Building International Teams

Building a successful team is not that easy. But when your members come from countries all over the globe, it starts to become really challenging! We can all speak in English, we still have different cultures and different mindsets. However, this diversity turns out to be the greatest strength of international teams. To understand why, we need to look back in history, to travel through the ages, and see where our modern civilizations come from. At the end of our journey, we will discover what makes these teams so polyvalent, and why they can be an example for all of us.

[Talk given at PyConFR 2017]

Transcript

1. Building International Teams Alexandre Figura / @arugifa
2. Who Am I? Use Python with at work since 2014. Live in Berlin since June 2016. Worked with 20 different nationalities
3. 20 nationalities, you said?
4. Do you know Germany?
5. Do you know Germany? Two simple rules: Never cross the street while the light is red Always be on time! Very simple, indeed.
6. Somewhere in France
8. Vor die Wahl gestellt zwischen Unordnung und Unrecht, entscheidet sich der Deutsche für das Unrecht. -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) “ “
9. In the meantime, in France...
10. Questions?
11. It's time to go back!
12. Let's GO!!!
13. At the beginning, there was the Celts
14. Then came the Romans
15. Who nally get checkmated by Germanics
16. Reminds me something...
17. Cultural Differences at Work
18. NASA scientists realized that a pen could not work in the microgravity of space. So they spent millions of dollars developing a pen with a pressurized ink cartridge that could write in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, and in a huge range of temperatures. The Soviets, meanwhile, used a pencil. -- Urban legend, worth to spread though... “ “
19. Time is relative
20. What do you mean by YES?
22. How is your relationship with your boss?
23. Can we combine cultural strengths?
24. Questions?
25. International Teams in France
26. Bienvenue en France !
27. French company (probably in Paris). Looking for people to join our international team. Requirements: We speak in English. But you also must speak French. -- A typical French job offer “ “
28. Learning French is easier than trying to understand a French dude speaking in English. -- Joke about French people abroad “ “
29. To be French, or not to be
31. Additional Reading
32. The Fin Alexandre Figura @arugifa