6 MORE CRAZY STORIES

Many people requested more examples of companies driving their competition crazy. I found six more for you.

1. When Security Pacific Bank merged with Bank of America many Security Pacific branches were closed. First Interstate Bank rented trucks and parked them in the lots of the branches that were closing. Then First Interstate employees in those trucks then helped people open new accounts as there were leaving the banks.

2. In 1986 British Airways ran a promotion to give away 5,200 seats for travel on June 10th. Virgin Atlantic Airways ran ads that said, “ It has always been Virgin's policy to encourage you to fly to London for as little as possible. So on June 10 we encourage you to fly British Airways.” The British Airways promotion generated a lot of news coverage, but most of the news coverage also included a mention Virgin's funny ad. It cost British Airways a lot more than Virgin to get this coverage.

3. A research company surveyed 750 white-collar worker around the United States. The research showed that 81 percent of the people believed that casual dress improved morale; 47 percent believed that it increased productivity; 46 percent said they considered casual dress as a attraction to work for a company that permitted it, and only 4 percent thought a casual-dress standard would have a negative impact. When Levi Strauss found out about the study, it let thousands of publications know about it. The company also even put in a toll-free hotline to help companies implement a casual dress standard. Guess who was sure to benefit from greater knowledge of this study? Levi Strauss, of course, because of its Dockers line of clothing.

4. A Goodyear store in Chattanooga, Tennessee faced a predicament: it wanted to put up two Goodyear signs. However, the local law stipulated a one-sign limit. Undaunted, the store manager spelled out Goodyear in marigolds in a flower bed. The city inspector considered this a violation, but the public supported the store, so the city government backed off.

5. An electrician with only one truck was constantly razzed by his competition because his company was so small. To fake them out, he finally painted three different truck numbers on the right, left, and rear of the truck.

6. International Harvester couldn't get steel to its factory in Melrose Park, Illinois because of a truckdriver's union strike. The company couldn't use non-union labor because of snipers on the freeway. Finally, the company rented school buses and dressed drivers as nuns, loaded the buses with steel, and made the deliveries. No one would shoot at school buses driven by nuns, right?

customs and etiquette

When you are determined to pursue economic relations in the global market, there are a lot of seemingly unnoticeable details that need to be looked into. Cultures and traditions of different nations have to be greatly considered in order to avoid any international business blunders. It may not just be embarrassing on your end, worst is that it might be the cause of failure.
The reason behind it is that, there is lack of familiarity with the practices, customs and etiquette. Yes, there is a huge disparity because you come from both corners of the world but an initial step of any effort to discovery will always lead to success. Here are some tips to do away with those international business blunders.
Shake Hands or Bow Down? In Japan, a slight stoop signifies respect and humility, such is very important to observe when having appointments with the Japanese. However, there are different levels that have its corresponding meaning. Shaking of hands are acceptable in Italy especially when saying bonjour or bidding ciao. In the United States, the males do not get on their feet when a female enters or leaves a room. They do not even kiss a woman’s hand because it is reserved for royalty. In Thailand, the conventional manner of welcoming a person is by placing both hands together in a prayer position at the chin and bending over in a certain angle. The higher the hands, more elevated regard is shown. Fingertips should not be raised above the eye level. Aside from hello, it means thank you and I’m sorry. This is one of the international business blunders that is equivalent to refusing a hand shake in the Western coast.
Gift or Bribe? Exchanging presents connotes the depth and strength of a commerce relationship with the Japanese. It is usually given at the first meeting. When having to receive something from them, it is also expected to share in return. In Germany, it is rarely done. Small finds are already appreciated but expensive ones are not a generally observed. However, it is not one of the international business blunders as compared to other countries.
Proper Gesture The infamous OK sign that originated in the United States means good but it has several definitions in other places. In Brazil, it is a symbol for money carrying with it a vulgar connotation while it suggests zero in France. In the English county, one of the international business blunders is to sit with the ankle resting on the knee. Instead, the legs should be crossed with one knee on top of the other. Patting at the shoulder and putting an arm around the new acquaintance is also a no- no. In Thailand, it is offensive when an arm is placed over the back of the chair when a person is sitting. In Ethiopia, holding out the palm and repeatedly closing the hand indicates come here.
Name Calling Using titles before the first name such as Mister or Madam is highly suggested in France, United Kingdom and Denmark. In Germany, first names are seldom applied. In Thailand, they address each other through first names and reserve the surnames in very formal events. In Belgium, communicating with French- speaking individuals should be as Monsieur or Madame while the Dutch are either Mister or Miss. Having the two mixed up is one of the international business blunders that can be a great insult for them.
The reason behind it is that, there is lack of familiarity with the practices, customs and etiquette. Yes, there is a huge disparity because you come from both corners of the world but an initial step of any effort to discovery will always lead to success. Here are some tips to do away with those international business blunders.
Shake Hands or Bow Down? In Japan, a slight stoop signifies respect and humility, such is very important to observe when having appointments with the Japanese. However, there are different levels that have its corresponding meaning. Shaking of hands are acceptable in Italy especially when saying bonjour or bidding ciao. In the United States, the males do not get on their feet when a female enters or leaves a room. They do not even kiss a woman

Sometimes Its What You Say Not Do

Communication could be considered the most critical part and has undoubtedly been the most common factor in the majority of business blunders. Good communication links are essential if there is to be a successful relationship between a company and its customers, its suppliers, its employees, and its host governments.

