Leveling With Clients
Whether an employer, a client, a customer or a partner, I have realized that the people that we work for always have the tendency of bringing us to their level, whether that is higher or lower than where we currently are.
I think that part of the anxiety that I experience working for clients in Asia, in particular those in Bangalore, is related to the ongoing financial anxiety that has been accepted as a reality of their business practice. So my emotional reaction is that somehow they are lowering me down to their level. It is not that they are tremendously intelligent, because they are. But their fiscal reality is played out on a national and international scale.
On the other hand, my sense is that, for the clients I work for based in Europe and the US, they are more concerned about reputation than they are concerned about financial performance (just a little), so my experience is that they are raising me up to their level.
“On paper” clients in Asia and clients in Europe and America look pretty much the same. Indian rates are lower, but Japanese rates are higher, due to the exchange rate. Nonetheless, there is something there, some lingering sensation of anxiety transmitted through emails and voice mail messages, that begs a more intuitive, and less rational, explanation.
Current World Economy
I am a Japanese-English technical documents translator. In the last decade, Bangalore has become the new global hub for Japanese translations. When I started my career, the hub was New York. So I have had several opportunities to work with someone in Bangalore basically as my boss (technically, my client, but still). A couple of years ago, I was working for GSK doing software testing. The developers were in Bangalore, so I was sort of a peer vendor to the WiPro developers.
+Henry Browne Since I have had some time to think about what I wrote, I started thinking things similar to what you have said. On so many fronts, the US is loosing its supremacy; not to the USSR (may she rest in peace) or the old colonial powers, but to the countries that were the colonies, namely China and India. I wonder if, as they continue to gain in financial and technical dominance, their long histories and deep cultures will make their primacy more permanent? The world is changing, and so much remains to be seen.
+Shannon Ware At the end of the day, businesses from China and India are very competitive. Of all the things that American culture has lost in the past 60 years, I think the biggest thing is the sense of urgency in competition.
And I have a choice to make for my self. Do I work for reputation? Do I work for competitive edge? Or do I work for money? My wife says, it is about the money.
Melting Economies, Melting Minds
I will leave you with the latest thing melting minds in Japan, “Currently Airing | Year: 2011”
