(Bk Business) Carol Kinsey Goman Ph.D.-The Nonverbal Advantage_ Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work -Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2008)

146 The Nonverbal Advantage
“We’re not adapting quickly to the new global
economy. But yesterday I had Mexican food for lunch,
and today I’m having Chinese. It’s a start!”
Japan. It was an important evening for the civic leaders of a
midwestern city. The local chamber of commerce was hosting
a dinner for the Japanese executives, who were considering
locating a factory in that city. And everything seemed to
go wrong.
The cultural mishaps started when the chamber president
was formally introduced to the top-ranking Japanese
executive. The president held out this hand for a shake; the
Japanese chairman bowed. The president then hastily bowed,
while his Japanese counterpart thrust out his hand. To the
embarrassment of all, this gestural dance continued for several
minutes.
Then things got worse.
When everyone was finally seated for dinner, the welcoming
gifts for members of the Japanese contingent
were opened. They were lovely pocketknives, handsomely
engraved with the name of the Japanese company. Unfortunately,
the gift givers didn’t realize that knives are a Japanese
symbol suggesting suicide.
By the end of the evening, the city officials had managed
to offend all their guests—without saying a word.