Negotiations in Israel

In a recent article, “Getting to Si, Ja, Oui and Da,” published by the Harvard Business Review (HBR) (https://hbr.org/2015/12/getting-to-si-ja-oui-hai-and-da), the author – Erin Meyer – refers to the two main parameters that impact most negotiations between people from different cultures: emotional expressiveness and confrontationalism.

The chart below sorts nationalities according to how confrontational and emotionally expressive they are in their style of negotiation:

Israel’s position on this chart is accurate and interesting. It shows a country that uses both an emotionally expressive and confrontational style of dialogue. In Israel people are used to debates and open disagreement, which are viewed as positive engagement even if not expressed calmly. Israelis emotionally express whatever they are thinking or feeling. They commonly raise their voices during negotiations as well as laugh passionately and even put a friendly arm around you, without paying any attention to the boundaries of personal space. Israeli culture encourages discussion and voicing your own opinion; someone will always ask “why?” and someone will always try to get the price down.

Working as an organizational consultant in global companies has given me the opportunity to hear many stories highlighting cultural differences. Here is a nice example of Israeli behavior in negotiations and how a person from a different culture perceives it:

Alan, an American businessperson who came to Israel years ago, told me about his first meeting in Israel before his start-up company was acquired by an Israeli firm.

The meeting started off with a pleasant atmosphere, including food, warm small talk and smiles. However, the two Israeli executives sitting on either side of him fairly quickly began to argue loudly about several critical points in the contract. The Israelis seemed angry and switched to Hebrew. Of course Alan could not understand, but he gathered from the loud tones, rapid hand movements and contorted facial expressions that there were some major obstacles to closing the deal. He was sure it had fallen through. To his great surprise, at the end of the meeting the Israeli men put their hands on each other’s shoulders and, smiling, said: “So, what are we having for lunch?” For Alan, this was a shock. How could they go on as though nothing was wrong after raising their voices in such apparent anger?

The punch line is that the agreement was signed after lunch, and Alan has been working in the merged Israeli company ever since.

In our global world, many businesspeople lack the knowledge required for international negotiations, meaning that the basic elements of negotiation are not enough. Even if you understand the local language, it doesn’t mean you know how to recognize body language or comprehend the values and mindset of the other culture. Only by having all this knowledge will you be able to minimize the cultural differences and negotiate successfully.

Anyone interested in better understanding Israeli business culture, its roots and characteristics, is invited to purchase the book Israeli Business Culture on Amazon. This practical book combines background information with real-life anecdotes and recommendations for good cross-cultural communication.

Read more about the author of the book and the blog, Osnat Lautman, and the services offered by the company OLM Consulting, at the websitewww.olm-consulting.com.