Last Monday (01/25/2016), we had our kick off meeting for the International Institute course with Courtney Kingston. Courtney has a great experience and she was practically raised in Chile, her family owns real estate in Chile for almost a 100 years. Her grandfather bought a farm near Santiago in the heart of the Casa Blanca Valley, after getting involved in mining and dairy, the new generation leaded by Courtney decided to enter the winery market.
According to Courtney, the decision to enter the winery market wasn’t an easy one, the process was both slow and painful. Their initial strategy was to introduce high-end grapes (Pinot Noir and Syrah) and sell it to wineries in California and Chile. Although the conversation was very interesting, what really caught my attention was Courtney’s insights about the differences in the way to do business in a global perspective.
As the world goes more and more global, businesses have a need to negotiate with different stakeholders (i.e. international vendors and clients) from around globe. Courtney advised us to take this trip as an opportunity to learn more about how business people in Chile make decisions, observe the culture, and interact with Chileans as much as possible. After our meeting, I did some research on websites to find out a little more about business etiquette and costumes in Chile.
I found couple interesting websites on Chilean business environment, usual costumes and communication tips.
According to Courtney, the decision to enter the winery market wasn’t an easy one, the process was both slow and painful. Their initial strategy was to introduce high-end grapes (Pinot Noir and Syrah) and sell it to wineries in California and Chile. Although the conversation was very interesting, what really caught my attention was Courtney’s insights about the differences in the way to do business in a global perspective.
As the world goes more and more global, businesses have a need to negotiate with different stakeholders (i.e. international vendors and clients) from around globe. Courtney advised us to take this trip as an opportunity to learn more about how business people in Chile make decisions, observe the culture, and interact with Chileans as much as possible. After our meeting, I did some research on websites to find out a little more about business etiquette and costumes in Chile.
I found couple interesting websites on Chilean business environment, usual costumes and communication tips.
- http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/etiquette/doing-business-chile.html
- https://www.pwc.com/cl/es/publicaciones/assets/doingbusiness.pdf