I am a business flop.
Date: Mar 12th, 2005 9:05:54 pm - Subscribe
Mood: upbeat
So I had a marketing presentation to make to my multi-national peers at my University. I had the works: powerpoint, notes, a well-studied presentation of perfection, all ready to impress. I even decided to add a little 'multicultural' flair to my report, you know, something to appeal to my audience, they were, afterall, over 70% japanese. So what the heck.
I asked my dad - an avid businessman - who taught me about the concepts of "Kaizen", a company's drive to improve itself, and a new term I'd never heard before, "Giri", pronounced like "Gee-ree".
It means to have supreme loyalty to one's company and customers. Bingo!! What a term, what a word to knock my japanese compadres off their feet!
So I incorporated it into my speech.
The day of my presentation, despite my nervousness, it went off without a hitch. In fact, it was fantastic. I was captivating, I was fascinating, I was a hit. All was well, - that is, until I reached my conclusion.
"So as you can see from the following report, a feedback-management system and thorough IMC marketing plan will not only better the company, but foster supreme loyalty, or, as the Japanese would say - release "geri" upon their best customers and employees."
Within seconds, I noticed some shuffling in the audience. Followed by loose coughs and nervous glances. I heard a light laughter rise from the audience.
I figured my conclusion wasn't hitting them as I had anticipated, so I did what anyone would do: I reiterated:
"Every company wishes for Geri, it is the ultimate goal of the employees, and the customers for complete satisfaction."
The dull laughter had risen to full out gaffaws. I figured I must have had a boog hanging or something. What the hell was their problem? I asked:
"Is there something wrong here that I'm missing?"
A buddy of mine in the class, Hamir, put up his hand, and kindly explained to me that I had pronounced "Giri" as "Geri" - like "Jerry", which loosely translated in Japanese, means "diarrhea".
I was humiliated. But everyone in my class thought it was hilarious.
Nevertheless, the lesson for the day is, always check the pronounciation of foreign terms, or your presentation might go the craps.
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