Lesions Learned from Managing Projects in 40+ Countries Mark Hehl mhehl@charter.net +1 203 982 6231 (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

Amusing Confessions of an International Consultant The How and Why Cultural Issues On The Lighter Side - Amusing Experiences Interesting Facilities - To Say The Least Some are hard to believe Successful Projects (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

(c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved Cultural Faux Pas “It Is Not Right Or Wrong, Good Or Bad, Is Just Different” (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

Not Engaging The Culture = Company Failure Asian customer – Chinese Supplier No understanding or engagement of Chinese culture Constant conflict World recession – late 2008 Material prices dropped significantly Refusal to lower kit price Reason – Cultural Difficulties (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

The day the lights went out in China (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

No Christmas Deliveries This company lost $5 MILLION in sales Supplier orders placed late No pushback from Chinese suppliers Late supplier deliveries Missed Christmas sales Management personnel forced out (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

(c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved On The Lighter Side JUST AMUSING EXPERIENCES (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

“But I Do Not Know How To Drive (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

Eating Breakfast With A Famous Actor

Do Fire Extinguishers Need To Work? (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

No Scrambled Eggs For Me This cook just could not do it! (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

Left Handed Chopsticks (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

Interesting Situations –To Say The Least! (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

(c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved Why Does He Care? Assembly plant in China Noted foul smell Caution - do not breathe vapor or allow to come in contact with skin Operators could not read label No protection Management reaction???????? (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

The Employees Were Eating Lunch On The Floor Assembly plant in Asia (not China) Driving into facility Dark inspection final area No table for employees to eat on Mobile phone use while product was moving on conveyor Supplier visit disaster (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

Paying To Make A Bad Situation Worse Large US multinational corporation Data base defect reduction Six Sigma project Team composition Constant changes in individuals Management personnel (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

This one almost killed me Taiwan owned facility located in China Air shower – back door open Quality manager availability Measurements – computer Dirty table Replacement parts - warranty (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

This one almost killed me No direct phone lines, phone or fax File folders Inventory control Hotel bathroom Taxi drivers (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

There Were Many Positive Outcomes Most projects were successful $11 million annual savings Two lean projects at a Far East location $4 million annual savings Inadvertent result of a process mapping exercise in the USA 40% production volume increase with no increase in cost Lean project in Latin America (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

(c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved Closing Remarks Learn and apply the culture Opportunities still exist in low cost regions Avoid being infatuated by a low price alone Look carefully before you leap (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

(c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved Closing Remarks Engage a competent professional to evaluate your prospective business partner Identify and consider hidden costs Identify risks Time on the ground Learn and apply the culture (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved

(c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved Questions I thank you for allowing me to be of service Mark Hehl mhehl@charter.net +1 203 982 6231 (c) 2017, Mark Hehl, all rights reserved