at his nose.)

Gates presumably spent a lot of time and energy in organizing the trip. He was apparently promoting a new startup. But the incident, while having caused offense to the Korean people, also created a feeling among them that he had something to hide, symbolized by the hidden hand. His intended message was overshadowed by what is probably an innocent or nervous habit. It is a classic example of why it’s important to learn and be sensitive to foreign culture and etiquette when doing business abroad.

Have you been subject to or committed a cultural faux pas when doing business in a foreign country? I would love to hear your experience!

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I’ve been following the news about the Boston Marathon bombings from Mumbai. It’s been difficult to be so far from home when something so awful has taken place.

I’m in India for work, and the travel is more taxing than usual because I’m staying up late reading the latest updates, plus I don’t have a good outlet for the emotions I feel for the victims or their families. I have a strong yearning to be around loved ones but since I’m abroad, my only comfort is to talk to friends and family as I might if I were back at home.

The last few days, I’ve been able to talk on the phone for hours and feel close to home by using Voice of Internet Protocol technology. I’m not a techie, but I find technology like Skype, Vonage and Magic Jack to be user friendly and inexpensive. These tools have changed the way I communicate when traveling, making it a lot easier to feel connected to home.

These past few days, Skype has become my favorite VoIP tools. The company says users are spending two billion minutes on Skype every day. I don’t need anything special to use Skype since my laptop has a built-in camera and microphone. When I have good Internet connectivity, I can video chat over Skype for hours with crystal-clear audio and visual – so clear sometimes I forget I’m half way around the world.

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As a frequent traveler, I feel like a silent revolution is underway with the global changes taking place in visa requirements. This is mostly because of the rise of the e-visa, a visa that you can apply for online that is linked electronically to your passport so it can be seen by travel-related personnel, such as border agents and airline staff. You no longer have to physically submit your passport for an entry visa to Australia or the UAE.

When I first started doing business in India, the visa process required me to take two days off of work — four hours in the morning to apply for my visa in person at the Embassy of India in Washington and four hours the next afternoon to pick it up. The majority of that time was spent idly waiting for my name to be called by the counter clerk. I would have much rather spent those hard-earned vacation days doing something fun in India. A few years ago, their process changed allowing me to send them my passport by mail and to track my visa status online.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization has found that countries in Asia, the Pacific and the Americas were the most “open” regions in terms of tourist visa requirements. Its study also showed a significant trend among countries to allow foreigners with no visa required, visa on arrival or e-visa.

The trend is being driven by increased tourism and investment resulting from fewer barriers to travel. Even hotel giants, such as Hilton Worldwide and Marriott International, are actively encouraging governments to adopt smart visa policies.

A couple of years ago, I never dreamed applying for an entry visa could be so simple. It gives me hope that airline security may one day become simpler.

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I was once in a taxi in New Delhi en route to a business meeting at the Imperial Hotel in the heart of the city when my taxi driver decided I should go shopping instead (certain stores pay a commission to taxi drivers in exchange for driving tourists to the store).

We sat in the parking lot of a store arguing about where I needed to be. Finally, he started driving and took me to the entrance of the Metropolitan Hotel. When I reminded him that my destination was the Imperial, he told me the hotel had changed names the week before, that the Imperial is now the Metropolitan. A little unnerved and frustrated, I exited his taxi and called for another taxi to take me to the Imperial. All in all, I was 30 minutes late for my meeting.

Since then, I’ve hired a car and driver to get around New Delhi even though it’s not as efficient due to horrendous parking situations. I still take taxis in other cities in India, but in New Delhi I just don’t feel comfortable.

There has been heightened concern about safety issues in India because of the recent media reports of horrific violence against women in the country. Based upon my experiences of traveling in India, I think it is just as safe as traveling in the United States. Some places require extra vigilance but common sense is usually sufficient.

Because my firm helps U.S. companies sell their goods and services to other businesses in India, I have flown all over the country from Assam to the Laccadive Islands, but I spend most of my time meeting with Indian corporations in the major cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

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“Is sequestration going to happen?”

It’s a question I hear over and over again in forums for large and small business. (Seriously, who expects a bankable answer to that question at a chamber mixer?) I think when business folks ask other business folks about sequestration, what they really want to know is, “What is your plan B?”

And while sequestration may require your business to come up with a backup plan, your business’ Plan B (or Plan A) should take advantage of the changes in international markets that can create significant opportunities for U.S. small businesses. Last month, for example the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) said India will overtake Mexico to emerge as its biggest market this year. Earlier this month, the bank pledged $500 million in new funds to finance Indian exports of U.S. goods and services. The bank already has $8.5 billion in existing commitments towards India.

If your business is new to exports and not familiar with Ex-Im Bank programs, they are a great resource. The bank can provide direct loans to your overseas buyers – meaning direct financing for your buyer to purchase from you. The bank also offers your business working capital guarantees (pre-export financing), export credit insurance and loan guarantees. No project is too large or too small and, on average, 85 percent of the bank’s transactions directly benefit U.S. small businesses.

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Travel is good for your mind, body and business. That’s the message of a new marketing campaign from the U.S. Travel Association. The Travel Effect, which launched last month, caught my attention because it asserts that for every $1 invested in business travel by companies there is an average $12.50 in increased revenue and $3.80 in new profits.

The website cites a 2009 study, The Return on Investment of U.S. Business Travel by Oxford Economic USA. According to the study, there is a “robust and irrefutable relationship between a company’s investment in business travel—including internal meetings, trade shows, conferences, incentives, and sales—and its profitability.” If your CFO tries to trim your travel budget, this may be a good report to justify your overseas trips.

