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It’s all about the personal touch
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Posted on Jun 16 2005
I’m glad school is over. Now I can start commenting again on negative remarks and impractical suggestions from people like Dr. Jesus Camacho. Dr. Camacho is at it again, giving advice that I am sure he knows won’t work for high-profile negotiation. Imagine the Japan Airlines executives doing a video conferencing with the JAL mission group headed by the governor. How could you convince these high and mighty executives of one of the world’s biggest airlines from one of the most powerful countries and one of the biggest economies in the whole world to sit down and talk to a video camera? What kind of mentality is that? This video conferencing was even declared ineffective for purposes of distance learning; how much more for high profile negotiation? And this is even if the conferencing is on real time.
If our JAL mission group cannot even go to Japan to discuss this very important issue that will affect our economy, do you think the Japanese executives will even take a second look to consider our proposal? We are a small dot in their global plan; we do not make a difference in their perception, so how can you catch their attention if you are not physically present there?
When Bill Gates addressed the employees of Apple Computer at the time when Microsoft declared that it would be investing almost a billion dollars to revive Apple, he gave his address through the latest technology—video conferencing or something equivalent to such technology. The employees heard him speak, and he heard the employees howl and boo him for his impersonal approach.
A personal touch works well with Asian culture. If Dr. Jesus Camacho had been away too long to forget that, then why not visit our island once in a while and revive the value that he might have already lost? Maybe, he’ll learn a little from us, even if we are just a dot in his perception.
Lyna Vizconde
San Diego,California
