LIES, BRIBES & PERIL: LESSONS FOR THE REAL CHALLENGES OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

By Ron Cruse

Book Overview

The author came to realize an understanding of culture is elemental to success and achievement. By chronicling and attempting to lend some understanding to cultural disparities, the book will offer insights and practical solutions to the cultural challenges that can seem so complex and can make worldwide endeavors so daunting. The lessons learned over thirty-five years of globetrotting are not to be found in college or business schools, yet they can help serve as an indispensable guide to achievement in any endeavor. These lessons are as critical for those selling computers in Europe or Asia, politicians attempting to impact world events, international lawyers trying to guide their clients, peacekeepers operating around the globe, or practically anyone pursuing any global activity. In today's multicultural and racially diverse tapestry across the United States, these simple lessons can also pay big dividends right here. All cultures, whether those of countries, tribes, or organizations, around the world possess a pyramid of values. The descending order of values, from the most cherished to those less so, on those pyramids affects perceptions, actions, logic, legal frameworks, and even danger very differently. It is in the interaction between cultures, when values are not aligned on the respective pyramids, that misunderstandings, harsh judgement, and real problems develop.Against the backdrop of thrity years of globetrotting, the book will demonstrate how lessons in culture, with the intrinsic components of logic, face, communications, accommodation, and law, can be instrumental to understanding, and hence successfully accomplishing undertakings across our often perilous and risky world. Intertwined with these cultural components are lessons in negotiation, problem solving, and the practicalities of international travel. These concepts demonstrate how critical the application of simple rules can be to accomplishment. Lastly, this book hopes to establish how essential developing and trusting intuition can be to assisting decision making and planning--as much of everyday thinking, feeling, and acting operate outside conscious awareness. It will be evident that the application of these lessons can be the difference between sweet success and bitter failure in global pursuits-no matter the endeavor.To appreciate how the lessons were garnered and formed, and how important they have been, the author starts at the beginning of his adventures in "the mud," the "Third World" or "developing nations," as political correctness came to dictate. Beginning in the sands of the Arabian Peninsula in the early 1980s the journey winds from Saudi Arabia across the Middle East, throughout Africa and Asia, into Russia and the new republics formed after the fall of the former Soviet Union. Then, following the history-altering events of September 11, 2001, the author encounters the most extreme and dangerous situations in the ancient lands of Afghanistan and Iraq. Following almost a decade of preoccupation in these insurgency torn regions, a hunch would takes him circling back to India, throughout Africa, and into China chasing new undertakings.The continual encounters with culturally rooted lies, bribes, and peril presented regular blows of varying degrees of anguish and often a bit of humor.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B08QG7V478
• ISBN13: 9798580912875
• Release Date: December 2020
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

What they didn't teach you in business school about international business

This book is chock full of practical advice and knowledge about conducting business internationally. You won't learn its lessons in business school. This book is an opportunity to learn from an expert who has lived its experiences and who is sharing his knowledge with others. It is not only informative, but enjoyable.

Never More Relevant

Don't think for a minute that, just because the marketplace is now global, the challenges of dealing with foreign cultures are any the less daunting. Quite to the contrary: it takes real skill, sensitivity, knowledge -- not to mention guts -- to do business in war-torn or economically ravished areas. That being the case, Ron Cruse's book has today an extraordinary immediacy and impact. This author is a great storyteller and a great teacher. He mines his own astonishing experience for lessons that international businesspeople of every stripe must fully digest if they hope to be successful in far-flung regions. Actually, it's not just for businesspeople. Lies, Bribes & Peril engages all readers who love vivid narratives and unforgettable stories.

Great Read - fast, furious, funny and insightful.

I don't usually take the time to write reviews, but this book was such a fun read I thought I would share my opinion...This author has lessons for everyone - from public affairs executives to business leaders to military leaders and government officials alike. If you are looking for theory - skip this book. The author does not waste your time. If you are looking for real life lessons on global business and cultural engagement learned the hard way (by living through them) this is exactly what you are looking for. I read the entire book during one trip and within days found myself already putting the lessons to good use.

A Critical Read

Ron Cruse is one of the few people to have traveled to and worked in virtually every country on the planet. He brings a unique perspective that every business person and every student needs, if they hope to successfully conduct business globally. Written in the informative and entertaining style of his own experiences, readers gain important knowledge about how to do business internationally, while experiencing one "Holy Cow!" moment after another. Mr. Cruse made many mistakes as a young business man. He has written about them so that you don't have to. He subsequently sold two international businesses, so I would say he learned expertly from his own mistakes. This is an indispensable business book.

Lessons they don't teach you in business school...

Ron Cruse is a master storyteller who takes humor and factual information and turns them into practical lessons that provide the reader with a wealth of insight into doing business in foreign countries. The simple yet profound lessons found in every chapter are based upon his own extraordinary experiences in more than 80 countries while creating three very successful companies. His book shows how some things that are well accepted at home can turn into blunders or bloopers abroad. His flair for vivid storytelling makes this book a page turner that is hard to put down! This book is a must-read primer for anyone planning to succeed in international business!