TimeZone Notes is a collection of short observations and practical insights drawn from years of working across cultures and international business environments. The focus is on real situations, communication challenges, misunderstandings, and the everyday realities of working internationally.

Meetings often end with agreement. Heads nod Notes are taken Next steps are discussed Everyone leaves feeling positive, confident that things will move forward. And then… nothing happens. Weeks pass. Emails are exchanged. Follow-ups are sent. Progress feels slow, or completely absent. What felt settled suddenly feels uncertain. This is one of the most common frustrations in international business. The problem is not usually dishonesty. It is misunderstanding what agreement ac

Aside from the feeling that we might not survive the journey, discovering the fare is far higher than expected, realising the driver has no idea where he is going because he is the brother “helping out for a few hours”, or wondering whether this is even a real taxi… We can actually learn quite a lot from a taxi ride. Some of the most informative conversations you can have in another country are with taxi drivers. In a short journey, you can pick up insights that would otherwi

Also called the curse of expertise, I like to think of it as a problem, that has solutions, as opposed to a curse.Once we know something it is very difficult for us to imagine not knowing it, or to take the position or perspective of someone who doesn’t know it. So, we just assume that others know what we know, how could they possibly not know that? We are all guilty at least some of the time of falling into this trap. A simplistic example is the game of charades; you act out