Meetings in Laos

Good morning! It’s about 4:20am here, roosters are crowing, there are sounds of distant motorbikes humming along the main road, and I’m wide awake. Thank you, jet lag! It’s actually quite nice though as I’m able to get work done while the rest of the house sleeps…

My time here has been its usual pace of very full, long days. We saw Leslie off a few days ago—an amazing young woman who’s done an absolutely stellar job during her time here. (I hope you’ve enjoyed her blog postings!)

The days here have been spent largely in meetings that begin by sitting down with artisans and spending the first hour catching up. It’s a beautiful Lao way of life. Relationship first. Everything else, including business, come second. When I’m here, it’s a continual balancing act juggling my ideas of Western efficiency with the Lao way of conducting business. A typical meeting is (literally) an hour of catching up, followed by an hour or two of intense work, coffee/tea, then a review (at my insistence!) to confirm mutual understanding of what we just talked about.

I’ve learned over the years to bring a small album each time full of pictures from my life in the US. Regular things, like dinner with friends, gatherings with family, vacations, daily life--it's all of interest. Just as we’re curious about their life, they want to know everything about life in “Amer-ee-KAH.” It’s fun! The questions are endless:

- Do you have children yet? (no, not yet)
- Your husband is very handsome. (thank you!)
- Why is he not here with you? (he has a lot of work at the non-profit in America helping students)
- Do you miss him? (yes!)
- When will he come to Lao again? (maybe next year he will come. I am not sure.)
- Does your mother live with you? (no, we want her to, but she will probably only come after we have babies)
- (I show them pictures of my mother) She is very beautiful. She looks like Lao. Is she Lao? (no, she is from the Philippines.)
- Is it cold in San Francisco? (compared to Lao, yes. You must wear a light jacket every day.)
- What do you eat in America? (whatever my husband will cook for us!)
- Why do you wear glasses? You look prettier with no glasses. (I must wear glasses so I can see you and the beautiful silk that you weave! I wish I did not have to wear glasses. I have contact lenses, but it is difficult to wear them in Lao. Too much dust.)
- And on and on… :)

Once we’ve sufficiently caught up, we can begin to discuss work and the latest at GIANNA. This varies from meeting to meeting, but typically includes things like reviewing designs, orders, quality control, natural dyeing consistency, and the market in the US.

Working with artisans is heart work. By American customs, work here happens slowly with much uncertainty. By Lao standards, people in America work too much and lead lonely lives so disconnected from their families.

I think there's a sweet spot somewhere between the two customs. Perhaps one of the things I'll take back to American boardrooms is the Lao way of complimenting frequently, smiling often, and offering a gentle touch of the arm or hand when emphasizing points dear to the heart.