Top Exec Blog (Web Log)

On a recent business trip to Miami to visit a new set of customers and partners, I had the distinct impression that I was a part of the U.N. Instead of working for the multinational organization with headquarters in New York City, however, I was just making a day trip from Fort Lauderdale to the heart of one of Miami's export districts.

In the course of a single day, I had the pleasure to speak French, Spanish, Portuguese and English. Further, I met and interacted with people from Colombia, France, Panama, Brazil, Venezuela, USA and Nicaragua. Undoubtedly, I also interacted with people born in Cuba, but now a longtime part of the fabric of greater Miami-Dade County.

What makes this remarkable, in a country of considerable depth and richness, when it comes to the immigrant talent that makes up so much of the USA, is the incredible concentration of all these folks in a small part of one big city, Miami. For me, it was a wonderful example of how diverse and interesting the USA is, and how vital it is to be able to speak multiple languages, and to get in tune with different ways of doing business.

How about where you live and work? Any examples of "United Nations" coming together and interacting on a regular basis? Any mix of languages or national backgrounds sounding in the background of your day-to-day? Take a careful listen, and you, too, might find something similar to what I did in the United Nations of Miami.

Thanks for reading.

© Daniel A. Cabrera, TopExec.org, All rights reserved, 2009.