“This program made me realize that I have to let go of my expectations that all business cultures are the same. The skills were presented in a way that used real life examples or discussions of real life situations.This will allow me to develop a relationship with them and earn their trust.” 

“I found the high level overview of their culture and learning about the things that make them tick interesting and useful. We were surprised to learn that India has so many different languages and regional cultures. Now we understand how people in one city do not completely relate and communicate with people in other cities.”

“The facilitators were knowledgeable, passionate and energetic. It was the best training program I ever attended! We are so happy to have selected you among all the training companies we interviewed. We will be referring you!” 

“After 5 years living and working in India, I returned to the US in June 2011, only to realize that what was once familiar seemed strange. Jennifer helped me to adjust, and to re-enter the job market with a better understanding of both professional cultures–from communication style, to managerial expectations. As is essential for a coach, Jennifer was a great listener and extremely supportive in the challenging period, and both affirmed my abilities while clearly explaining her suggestions.”
~Becky Band Jain

How this helps your team and why it’s important 
Understanding some of the key cultural differences and similarities between the U.S. and India can help not only to bridge business culture gaps but build confidence in handling a wide variety of situations in and out of the workplace when working with Indians. In this seminar, we dive into any of the topics below as prioritized by your team:

• Power Distance: Small Talk, Relationship Building, Use of names/titles 
• Teamwork: Gatekeepers of information, absentees, taking initiative/volunteering/ nominating, cross-training vs. working in silos, fun at work, family part of work experience 
• Basic Communication Tenets: Requests, Denials, Questions, Modes of Communication (Face to Face, Phone, Email, Texting, others), Pleasantries in Indian English 
• Planning, Time Lines, Goal Setting Orientation: Short vs. Long Term Orientation, Cyclic View of Time, Frequent interruptions, Things ‘getting in the way,’ Seeing time as ‘not in our control’ 
• Getting & Giving Feedback 
• Negotiation strategies: Pitching timelines and financial details, Understanding Yes, No, Maybe in words and actions, Written communication (documentation, emails, contracts, etc)
  

Duration
Most teams prefer an 8 hour program broken into two four hour sessions. 

Syllabus Overview
We strive to provide you practical skills, tools and communication approaches you and your team can use today to build, maintain and enhance your business relationship and workflow with your Indian counterparts. Though we do utilize some theory, we do not base our full program on theory. We lean on real life experiences, your experiences, helping you navigate through them effectively. This is an effective blend of facilitation, advising and coaching. Though we provide you an outline of what is covered, we can also be flexible to the needs in the training room, if they have changed since our initial needs assessment.

Program Goals: 

1. To explore and pinpoint key similarities and differences in Indian and American business cultures 
2. To understand the Indian mindset, learn how Indians think, the cultural reasons behind the Indian approach to life and work, communication style, and how to apply tips to enhance a wide range of business communication situations. 
3. Practice in applying concepts to real-life and simulated business scenarios to enhance successful outcomes.

Takeaways/Tangible Plans for Participants: 

1. Cultural Blueprint: Participants will create a cultural blueprint that will identify the gaps between the US and Indian approaches. Start your personal cultural profile for free at GlobeSmart. 
2. Action Plan: Based on the Cultural Blueprint, participants will create at least three individualized action items they want to apply to enhance relations with the Indian counterparts

Day 1 (4 hours): 
Understanding ourselves and U.S. Business Norms
Understanding India & Orientation to the Business Culture of India 
Case Study Review

Day 2 (4 hours):
Business Norms in India   
Successful Business Meetings with Indians
Cultural Blueprint and Gap Analysis

Let’s customize this India cross-culture training outline to your team’s business needs.  

Facilitation Method:

…Thank you for considering working with us!…


Contact us to start your program today or write in the comment section below.