Based on what I’ve experienced at international trade shows, I can attest to the importance of travel when seeking to do business abroad. I participated in a number of trade events to recruit foreign biotechnology companies to Montgomery County many years ago when I worked for the county’s Department of Economic Development. At these shows, I witnessed upstart companies effectively muscle their way into their competitor’s client bases. It’s not hard to do because people at these shows often want to learn about what is happening in their industry are receptive to sales messages and willing to share business intelligence.

Plus, many trade shows feature festive events in the form of receptions and dinners that encouraged attendees to socialize and network. It’s hard not to bond with someone after sharing a glass of wine and the trials and tribulations of raising capital. Oftentimes, business contacts mingled closer to friendships.

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My new year’s resolution is off to a slow start.

As mentioned in my last blog, I’ve resolved to tweet more in 2013. I’m blessed that I have a lot I could tweet but cross-cultural sensitivities make me cautious.

For example, I landed a new Maryland client for my firm earlier this month. The new client is in the delicious business of making high-end chocolates. My firm was retained to identify a strategic Indian partner for an exclusive supply agreement. I’d love to tweet about the new client but hesitant about how a prospective Indian client might take the news.

I’ve learned over time that attracting clients in the different countries require a very different approach.

My strategy when courting business in India is like courting a date in the U.S. It is a good practice to be modest, respectful and focused on the person being courted. So, promoting a new client to a prospective client might be like bragging on a first date about buying a new car or getting a new raise.

Making those first impressions are important. It doesn’t matter how long or prestigious your existing client list is, it generally doesn’t help land a new client in India — just as it’s not a good idea to rattle off names of past dates to someone as an inducement to go out.

But in the U.S. it enhances credibility to promote a companies’ client list. So I’m stuck on how to tweet about a new client, which could be good for business in the U.S. but a turnoff in India. This adds a whole new complexity to using social media to influence decision-makers around the globe.

Twitter seems to be a natural fit for communicating short messages to resonate among folks with a common cultural background. It is a great tool for disseminating information and raising one’s profile as a leader within a network or community.

But getting 140-character messages to have impact across diverse cultures requires extra thought. With social media playing a large role in the diffusion of information it is critical to understand how people in different cultures make decisions.

The more I learn about Twitter, the more I realize what a powerful business tool it can be. However, for it to be worthwhile for me professionally, I need to determine how to disseminate messages that influence both Indian and American business people.

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(Photograph: Bernhard Classen/Alamy)

When doing business abroad it is a general rule to respect the culture of the country you are in. But what do you do if you think that culture might kill you with their habits?

That’s a problem a friend of mine faced recently. She’s an American biochemist and went to Shanghai with her boss to discuss a technology transfer agreement with a prospective Chinese partner.

Their business week started and ended with traditional Chinese banquets. She knew before she left that the feast was an important step in building the business relationship. And she was looking forward to eating authentic Chinese dishes and even prepared a few toasts for the drinking she knew to be prevalent.

What she hadn’t expected was the chain smoking during dinner.

As a junior employee, she felt uncomfortable asking her hosts to stop smoking, which she said took place continuously throughout the meal by five of their Chinese counterparts. Instead, she suffered through it.

She felt so strongly about the experience that, upon returning home, she obtained a doctor’s note to submit to her boss stating she should not be exposed to second-hand smoke.

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This past summer a small Oregon brewing company was inspired by “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” to make a specialty beer. The beer was a spicy ale infused with toasted cardamom, cumin and fenugreek spices with lots of apricots and scotch bonnet peppers. The company named the exotic beer Kali-Ma, based on a thrilling scene in the movie in which a goddess named Kali-Ma was evoked.

Kali-Ma also happens to be the name of a popular Hindu goddess. And while many of my Hindu friends love the Indiana Jones fantasy adventure movies, several Hindus in the U.S. and India took offense at a beer being labeled after a religious figure. The brewery faced a surge of backlash over the name from Hindus in the U.S. and in India. The name even sparked a protest at the Indian parliament.

The brewery, employing approximately 20 people, quickly apologized and decided to rename the beer. The imperial apricot wheat ale is now called International Incident.

I felt sorry for this small company but glad it maintained its sense of humor over the issue. Somehow I feel less sorry when large multinational companies make similar gaffes. Coca-Cola was laughed at when they named their cola in China a phrase that translated into “bite the wax tadpole.” General Motors, the urban legend goes, didn’t know that “no va” means “it won’t go” in Spanish before it introduced the Chevy Nova into the South American market. One of my favorite examples of misnaming a product is Schweppes Tonic Water’s campaign in Italy where the name translated into “Schweppes Toilet Water.”

I’m surprised by some of these naming mishaps because a little research could have prevented some of corporate America’s funniest bloopers. But they are memorable lessons when introducing a new product — whether for U.S. or international markets. Even for products intended for U.S. consumers only, companies are facing more backlash over cultural insensitivities.

In the past few months, Victoria’s Secret has faced flack over offending American Indian culture when they used a traditional feather headpiece on a runway model. They also stopped marketing a Geisha-inspired outfit when Asian Americans responded angrily to its promotional campaign.

To prevent these sorts of costly errors, I recommend small companies put together focus groups when rolling out a new product or name. The focus group should not be limited to target consumers — instead, it should contain a diverse group of people with the intent to obtain a broad range of feedback on a new product or name.

It’s not very costly to coordinate a focus group and the benefits can prevent your small company from being at the center of an international incident.

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