Here's lookin' at us

Talk about unforgettable experiences. We had one in Tokyo recently.

We were stopped while meandering from toy store to toy store and asked to pose—for picture-taking purposes—with the pre-school-aged daughter of a Japanese couple we had never met.

“She wants to take a picture with the Americans,” our host explained. Of course, we took the picture.

But the whole experience got me wondering: how did they know we were American? Okay…I know we were in Japan (Hel-lo). But we could have been Europeans, no?

No.

How do I know this? I queried one of our hosts: “How did they know we were Americans and not Europeans?”

I received a sideways glance in response…the international sign for “you're kidding, right?”

And all these years I thought I had the map of Italy stamped on my forehead. Not.

The experience called for some serious—okay, anecdotal—research.

We're in a global business, right? And the way I figure…it can only help us to know how we present ourselves (politics aside, of course) to our associates in other countries.

For research input, I called Europeans I've worked with throughout my career as an inquiring journalist, thirsting for knowledge. The questions: Do Americans have a cultural identity? And how are we perceived?

Yes, we have an identity—even though we are a mere few centuries old.

And the good news is, the perception of us is upbeat for the most part (politics aside, of course).

Some research highlights:

We are gregarious. In addition to being very talkative (You think? We did invent the talk show, didn't we?), Americans are perceived as an extroverted lot.

And we are affable. “Americans are among the friendliest in the world,” reports a Dutch colleague. “You guys put people at ease,” she adds.

We are a good audience. Notes a Swiss executive: “You Americans have a genuine appreciation for wit and sense of humor. You just love witty comments and a good joke—even if it is on you!”

I guess that makes us good sports, too.

We are open-minded. “Americans are willing to discuss just about anything,” a German businessman told me, with a tone of awe in his voice.

We are curious. “Americans just love to hear about our local history. And they especially like to eat at a restaurant that has a link to some historic event or person,” reports a U.K. colleague. (No doubt, the never-ending quest for our roots at work here.)

But not curious enough about the impact of world events. “Americans should remember the meaning behind the adage—'a sneeze one place creates a cold someplace else,'” he adds.

We are impatient—another sore point with our business counterparts elsewhere. Seems like we want everything “yesterday.” As far as the rest of the world is concerned, however, business starts with relationships—for which there is no “turn-around time”—a term, we're told, that has become ubiquitous in American business discussions.

We're usually “running late.” Our business partners are probably on to something here. We do typically make dates in a time range, adding the suffix “ish” to most appointments; as in, one-ish.

But we are fashionable; not as in fashionably late, (which we learned is not fashionable at all), but as in stylish—a characteristic that all “respondents” mentioned.

I'm still perplexed though, even with all this input, over how a Japanese pre-schooler “found me out.”

Yo—you think it was something I said?

(To read more about our staff's travels, read “From the Editor” at www.playthings.com)