I will be the pattern of all patience; I will say nothing.

I’m generally skeptical of anything in the organisation that calls itself a “summit”. A summit is the top of a mountain. But over at the Big Why, a summit is where we aim to gather, take stock, learn and move on.

The ascend to the summit began yesterday for me, with a few meetings and greetings. It’s particularly difficult as an I to do these things, and it’s so tiring. At the end of the day I don’t want to talk any more. Even Mr C gets mostly nods and umms instead of words and sentences (after I’m done dishing my highlights).

But you know what, it is always interesting. Let it not be said that my time at the Big Why was ever boring.

What I noticed at these summits (I’ve only ever been to two, so I’m taking some liberties to generalise) is that we all work for the same company, but we’re all so very different. It’s a culturally diverse company. Our markets are even more diverse.

I’m getting a vibe from these sessions. I don’t know exactly what the “specificities” are, but it’s a vibe from just watching the interaction and connecting them to the discussions I’ve had with various folks I work with. Can’t really put my finger exactly on it, but I’m getting there, I think.

Generalise
It would seem from what I saw today Americans are uninhibited with their views. Europeans are inquisitive. Asians are a rather quiet lot. In fact, if not for the lone Indian who, once in a while chimed in, the East Asians pretty much said nothing.

Which could stem from several factors:

1. Perceived language incapacity
2. Nonchalance
3. Unwillingness to sound contrarian
4. Unwillingness to add noise
5. Introversion or aversion to draw attention to ourselves

Whatever the reason, I’ll generalise my observations, since N’s like me like doing this stuff:

• The people who think out loud, really shouldn’t, especially at an engagement where dozens of other people have to indulge you with their time and half the time they really spend thinking about how to shut you up. With bits of string and a blunt knife.
• East Asians do a relatively poorer job of representing themselves whatever the reason, and somehow come off as nonchalant or bored or both.
• A good presentation voice and pace makes for a quick presentation.
• People like repeating mantras and catch phrases.

I guess summits are fun. After all, the view is different from the top. It’s fun being privy to this perspective, and I will actually try to enjoy it tomorrow. Actually, later today.