Doing Business in….ITALY
A country of remarkable beauty and varying regional characteristics, Italy is unmistakably a place of cultural achievement and historical pride.
A founding member of the EU, Italy has contributed substantially to European and Political integration. Italy's infamous north and south divide provides a diversified economy consisting of both industrial and agricultural sectors that have been strengthened by the success of many small family-owned businesses and a strong manufacturing sector. With such a firm emphasis on family orientation and national pride it is essential to gain an awareness of the country's culture, business practices and people before you consider doing business in Italy.
COFFEE BREAKS ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT AS MEETINGS
If you accomplish only one thing during your business trip, it should be to build relationships with your Italian contacts. If you’ve done that, the details you didn’t get to can be sewn up by phone, email, or video conference when you get home.
So make the time to chat in the hallway or by the water cooler. Ask them about themselves and their country (their part of the country, and the town or area their family is from), and accept offers to go for an espresso, which may literally be a 2-minute trip, if you’re just going to the coffee machine in the hallway.
DON’T EXPECT MEETINGS TO START ON TIME
If you’ve set the meeting to start at 10 – which is by the way, the ideal time to start a business meeting in Italy – don’t worry if people are still chatting outside the meeting room at 10.05.
The first few times I called meetings in Italy, I’d arrive on time, and nobody else would be in the meeting room. I’d manage to corral a few people from the coffee machine, run out to get others on smoke break, and come back to find that the original ones had just popped out again (they saw their meeting colleagues at the coffee machine).
If people don’t wander in within the first 10 minutes, consider enlisting the managers’ help in getting their teams into the meeting. Which brings us to…
PAY ATTENTION TO HIERARCHY AND TITLES
Know who the boss is, and treat them like the boss. In Italy this just means a level of respect: introduce yourself to them first (presuming you know who they are), make eye contact while discussing key points, and address important questions directly to that person.
DISCUSSION MAY BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN MAKING A DECISION
Americans, in general, like to make decisions and act on them as soon as possible after making them. Then if it turns out to be the wrong decision, Americans are very good at changing it, and acting right away on the new decision. (Italians are simultaneously annoyed by and in awe of this American skill, incidentally.)
In general, Italians place a lot of value on thinking through an idea and discussing it thoroughly before, and maybe at the expense of, making a decision. So: decisions may not get made as quickly as you’d like. You may leave a meeting with no decision taken, and that’s fine. If you’ve got the relationship, you can continue the conversation later.
Most importantly, have fun if you can. Italians are proud of their country (as long as you don’t talk about politics or the mafia) and want you to love it too. So ooh and ahh about as much as possible and be appreciative if they take you on any tourist outings.
Respect lunch time, dinner time, coffee breaks, and the food culture in general. Enjoy the food, ask questions about the art and architecture, and don’t worry about all the details you wanted to discuss.
Because, you know, you can tie up the details after you get home.
