Business Development Manager at Germed, Cauê Rossetti
Cauê Rossetti, majored in Business Administration from Universidade Mogi das Cruzes (UMC), and Post-graduated in Business Management from IBMEC, is a Brazilian abroad. Recently promoted to Business Development Manager at Germed multinational, he's been working in Spain and comments how a Brazilian executive faces the challenge of working in his area abroad.

Understanding local habits and culture is a must
In order to deal with business abroad, it is necessary to be flexible so that you can follow their core values and policies as well as act according to their local culture. The best strategy is to get adapted to their culture and habits regardless it comes to business or social life. We must be aware of the single details as some differences are subtle, such as how long business dinners take - whereas in São Paulo it might take hours in Spain they are considered networking moments.
The best policy is to understand the local essence to feel you belong to it and avoid having trouble because of culture shock.

Adaptation process
Flexibility during the adaptation period is crucial. Mutual understanding and respect make the process flow and strategies work. Breaking barriers is definitely the first and most delicate step, as to realize the differences and respect them are fundamental to fit in the company, mainly when it is located in another country. As time goes by, we absorb values, attitudes and the company's strategic vision and our living abroad becomes quite natural. Until the differences fade away it is essential to keep balance and not give up when the first obstacles come up. It is relevant to mention that having someone to givbe us some support during this hard period, like my wife did, helps keep such balance.

Weaknesses and strengths
Although the language is very similar to ours, the biggest difficulty is really to absorb the corporate culture and apply the strategies we use in Brazil, what demands attention and care, so that there is no shock and room for misinterpretation.
As strength I can mention the Spanish people's behavior, which is quite similar to ours, concerning joy, sociability, and hospitability, as we all have Latin blood. This is what makes me feel home.

Future Plan
Interchange is a great experience, from which I want to acquire knowledge and expand my cultural background. I am aware that it is a great opportunity for my career. At the moment, that's my plan. After becoming more skilled and expanding network, I will definitely establish new goals.