Vissa m?nniskor flyttar runt och vissa m?nniskor v?ljer att st? stilla. Enligt min mening ?r det en illusion att tro att vi alla ?r 100% individer eller 100% likadana. ?r vi olika eller ?r vi lika? Jag antar att vi ?r b?da beroende p? vad vi talar om. De m?nskliga grundl?ggande behoven ?r desamma: vi vill bli ?lskade och ha m?nniskor omkring att ?lska, ha ett hem, trygghet, k?nna?oss trygga och?flesta har ett husdjur.
Jag har t?nkt p? detta under en l?ng tid eftersom jag kommer fr?n ett s? kallat mycket frisinnat land d?r vi l?r oss att respektera andra kulturer, v?lja vad vi vill bli, l?ra?oss om andra religioner etc. Och vi ??l?r oss genom det vi l?ser. Flyttar till ett land, b?ttre sagt till en region i Italien d?r saker och ting inte ?r samma lika, d?r allt ?r tv?rtom och ser att regionerna bara p? Sicilien skiljer en hel del. Fr?n ett land som Sverige d?r vi?ska vara ?ppen sinnade, men?det egentligen ?r sv?rt att t?nka eller vara annorlunda, sticka ut. P? Sicilien d?r allt har varit s? st?ngt och ?r fortfarande ganska strikt (d?r mycket?sker i det dolda) har jag?l?rt mig att vara en fri t?nkare och tro p? vad jag ser, inte vad jag l?ser, som ?r en av de b?sta sakerna jag l?rt mig i livet. H?r ofta sicilianare s?ga: Jag ?r realist. Jag tror p? de saker jag ser. Snacka om statistik och analyser med en sicilianare ?r som att prata med en v?gg, inget intresse.
I m?nga l?nder finns det en hel del prat om individualism. Ja, vissa saker ?r r?tt. Vi f?ds som individer, men vi skiljer p? sm? saker. En tycker om att l?sa,?den ena?inte. En tycker om att resa, ena inte.?En gillar stadslivet, det andra lantis livet. Men vi f?r?ndras som de personer som vi ?r, beroende p? var vi bor, hur mycket vi reser, vilken typ av utbildning vi har, vad f?r slags m?nniskor vi m?ter och var vi v?ljer att leva. Jag kan inte s?ga att jag ?r samma individ idag som n?r jag bodde i Sverige. Jag arbetar fortfarande med andra l?nder, mer globalt ?n tidigare, men jag har f?r?ndrats. Jag har?p?verkats av den italienska och speciellt den sicilianska kulturen. P?verkats av andra kulturer jag m?ter och av samtliga resor jag gjort i mitt liv. Jag ser mycket st?rre regionala skillnader bara p? Sicilien. Som s?dra och norra Sverige skiljer sig, s? mycket mer den h?r lilla ?n. T.ex. hade jag mycket problem med min open minded kommunikation f?rsta ?ret arbetandes p? Sicilien, det fungerar inte med ? ena sidan, men ? andra sidan – kommunikationen jag hade i Sverige. Den super?artiga demokratiska kommunikationen fungerar inte h?r. Du m?ste s?ga vad?du tycker mycket strikt eller s??kommer din??sikt att talas om f?r dig av andra m?nniskor. Detta ?r n?got jag sedan m?ste t?nka omv?nt p??n?r jag?pratar med l?nder fr?n t.ex. norr.
Men om vi ?r s? mycket?individer som moderna l?nder predikar, varf?r f?r vi t.ex. i aff?rsv?rlden l?ra oss om olika beteenden i olika l?nder? Saker du b?r t?nka p? m?tet med en saudisk person, m?te en amerikan, m?te en Kines? H?r kan du inte r?kna med att behandla m?nniskor?som individer?eftersom det finns kulturella regler de ?r vana vid och genom att l?ra sig n?gra av dessa innan vi g?r f?r du direkt en b?ttre input och bra start f?r kommunikation. I Sverige har vi ?ven dessa kurser p? universitetsniv?.
F?r tv? veckor sedan l?ste jag i en svensk tidning, som?anses vara en?trov?rdig tidning, Dagens Nyheter, att personer med h?gre utbildning har b?ttre h?lsa, ?ta h?lsosammare,?f?rre skilsm?ssor och de flesta r?star p? Moderaterna. Jag har f?rs?kt hitta artikeln igen. S? hur kommer?individualismen in?i denna rapport? Om vi ??ska f?lja statistiken som g?rs?via statliga st?d, s?ger inte detta?motsatsen till individualism?
Om vi ??alla ?r individer, varf?r m?ste vi prata om hur det fungerar i t.ex. Sicilien. Ber?tta f?r utvecklare fr?n utlandet att ha t?lamod, saker fungerar bakl?nges h?r, ber?tta f?r?sicilianare att vara i tid till konferenser etc. Varf?r vet du?att dina spanska kontakter st?nger telefonen och tar en timmes fikarast n?r den danska svarar i telefon ?ven under lunchen? ?r vi s? mycket individer som vi tror att vi ?r? Om jag beh?ver snabbt information, varf?r ringer jag min nordeuropeiska v?n ist?llet f?r kontoret i Milano?
Olika ?r inte d?ligt.?Illa ?r att leva i en illusion om att v?rlden ?r samma eller att vi inte ?r olika beroende p? l?nder, regioner, kulturer?och vanor. Vi skiljer oss. Vi p?verkas av kulturer, religioner och vald utbildning. Som mitt favorit citat lyder: S?g inte hur utbildad du??r, s?g mig hur mycket du rest. Jag har f?tt intrycket att i m?nga teoretiska l?nder tror vi mer?p? vad vi l?ser, n?gons statistik och psykologiska analys ?n att ?ppna v?ra ?gon och se verkligheten. V?rlden ?r annorlunda h?r, ?n det var p? den plats jag en g?ng kallade mitt hem.
