SV Business Etiquette 101

Daniel S. Lee, JD, MB- Executive Coordinator, Kotra SV Startup Center - SV Advisor, Actner-Lab IX IOT Incubator-Co-Organizer of Meet up Emerging Wearable and IOT Tech

SV Business Etiquette 101

Agenda:

1) Introductions2) Overview of US /SV Business Culture 3) Group Interaction 4) First time seeing a Person?5) Oral Conversation 6) Written Communication 7) Promise 8) Meeting 9) Avoid Vices 10) Negotiation 11) Rule of Summary

Intro: Etiquette<Culture<Mind • Q starting from Mind: Can your Korean mind

be compatible with American (SV) mind?

The thinker (Thinking man)

The meditator (Meditating Mi-traya)

By Auguste Rodin, 1880-1904)

By Unkown artist, AD. 7C, Three Dynasty, Shila

Renaissance Christian-ity

Early Korean Bud-dhism

Watching Gate of Hell, with Modern Rational-ism

Observing Life with Mercy of Ancient Zen Buddhism

Sylvester, the Cat Looney Tunes

The Cat, Korean Folk Paint-ing

By Friz Freleng 1946 U.S. Cartoonist

By Unkown artist, Late 18- early 19C

Modern US Pop Art Choseon Folk Art

Color: B/W + RFace: Humor US: Simple

Color: B/W+R+YFace: Humor Kor: Simple+ complex

Overview of US/ SV Business Cul-ture

Q: How would you describe the typical SV man?

National Culture- Goal and achievement oriented- Highly organized- Freedom-loving and self-sufficient- Work oriented and efficient- Friendly and informal

Corporate Culture Open/Innovative Risk taking Business altruismBusy+Fast

Professional CultureAcademia Enterprises/Firms Investments

Group Interactions in the Business (I)

Korea Silicon Valley

Universalist v. Particularist

Individualism v. Communitar-ianism

Neutral v. Emotional(Rational)

Specific v. Diffuse

Achievement v. Ascription

Scalable v. Containable

Exclusive v. Exhaustive

Group Interactions in the Business (II)

Traditional Culture Innovative Cul-ture

Your Culture

Directing Guiding

Competing Collaborating/ Coaching

Relying on rules Team activity

Lecturing Diversity/ Flexibil-ity

Secrecy Openness/sharing

Passive Active

Isolated decision Involvement of others

Leader makes follow-ers

Leader makes leaders

First time seeing a person?

• Shake hands (Hi, how are you?) • Exchange business cards (no push)• Make 1-2 pitch to introduce you• Take picture together • Follow up by: - email - linkedin - facebook

Conversation

• Yes or No (May be)• Eye contact (gen.interest) • Ask if U don’t know • Say 3: sorry,please, thank U• Presumption against Silence • No interruption (Excuse me* but it happens)

Written Communication

• Writing matters (SOF>Mylegs)

• No K w/o lawyer (al-ways)

• Never miss relevance (name& title)

• Spell check • Double Check before

sending

Promise

• Keep appointment/ promise • Be on time (or sloppy/

undisciplined) • 5min +/- OK, 15min= no-

tice • Time is of essence=meet

the deadline• Utilize Condition: condition

is mutually agreed upon promise modifier

Meeting

• Relax, Informal, Agenda, Short, Points

- Begins after short talks - Agenda distributed in

advance - Participation expected - Wrap up - Decision must be concrete

Avoid Vices • No Gossiping • No Bad words (Profanity,

fighting, indecent) • No Walking into office

w/o appointment• No Eavesdropping• No Phone during Meeting

• No Talking big two (Reli-

gion, Politics)

Negotiation I

How do Americans negotiate?-”Get the job done quick”-Assess the situation and get results quickly-Don’t spend too much time buildingLong term relationships-Message is conveyed through speech, not

through gestures

Negotiation II

How do Americans negotiate?-Time is money (Speedy Negotiation) -Set a schedule and prioritize (action plan+goal)-Take a risk-Let the senior executive make the final decision-Detailed contract will formalize negotiation

Negotiation III

• How to negotiate effectively? - By Numbers (use statistics) - With Key person (decision maker) - For agreement (sign for K)

Effective Customer Service in American Culture

• Listen• Accept and strive for change • Constant improvement is necessary• Remember the target customer and ask what

they want

• Empower, support, and reward frontline or in-terface people

• Provide infrastructure to support goals• Provide training and information to achieve

goals

Rule Summary for Korean Busi-nessmen

• Be punctual. Arrive 5 to 15 minutes prior to appointment.• Eye contact is expected and shows confidence. • May begin with direct questions or minimal small talk.• Say most important things first, then explain why. • Always go by substantive issues, not collateral• No interruption when other is talking • Questions regarding age, race, sex, and marital status are illegal.• Direct questions regarding competency, experience are common.• Open discussion of accomplishments and skills shows confidence.• Show clear self knowledge, career goals and long-term plans.• Self-disclosure of strengths, weaknesses, personality, leadership

style, problem-solving abilities, etc. may be appropriate if neces-sary in context.

• Researching the organization and demonstrating that knowledge during the interview is expected, because it shows initiative and interest.

• Always follow up with meeting.

Thank you

Contact Daniel Lee, JD, MBA Executive Coordinator Kotra Startup Center

startupc@kotrasv.org