Oh, and your last sentence reminded me of something else. My Swiss company was bought by a large American Silicon Valley company. The first time the C-level staff came for an all-hands meeting was a strange experience.
The Americans were smiley and happy and joking around in the front of the large meeting room... I think I'm becoming more European because I felt like they looked like idiots (idiot in the literal sense). The Europeans (about 100) were quiet as they usually are in meetings - some polite chuckles when an American would tell a joke during his talk, but they were getting frustrated at how long the Americans were taking to get to the point.
I spoke with one of the C-level staff afterwards and I had to assure him that the Europeans weren't upset about the takeover - most of us were happy for it. The Europeans were just more serious and respectful than the Americans were used to.
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Oh, and your last sentence reminded me of something else. My Swiss company was bought by a large American Silicon Valley company. The first time the C-level staff came for an all-hands meeting was a strange experience.
The Americans were smiley and happy and joking around in the front of the large meeting room... I think I'm becoming more European because I felt like they looked like idiots (idiot in the literal sense). The Europeans (about 100) were quiet as they usually are in meetings - some polite chuckles when an American would tell a joke during his talk, but they were getting frustrated at how long the Americans were taking to get to the point.
I spoke with one of the C-level staff afterwards and I had to assure him that the Europeans weren't upset about the takeover - most of us were happy for it. The Europeans were just more serious and respectful than the Americans were used to.