Ta tvillingar. Skilj dem ?t. L?r dem?fritt sinne livsstilen, men s?tt en i Finland och en i Saudiarabien. Tror du verkligen att religion, kultur och den utbildning de v?ljer inte?p?verkar dem ?ven om de l?r sig samma individ filosofi?
Naturligtvis kan vi l?sa och f?rst? saker och ting p? olika s?tt. Men?finns det verkligen 6,7 miljarder olika/individuella s?tt att analysera en mening eller ett sammanhang? Finns det verkligen 6,7 miljarder olika s?tt att leva?
Och p? det personliga planet: varf?r var vi i b?rjan chockerade ?ver att m?ta en italienske?chef h?g p??r?ka i sitt kontor och aldrig tr?ffat en?chef i Tyskland i lika situation? Officiellt bes?k p? en strippklubb efter m?ten ?r vanliga i Asien och i v?stra Europa kan du inte tala om dessa saker.
De m?nniskor som t.ex. klarar sig b?st i internationella aff?rer ?r de som har kunskapen och f?rdigheter f?r att anpassa sig till olika situationer och kulturer.
Detta enligt mina erfarenheter.
———————————————
Eng: Some people move around and some people choose to stand still. In my opinion it’s an illusion to think that we all are 100% individuals or 100% the same. Are we different or are we the same? I guess we are both depending on what we talk about. The human basic needs are the same: we want to be loved and have people around to love, have a home, security, feel safe and major part has a pet.
I have thought about this for a long time as I come from a so called very free minded country where we learn to respect other cultures, choose whatever we want to become, learn about other religions etc. Where we?learn through the things we read. Moving to a country, or better to say to a region in Italy where things aren’t the same, where everything?is the opposite,?you also see that?regions only in Sicily differ alot. A country as Sweden where we are so open minded it’s really hard to think or be different. In Sicily where all have been so closed and is still quite strict (where alot happens in disguise) I have learned to be a free thinker and believe in what I see, not in what I read which is one of the best things I learned in life. You often hear Sicilians say: I am a realist. I believe in the things I see. Talk about statistics and analyses with a sicilian is like talking to a wall, no interest.
In many countries there’s alot of talk about individualism. Yes, in some things it’s right. We born as individuals, but we differ in small things. One likes to read, one not. One likes to travel, one not. One likes city life, the other country life. But we change as the persons we are, depending on where we live, how much we travel, what kind of education we have, what kind of people we meet and where we choose to live. I can’t say that I’m the same individual today as I was living in Sweden. I still work with other countries, more global than before, but I have changed. I have been effected by the italian and specially the sicilian?culture. Effected by other cultures i meet. Effected by all the travels I made in my life. I see much bigger regional differences only in Sicily. As south and north Sweden differ, so much more this tiny island. E.g. I had alot of problems with my open minded communication first year working in Sicily, the communication I had in Sweden but doesn’t work here and vice versa. The polite, it can be this way but on the other hand democratic communication doesn’t work here. You have to speak your mind very strictly or otherwise your mind will be spoken by other people. This is something I then have to think about talking with countries from north, not being so hard speaking.
But if we are so much individuals as modern countries preach, why do we e.g. in business learn about different behaviour in different countries? Things you should think about meeting a Saudi, meeting an american, meeting a Cinese? Here you can’t expect to treat people as indivduals as there are cultural rules they are used to and learning some of these before going gives you directly a better in put and good start of communication. In Sweden we also have these courses on university level.
Two weeks ago I read in?a Swedish news paper that is supposed to be a realible paper,?Dagens Nyheter,?that people with higher education have better health, eat healthier, less divorces and most vote at a political party called Moderaterna. I have tried to find that article. So?how do individualism enter in this report? If we should follow statistics made by government support, doesn’t this say the opposite to individualism?
If we all are individuals, why do we need to?talk about how it works in e.g. Sicily. Tell developers from abroad to have patience, things works backwards here, tell people here to be in time to conferences etc. Why do you know that your spanish contacts close the phone and take?one hour coffe break?when the danish answers his phone even during lunch break? Are we so much individuals as we think we are? If I?need fast information, why do I call my north european friend instead of the office in Milan?
Different ain’t bad. Bad is to live in an illusion that the world is the same or that we don’t differ depending on countries, regions?and habits.?We differ. We get effected by cultures, religions and chosen education. As my favorite quotation says: Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you travelled. I have the impression that in many theoretical countries we are stuck to believe in what we read, someones statistics and psycological analyses than to open up our eyes and see the reality. The world is different here, than it was in the place I once called home.
Take twins. Separate them. Learn them free minded life style, but put one in Finland and one in Saudi Arabia. To you really think that religion, culture and the education they choose don’t effect them even if they learn the same individual philosophy?
Of course we read and understand things in different way. But are there really?6,7?billion different/individual ways to analyse one sentence or one context? Are there really 6,7 billion different ways to live?
And on personal level: why was we in the beginning shocked to meet an italian?director high on pot in his office and never met a director in Germany like this? Officially visiting a strip club after meetings are common in Asia and in west Europe you don’t talk about these things.
The people that e.g. manage best in international business are those who have the knowledge and skills to adjust themselves?to different situations and cultures.
These are my experiences.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.