BUSINESS CULTURE:During Ireland's rapid economic expansion over the past few decades, one debate continues: whether Ireland does, or should, align itself more closely with the European model or the US, writes Dominic Coyle.
Reduced to the sound bite of "Boston or Berlin" it reflects the clash between our natural affinity with Europe - both geographically and through our membership of the European Union - and our ties with the US, the most significant source of the foreign direct investment.
For its part, Irish business has tended to favour the Boston model. But how closely do we mirror the business culture of our Atlantic cousins and does it really matter anyway?
Whether it matters depends largely on the type of business you're involved with. If your business is purely domestic such as, for instance, the residential construction sector, or is wholly or largely dependent on relationships with the UK - still our largest single trading partner - and Continental Europe, then you could not care less about the need to interract with the US model.
However, the engine of the Irish economy is increasingly the services sector. And, whether you are a firm of professionals looking to supply support services to the plethora of Irish-based subsidiaries in the IFSC and elsewhere, or a software company looking to link up with one of the giants of Silicon Valley, the US is an area that cannot be ignored.
There are significant cultural differences between the two markets. While the US market is undoubtedly results driven, the American approach is remarkably informal by European standards. The surest way of identifying a European businessman in California is to spot who is wearing a tie. Some of the excesses of the dressed-down dotcom boom may have been quietly dropped in those companies that have survived and grown to maturity, but a necktie is still an alien concept for all but the most formal business occasions.
From a European perspective, a more shocking element of the US informality can be the relatively "flat" hierarchical structure. It can be difficult for the uninitiated to determine exactly what the pecking order is within some office environments.
US executives feel restricted by the studied structure of many European corporations - the formality of handshakes before at almost any meeting, regardless of how well the parties know each other, and the disapproval of anything but the most indirect insinuation of business affairs at corporate lunches.
And that brings us to possibly the area with the most stark difference in approach on either side of the Atlantic - networking. European executives, including Irish business leaders, have yet to fully come to terms with the US approach to networking. Over here, networking tends to be confined to set situations such as a prearranged meal or a sociable drink.
Even then, the unspoken rules reflect the more cautious and etiquette-driven approach prevalent this side of the Atlantic. Such events, where they happen at all, are seen more as an opportunity to get to know a business colleague, potential partner or client, rather than a time to pitch or win business.
There have, of course, been a number of attempts to establish more Americanised networking ventures - but they have all struggled for traction. In large part this is because they miss the point. American executives don't require a formalised structure to network; it is part of their business psyche.
Put a US executive in a space with a potential client, partner or anyone who can help them grow their business and they will immediately make their case. Not to do so simply does not enter their heads. Not for nothing did the US invent the term "elevator pitch". In Ireland, and Europe generally, we view programmes such as Dragon's Den with the same grim fascination as a car crash. We may have a sneaking regard for the courage of the contestants to take such a public risk for their business, but it is not something most of us would feel comfortable doing ourselves.
Recently, at a very high profile event in California featuring a number of Irish executives and more than 100 key Irish-American players in Silicon Valley, the two approaches were illustrated starkly.
A number of the Irish executives stayed close to their colleagues and, even where they did move around, generally stuck to small talk.
By contrast, the US-based business leaders - almost all born in Ireland - were quick to avail of any opportunity available.
One executive from a renewable energy company found himself face-to-face with a leading figure from one of Ireland's development agencies.
After only the most cursory introductions, he was pressing the case for his sector and his company, and looking for support for that business in the Irish market.
At the end of the evening, a very senior computer industry figure complained that he still did not know who the Irish executives were. "They're just not using this opportunity," he said. "I cannot guarantee them a deal, but I can open the door for them and put them in touch with the people they should be talking to. Like most of us in the Irish-American community here, I'm more than happy to do that for people from home, but they have to approach me. I can't help them if they won't talk to me."
If indigenous firms want to make an impression in the US, they need to start playing by local rules. A large, well-positioned and well-disposed Irish-American lobby can be a valuable ally but travelling executives need to make the first move.
