Paul Danos, Dean Tuck School of Business at
Dartmouth.
This week, I was interviewed by one of Peru’s top economics and business magazines, for a special edition about executive education in Peru. I thought I’d share two questions and answers here on our blog – one specifically about executive education, and another about how executives can reach across cultural barriers in dealing with Americans (and since the publication is in Spanish, I’ve included the original and an Engligh version as well). For more from the interview, visit their site here: Semana Economica.
1) “How does a successful, well-rounded, mid-career executive identify the areas he needs to reinforce in order to make the jump to a major leadership position?
In order to be a leader one must really know best practices. I have found that too little time is spent on searching out and understanding how the best of the competition do their jobs. If a person has the basic education and the requisite experience, I would put benchmarking as a very high priority. Why reinvent the wheel? Surveying the best and then making it better in the local environment is a great strategy. Executive education from the best faculties is a shortcut to good benchmarking, because the faculty spends most of their time studying world best practices and they are expert teachers.
2) In the context of increasing Inter-American economic integration (Peru will probably sign a Free Trade Agreement with the US in a few months), how can a Latin American executive best prepare to conduct business in the United States? What key characteristics will he have to understand about his American partner or counterpart?
I would say that the best approach to partnering is complete transparency on both sides. People from all cultures want to partner with people who are trustworthy. It is not nearly as important to be viewed as the strongest or the most knowledgeable as the one who is the most sincere and most willing to learn. Americans often say that they want to “size up” the people on the other side of the table, and what they mean is that they want to make a personal evaluation of their character. I am sure that Peruvians feel the same, and so the best way to proceed is toward openness and honesty on both sides of the table.
1) ¿Cómo puede un ejecutivo exitoso y a mitad de carrera identificar las áreas que debe reforzar para dar el salto al siguiente nivel de liderazgo?
Para ser un buen líder hay que conocer las mejores prácticas. Me he dado cuenta de que, en realidad, se invierte poco tiempo en buscar y comprender cómo es que los competidores más exitosos del negocio hacen su trabajo...
Si una persona ya cuenta con la educación y experiencia básica, lo prioritario debe ser el benchmarking. ¿Por qué reinventar la pólvora? Identificar lo mejor, y luego mejorarlo o adaptarlo a otro contexto, es la mejor estrategia. La mejor educación para ejecutivos no es más que un atajo hacia el buen benchmarking.
2) En un contexto de creciente integración interamericana –el Perú probablemente suscribirá un TLC con EEUU en unos meses– ¿qué características básicas debe el ejecutivo latinoamericano entender sobre su socio o contraparte norteamericano?
Diría que el mejor enfoque es la total transparencia de ambas partes. Las personas de todas las culturas quieren asociarse con gente confiable. Ser visto como el más fuerte o experimentado no es tan importante como ser visto como el más sincero y dispuesto a aprender. Los estadounidenses a menudo dicen que quieren “tasar” –size up– a quienes están del otro lado de la mesa, implicando que quieren evaluar su carácter. Los peruanos seguramente hacen lo mismo. Por eso, la mejor manera de proceder es con mutua apertura y sinceridad.
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