b'Cultural Intelligence toSuc-Seed Across BordersThe seed industry is globalized, but are we? Cross-cultural competence is vital. Elena MansurPLANTING SEEDS INunfamiliar terrain is a vivid meta- The campesino obediently did as he was told, and as phor for the uncertainty of doing business across bordersexpected, the intense Chilean sun burned the seeds. Not in unknown cultures: You wont know the exact yields of youra single plant emerged, and the whole field needed to be harvestor the costs of your mistakesuntil the seeds youvereseeded.sown grow. Being successful at home, where one literally knowsMoving across the world was far more challenging than the ground rules (pun intended), does not necessarily guar- the American had foreseen, but worth a very valuable lesson: antee that applying the same strategies will lead to successmany of the biggest cultural differences can go entirely unno-elsewhere.ticed until theyve caused a significant problem. Thats why Recently, Seed World LATAM had a chat with an Americancultural awareness is crucial when working across borders. plant breeder who experienced first-hand the unexpected chal- While in the case of the plant breeder and the campesino, lenges of cultural misunderstanding. Early in his career, hedthe gap in cultural understanding was based on perceptions traveled from the United States to Chile to oversee a winterof power relations between superiors and subordinates, also nursery program.known as power distance, there are notable differences worth The American was a highly educated Ph.D. scholar and CEOconsidering when doing business internationally.of a new company. His previous experience in agriculture hadCultural intelligence, which is the capacity to adjust in unfa-been in an academic environment, but in this situation, he wasmiliar and culturally diverse situations, is the key to working the boss for the first time. Assigned to work with him was aabroad successfully and avoiding some embarrassing faux pas.campesino, a farmer with an 8th-grade education who was anSometimes, we can laugh at these anecdotes, but some-experienced farm laborer on local lands.times, they come at a high price.The American instructed the farmer to sow the seeds at a planting depth of 1-1.5 inches, as he had successfully done inUnderstanding Cultural Perceptions is Keythe U.S. countless times throughout his academic training. ThePower distance, the extent to which less powerful members of campesino knew one inch was not enough; given the hot sun ina society accept vertical power relations, is one of the cultural Chile, he would normally plant those seeds at 2 to 2.5 inches.dimensions that most differs between cultures. If the campesino had spoken up, the American would likelyIn very general terms, South American countries are high-have appreciated the advice. Culturally, North Americans usuallypower-distance cultures. Subordinates tend to be much more value feedback positively rather than seeing comments from acomfortable with deference, respect, and obedience to their subordinate as disrespectful interjections. They also naturallyelders and superiors than they are with exercising proactivity tend to assume that relevant information will be provided. or daring to express disagreement. Coming from a Chilean background, however, the camp- On the opposite side of the power spectrum, those from esino had a different view of the power dynamic. For him, thelow-power distance cultures, like North Americans and Nordic American was in charge and probably knew more than him.Europeans, tend to have horizontal relationships. This means Therefore, he would never dare to challenge his boss authority. that they engage in interpersonal relations at the same level, 30/ SEEDWORLD.COMLATAM'