By Sam Robinson
I was lucky enough to go on a 2-week family trip to Vietnam in April. Among the bánh mì, pho, history and shopping, the trip inspired some thinking about leadership and culture.
Crossing the road in Hanoi
For Westerners like my family and me, crossing the road in a busy city in Vietnam is a big challenge. At first blush, it looks like chaos with scooters, motorbikes, cars, and buses racing along seemingly without any rules. But it doesn’t take long to realise there are rules and drivers are only too aware of what’s going on around them. It’s just that the assumptions are not what we were used to. Instead of slamming on the breaks if a pedestrian walks into the path of a vehicle, you make a slight adjustment, safe in the knowledge that everyone else around you will do the same thing. There’s a serenity to this thinking that seems strange, and I spent a lot of time wondering why that was so strange to me.
Money
The Dong uses big numbers compared to the Australian dollar. 100 thousand, 1 million Dong, those numbers could be from a single shopping trip! But it’s the pride in the work that is revealed by how money is used and organised. In one hotel, I was confused about whether or not we’d paid for an airport transfer as part of a bill. Sensing my apprehension, the staff member sat down with me and showed me what had been paid and what had not. She was adamant that I would not leave the transaction in any doubt. “No, Mr Sam, this needs to be clear”. I left that conversation thinking “I really like these people!”
Tours and questions
We had an incredible experience exploring tunnels from the war in an area near Hội An. Our tour guide was a veteran with direct knowledge of the area during the 1960s and 70s, and shared stories of heroism, struggle and immense tragedy. I hugged my kids a bit tighter that night. When day-to-day struggles pile up at home, I’ve been thinking about my good fortune to live and work somewhere free from the crippling anxiety of warfare.
All in all, it was a wonderful humbling trip with plenty of happy memories and plenty more left to learn.
At LKS Quaero, we never stop learning about leadership and culture. For more information, visit us at lksquaero.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook.
