At the Crossroads

Under all the turmoil of a thousand years, Russians are yet a colorful and creative people. Sometimes you have to look hard to see it. But the artists, writers, composers, and the brilliant scientists and inventors through the ages have left an indelible mark on the word.

I’ve worked mainly with the younger Russians, those under forty-five today. There is a large mental gap between the young who graduated in the last days of the Soviet Union and the older generations who lived the greater part of their lives under the Communist regime. For the most part, the young are dedicated to a better life as they might imagine it or have personally witnessed it in their frequent travels in the rest of the world. It is an attitude nurtured by their sense of possibility and a growing sense of responsibility. They are often well educated, traveled, cultured, and speak English and other foreign tongues. I don’t think there was a woman (or many men) in our offices in Russia, while being from the top technical institutes,  who could not discuss Rus­sian and Western literature, the stage, music (classical as well as rock and jazz), and dance.

But, Russia is also losing many of best and brightest who cannot wait for the men in power to create a domestic environment for their creativity and energy. So they leave, these young and impatient Russians, although reluctant to leave Mother Russia and families. On the other hand, some come back with their MBAs and become leaders at home.  Russia doesn’t seem to know what to do with these bright young men and women. A recent poll stated that eighty percent of Russians do not want to emigrate. Amazing—so what does that say of the remaining twenty percent? Are these the creative minds that hold the future promise? I know this is a philosophical view, but I am reminded of the famous painting of  A Knight at the Crossroads by Viktor Vasnetsov: (The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg,seen above) They are all, these young, ambitious and committed like the knight at the crossroad. For the sake of their homeland, I hope they stay.

Excerpted from “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia”

My First Lesson ~ Getting around "No"

The Cold-War stereotype of the Russian was a man in a gray suit and brown shoes who simply said “no.” One of my first lessons in doing business in Russia was learning that image is both true and false. In the stark and crowded 21st floor room in what was to be our office for a few years I, an American nice guy with no telecom credentials, discussed some business plans with a few potential employees. It was an atmosphere of awe and wonder. “What is the crazy American talking about?” they were thinking. “Doesn’t he know this is Russia?”

 It was Russia indeed, 1992 in fact, only a few months after The Hammer and Sickle came quietly down over Red Square and the whole of what was then The Soviet Union. But these were not gray suited men or babushkas shoveling snow. These were sharp and eager young graduates, men and women, from the top technical school in Moscow. But, their initial reaction still reflected the centuries of Russian resistance to taking initiative and personal responsibility. But I quickly learned how to get around that cultural block and get something done.

 At first I presented the new business idea to the young Russians as I would do at home. But, often I would get a silence, maybe a head shaking, in any case a definite “no, it can’t be done.” They might have reasons to put forth, but those were seldom pertinent. Then the thought came to me to get on their side of the table and say, “I know it would be difficult, but if we had to do it, how would we do it.” Then, the lights would come on, the discussion would catch on fire, and solutions would come forth.

 I quickly learned that the Russian, especially during Soviet times, was often blocked from doing what he wanted, but under the new environment and if approached pro-actively, he expressed a resourcefulness like nothing I had experienced in my decades of international business management. From that start we built a major telecom company in the new Russia with a team that grew to over sixty and delivered state-of-the-art telecommunications to the rapidly expanding expatiate business community and to some top Russian clients, too.

 I also learned quickly that you have to be part of a dedicated team. With good leadership, they then will get excited with the potential of successful creativity and work hard to achieve the goal. It’s all about relationships.