Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
andsuperiorshavefacedsimilarchallenges,andobservingthemhasal-
lowedmetodrawknowledgefromtheirexperiencesaswell.Inthisbook,
theexamplesIdescribe,forthemostpart,comefromtheorganizations
withwhichIworked,butafewarederivedfromothercompanies.Allof
them,however,lendthemselvesasstartingpointstoengaginginsuccess-
fulinterculturalcommunicationinnotonlythestandardstagesofteam-
work,butalsoinitsmorecriticalmoments.
Currently,Iusemycollectionofexperiencestoadvisecompanies
onhowtheyshouldfurtherdeveloptheinterculturalintelligenceoftheir
workers.Afterall,itisoneofthemostimportant–albeitunderappreciated
–skillsofa21stcenturyleader.Ialsohelpexpatsadapttolifeandworkin
Poland,and,ontheflip-side,helpPolespreparingtomoveabroad,either
forbusinesstripsorlongerrelocations.
Ihavealwaysyearnedtotravel,whichiswhyIchosemystudiesand
careerpathwiththisdreaminmind.DuringmystudiesattheJagiellonian
UniversityofCracow,whereImajoredinArabicPhilology,Ispentayear
abroadinBaghdad,onascholarshipattheUniversityofAl-Mustransiriya.
ThistookplaceduringtheIranianwar,backwhenSaddamHusainwas
stilltheWest’sgoodfriend.Istillrememberwatchingthenews;televised
coverageshowingthecorpsesofIraniansoldiersbeingthrownintomass
graves,allwhiletriumphantorchestralmusicplayedinthebackground.
IlivedthroughanumberofIranianbombattacks,thenearestofwhichfell
threekilometersfromme,whileanotherdemolishedtheacademicdorm
inwhichIstayedonlytwoweeksprior.
Aftermystudies,Iexpandedmylanguagecompetenciesbyworking
asatranslatorinLibya.Myrolealsoencompassedtheofbuildingcultural
bridgesofunderstandingbetweenPolishcompaniesandthelocalbureau-
cracy…moreoftenthannot,italsoencompassedbailingPolishdrivers
outofthelocalpolice’sarrest.
It’sdifficultformetoseparatemyprivateandworkinglifefromone
another,astheyhavealmostalwaysbeenintertwined.Imarriedmywife
andmyex-companyinthesameyear.Theformergavemeawonderful
17
