Home to help: Fernando Parrado leads Colombian business across the cultural bridge

Fernando Parrado. Courtesy Global Minds S.A.S.

His need to learn English led him away. His desire to help Colombia brought him back. Fernando Parrado is the founder of Global Minds S.A.S., an intercultural consultancy headquartered in Bogotá.

Based on personal experience and bolstered by original research, Fernando’s tools help visiting business executives navigate the complexity of Colombian business customs and prepare Colombia’s future business leaders for greater success at home and abroad.

His clients have included the Colombian export agency Procolombia, dairy giant Alpina, hotel chain Sofitel, and many Fortune 500 companies.

You’ve said you’re “more Colombian than Ajiaco.” What led you to leave?

I had just finished two engineering degrees and was looking for a job. I didn’t want to leave Colombia, but the best opportunities called for English as well as engineering and at the time I didn’t speak it. So I went to the U.S. to study.

I had planned to stay for three months. I stayed 10 years. I did a Master’s degree at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and started working there immediately afterwards.

I had planned to stay for three months. I stayed 10 years.

The Master’s degree taught me about statistics and science. But living in the U.S. taught me how to live on my own and succeed in another culture. Those were bigger steps for me.

On one hand I was working as an engineer at the university. On the other I was introducing Knoxville to Latin American culture through an events marketing company I had created.

Building the company taught me how to approach and sell to American companies.

Building the company taught me how to work in American business culture – specifically, how to approach and sell to American companies. By the time I left we had landed Budweiser, Cingular, East Bank, and Bank of America as sponsors.

Why did you come back?

I was at the point where I needed to apply for a Green Card. I had a good job and the support of the University. But a Green Card would have meant I was staying in the U.S. permanently, which I wasn’t ready to do.

I remembered my professors saying I had to help Colombia. And I wanted to help.

My parents were alone in Bogotá. And I remembered my professors and high school teachers saying I had to help Colombia. And I wanted to help. I came back in 2006.

How bad was the culture shock when you came back?

Severe. I was unaware of how many American cultural habits I had adopted. It was a lot more than just speaking English. My entire way of thinking had changed, especially in a business context.

My approach to communication, negotiation, time frames – all had changed from the Colombian way of doing things.

Can you give me some examples?

Let’s start with time frames. We agreed on a time and place for this interview three weeks ago. This is an American approach, not a Latin American or Colombian one.

Typically, if you were to ask someone from Latin America for a meeting at 2 PM in a specific place three weeks from now there’s very little chance they’d show up. Our time frames are shorter. The farthest out we look is about a week or two. We don’t take a long-term view.

The farthest out we look is a week or two. We don’t take a long-term view.

Now take negotiations. Generally, Americans will aim for a win-win deal regardless of who’s at the table. With Colombians it’s win-lose. Always. There needs to be a loser at the table. It took me two years to understand that. Now I teach it in two hours.

Communication styles are also incredibly different. Americans get right to the point. Colombians are indirect. They go around the point, sometimes several times.

Americans get right to the point. Colombians go around it.

Also, you’re not supposed to disagree directly or openly with your manager. So, in meetings you need to read between the lines to know what people think. You need to read their posture and their tone of voice.

We also want to take our time. A meeting that shouldn’t take more than half an hour in the U.S. can take two hours down here.

We spend a lot of time focusing on past failures. American business culture focuses on future success.

Our approach to problem solving is also different. We spend a lot of time focusing on past failures. American business culture focuses on future success. The emphasis is on innovation. It’s a more confident posture.

President Santos has stressed the importance of innovation to Colombia’s future. It’s a good idea, but I’m not sure it will work. Our culture is more traditional. We don’t like change.

What about the business culture more broadly? What can Colombian businesses learn from the American approach?

Professional development is largely missing from Colombian business culture. Most of the American executives I work with are here to improve their Spanish or add international experience to their CV. It’s part of their career path.

For Colombians it’s different. Their career path is dictated by what their parents want them to do. Sometimes there’s not even that.

Professional development is largely missing from Colombian business culture.

There’s less of an emphasis on your skills here, even when you’re applying for a job. U.S. recruiters will always ask about your skill set. There’s nothing like that here. Colombian society is very hierarchical and class-conscious. Recruiters here are more interested in where you live and where you went to school.

You’ve been back as long as you were away. Do you feel Colombian again?

Not entirely. I consider myself bilingual and bicultural. I can run a meeting here in a way that any American would recognize. But I can also switch back to a Colombian approach if need be.

If I’m meeting with someone in government – a Minister, for example – I’ll work in the Colombian mode because it’s unlikely they’ve had any exposure to different ways of working.

I can run a meeting here in a way that any American would recognize. But I can also switch back to a Colombian approach.

Also, I don’t get angry anymore if I’m in a meeting with Colombians and they speak around the point, or if the key decision-maker doesn’t show up and everything gets delayed. I know it’s just the Colombian way.

If it was this difficult for me to come back to my home country, how difficult must it be for a foreigner?

Still, it took me a long time to re-learn all this. At one point I thought, if it was this difficult for me to come back to my home country, how difficult must it be for a foreigner? That’s the idea that led to Global Minds.

Tell me more about Global Minds. What are your focus areas? How is it helping Colombia?

We focus on three areas. The first is to help foreign executives understand Colombian business culture so they can achieve their goals. Our clients know they’ll lose time and money if they can’t navigate the culture.

In the second part we’ve developed tools to evaluate the readiness of Colombian companies to expand internationally. Unfortunately, most simply aren’t ready. In most cases their executives don’t speak English, which is a big problem.

Most Colombian companies aren’t ready to expand internationally. 

To address this we’ve created a research group to study cultural differences as part of the MBA programs at Santo Tomás and Sergio Arboleda universities here in Bogotá.

We’re preparing the new generation of Colombian executives to work internationally. We’re helping them to be more competitive globally. This wouldn’t have been possible had I not lived in the U.S.

We’re helping the next generation of Colombian executives to be more competitive globally. This wouldn’t have been possible had I not lived in the U.S.

The third area is to help Colombians themselves be more competitive. For example: if I’m in a meeting with a client with Colombians and Americans present, I lead it according to American standards.

We start on time and get straight to the point. We don’t leave the topic to talk about soccer or soap operas. We finish when we said we’d finish. If someone doesn’t agree with me they can tell me directly. Colombians learn a lot just by watching how it’s done.

What other changes need to happen for Colombia to advance?

Our universities need to be more international. We’re still too local. Every American professor I work with has either taught or done research outside their home country.

Our universities need to be more international. We’re still too local.

There’s nothing like that in our universities. They don’t see the value. Professors in Bogotá struggle to get to Cartagena. It’s almost unheard of for them to do anything in the U.S.

You also help Colombia’s youth through La Fundación Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes here in Bogotá. Tell me about that.

The Fundación works with young girls from disadvantaged families who are at risk of falling into crime or prostitution. When I discovered it I realized it was a chance to help Colombia, which was why I had returned.

My wife and I have sponsored two of the girls. One is now almost done university, the other is finishing high school. I also created a computer lab that everyone can use. Now these girls can have a better life.

One of the benefits of seeing your country from the outside is seeing elements outside your comfort zone.

One of the benefits of seeing your country from the outside is seeing elements outside your comfort zone. When I came back to Colombia I saw how many girls here are at risk. There are kids here who’ve never seen a swimming pool.

Also, I didn’t have a job when I came back to Bogota and it was difficult for me to readjust to the culture. I met a lot of people who helped me re-establish myself here.

Email Fernando or reach him by phone at +57 300 678 0566

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