Leadership in Action: Dividends and Interest - One Prescription for Working Across Cultures

MESSING WITH TEXAS

During a dinner in France with a dozen European participants in a leadership development program, the conversation turned to President George Bush, who was new on the job. The Europeans immediately launched into jokes about Bush, most of which ridiculed his intellectual capacity. At first I took offense, thinking they were ganging up on me. But soon I was cracking up along with them. The jokes weren't all that funny, but it's hard not to laugh when you hear French, German, and Italian versions of a Texas accent. Later, one of the participants gave me something of a compliment when he told me I wasn't too uptight—for an American.

I like to think that these and similar experiences have widened my awareness of other cultures to ...