Alumni News
Navigating
Cultural Differences BY SARAH PFLEDDERER
I
t’s not as simple as walking down the hall and knocking on a door for Craig Bryson ’00 to convene with his legal team. As area counsel for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Abbott Laboratories, Bryson oversees 15 lawyers responsible for helping the company steer through the legal nuances of more than 80 countries. Abbott specializes in medical diagnostics and devices, science-based nutrition products, and pharmaceuticals that, as the company’s website states, “have enduring impact on the lives of millions of people across regions and cultures.” Bryson has learned to deftly maneuver across multiple regions and cultures for the company. Based in Basel, Switzerland in an office with 200 employees representing 43 nationalities, he has tackled the intricacies of breaking down language barriers and managing lawyers and cases from afar.
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T H E O H I O S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
ANGELA KOCH
Craig Bryson ’00 manages attorneys from afar, abroad at Abbott Laboratories
His approach: • Try not to use catchphrases, slang, and idioms, particularly in emails. American sports analogies and business argot like “quarterbacking” and “grow your business,” for instance, don’t always translate well to a non-native English speaker. • When possible, get in front of people for a discussion. If travel is not an option, this means using technology as much as possible. At Abbott, video-conferencing and “telepresence” – a conferencing technology Bryson equates to the bridge on Star Trek – facilitate meaningful discussions by allowing participants to feel like they’re in the same room. • Think like a generalist about foreign legal systems, latching on to common themes across countries, such as the similarities between common law systems in the U.S. and the U.K. versus civil law systems based on the Napoleonic Code.