Knowing what to do is as important as knowing what not to do!

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Behaviour - the way you behave in front of someone from another country can often lead to offence without you realising it:
For example in India discussing business in the home or at social occasions is considered to be a violation of sacred hospitality mores.
It would be a mistake to refuse a cup of coffee in Saudi Arabia, rejection of such a friendly offer would be considered an affront in Saudi Arabia. Negotiations may then be less successful than they may otherwise have been.

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Customs/beliefs - to not try to understand the culture you are entering into can lead to unthinkable errors:
An airline had problems when it started flights from Hong Kong. The company had decided to hand out white carnations without realising that to many Asians these flowers represented death and bad luck - needless to say they soon switched to red ones.

If a visitor brings a gift of food or drink to an Arab household, the hosts may be offended because such gifts imply that they cannot afford such items or are untrusted.

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Non-verbal communication - your mere actions can lead to misunderstandings in a situation when no common language is shared:
A couple touring Asia came across cultural differences arising form non-verbal communication. On holiday, accompanied by their pet poodle, they decided to eat at a restaurant. As the staff in the restaurant didn't speak English they ordered by pointing to items on the menu. The couple also tried to order food for the dog knowing it was hungry. The waiter found it hard to understand what they wanted, and finally thought he had worked it out, pointing to both the dog and the kitchen. The couple assumed this meant the dog could not be permitted to eat in the restaurant, but in the kitchen so nodded in agreement. To their dismay, after a while the waiter along with the entire kitchen staff came out of the kitchen looking very proud, one can only imagine the couple's horror to find their poodle cooked on the plate when the lid was lifted.

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Product - in some markets the product may be perfectly acceptable, but the packaging may stop it selling well in the desired market:

A well known drinks company tried to introduce a two litre drinks bottle into Spain, but found it hard to enter the market - they soon discovered this was because few Spaniards had fridge doors large enough to accommodate the large size bottle.

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Name - research into what your product name potentially means in the language of your target markets is essential as this example shows:

A well known car manufacturer discovered why sales of its car were very low, when it realised the name translated as 'ugly old woman' in the language of the new market.
A German beer company eventually discovered why their product was failing to impact upon the West African, it turned out that the word they had chosen actually meant 'excrement' in slang - the name was eventually dropped.
An American tee-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of the desired, "I saw the Pope," in Spanish, it proclaimed, "I saw the Potato."

You don't want another Enron? Here's your law: If a company, can't explain, in ONE SENTENCE....what it does....it's illegal.
Lewis Black

If you owe the bank $100 that's your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem.
J. Paul Getty

What is Two and Two?

A business man was interviewing applicants for the position of divisional manager. He devised a test to select the most suitable person for the job. He asked each applicant, "What is two and two?" The first interviewee was a journalist. His answer was "Twenty-two." The second applicant was an engineer. He pulled out a slide rule and showed the answer to be between 3.999 and 4.001. The next person was a lawyer. He stated that in the case of Jenkins v Brown, two and two was proven to be four. The last applicant was an accountant. The business man asked him, "How much is two and two?" The accountant got up from his chair, went over to the door and closed it then came back and sat down. He leaned across the desk and said in a low voice..."How much do you want it to be?" He got the job.

Embarrassing typo On Eric Schmidt's business card teaches us these valuable lessons

 

Eric Schmidt, "Chariman of the Executive Committee and CEO of Google. FORTUNE magazine highlights this.

"Chariman." Yea, right.

It's easy to consign this typo to carelessness.

Of course that is an appropriate indictment. But rather than chortle about this rather big "duh," I'd rather point to some teachable best-practices we can learn from this.

The answer is that in an era where an increasing amount of Web-based content is created in and by third-party software, plug-ins, blog authorship tools and widgets- rather than only by Web page authoring software- every one of these objects needs to have a spellchecker.

I'm talking about everything from calendar authoring to blogging tools. Some of the utilities I have mentioned have built-in spellcheckers while others do not. In too many cases, the downloadable third-party spellcheck app is a pain to insert, at least iteratively.

That's lesson one.

But tools can only take us so far.

Lesson two: if you have spellcheck tools and are creating any type of content, do a spellcheck.

Your "chariman" should insist on nothing less.