Nicholas Craig column

Jan 26 2007 By Nicholas Craig Column, The Journal

After the jet-lag it's the sudden return of winter that jolts me into the reality of working life again. Six weeks of Australasian weather and the everlasting welcome of the people there do very little for my slightly battered protestant work ethic.

Yet coming back now, having missed the Christmas scrum and sales, the round of corporate events, and the seasonally affected writer's cramp from trying to write legible Christmas cards, I feel I've been away many, many months.

There's a significant change in momentum at work and at my village.

There's a notion of spring in the air, and worrying intimations of spring-cleaning not far behind.

The Press is advertising three times as many jobs and houses seem to be selling much more quickly than in the dozy days of December.

Being away from home re-sets perceptions. I'm charmed again at the Englishness of Northumberland as you fly into the region, and I'm genuinely pleased to feel the nip in the air that was missing in the dank, mild days before I left for Australia.

After the enthusiastic embrace of Australia and New Zealand life, it is a bit of a relief to witness the more reserved courtesies of my British colleagues. I could take it personally, but I prefer to think of their friendly distance as a national characteristic.

Globalisation will bring our companies much closer, sharing processes, targets and achievements. It will never, however, replace the intricacies of national cultures. Each country is imprinted with idiosyncrasies so deep they can never be erased.

Doing business with China, as I have for many years, means learning new ways of greeting and interacting with colleagues, and respecting their long-held business practices.

Australia and America can bluff you into believing a remnant of good old Blighty remains in the old colonies. It doesn't.

Both countries are as foreign in their cultural priorities, approach to business and social lives as China is to Britain.

Doing business with Australia or New Zealand would, I'm sure, be as enjoyable as it would be productive. The potential of both countries is very impressive.

I've returned with some extraordinary memories of great experiences.

The tour was full of surprises, almost all pleasant - apart from those calamitous cricket scores.