Istanbul Day 5 - Bosphorus Dinner Cruise

On Friday we visited Cisco, which was our first multi-national firm so I was pretty interested to see what it was like because I expect that working for Google in Turkey would be similar. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to visit the Google office but will make that a priority for my next trip.

The Cisco office felt and looked pretty much like any silicon valley office building, though they tend to build up rather than out here in Istanbul due to space constraints. If I recall, Cisco was on the 20th floor or so. I don't know if they were just dressed up for us, but the employees were very well dressed.

Cisco's business in Turkey largely involves sharing and selling their vision of the future. I suspect this is how they operate in the states too. Their description of this connected future reminds me of Star Trek, but it's probably not that far away! The Turkey office was opened in 1997 and they have a second office in Ankara to work with the Turkish government. Umit, the General Manager of Cisco Turkey, shared his insights and experience with our class. He previously worked in the states and has an MBA though I forget where it was from. One particularly interesting quote from him was "Turkey is a battleground of east vs. west." We've heard the east/west connection many times but this was the first time I'd heard it referred to as a battleground.

Some of the trends he discussed were:
- Young Turks are ambitious
- Companies now are focusing on operational excellence versus financial management
- There is relative stability in the Turkish government
- The power of the military in the government is declining

Other interesting take-aways from the day:
- Their HR manager (and others) referred to firing employees as "releasing" them.
- Negotiations with Turks can often include non-monetary items such as power, influence, honor, or respect.
- Light conversation is key prior to negotiations in order to build rapport.
- Turks are proud of Turkey and happy to answer questions when foreigners take an interest in their country.
- Relationships are key in business. Sometimes salespeople even go on vacations with their customers and their families.
- Even though day-to-day business can have hurdles, having that strong relationship allows you to call your customers and talk to them like they're your friends.
- I liked the way they used the CXO acronym rather than the familiar "C Suite" or "C level" description

After Cisco's main office visit, we went to the local university to see a Cisco Networking classroom. Overall, this wasn't too interesting but I did think it was neat that the school was 237 years old!

We had some time to kill after the Cisco visit so we went to the local mall which was really a super-high end place for the rich. Given the heat, it was nice to get into some air conditioning for awhile. Inside the mall we found many of the same brands and stores we're familiar with in the states. One key difference weas the fact that there are armed security guards and metal detectors at the entrances to the mall. There was also a mini Audi dealership inside the mall. They had an R8 and RS5 on display there and I was shocked to see the prices. Tax on imported cars is near 98%, making the RS5 cost about 140,000 euros which is like 320,000 Turkish Lira! (Normally this car would be about 66,000 euros if it were available in the US.) The saleswoman at the dealership didn't speak much English, only German and Turkish but admiring cars is universal I think.

From 2010 Turkey

Friday night was our big Bosphorus dinner cruise which so far has been a major highlight of the trip. The cruise started out interestingly enough with a distressed sailboat coming into the port. After much drama, our boat pulled him into the dock. In general, the Bosphorus is pretty crowded with boats and the captains don't seem to concerned when boats get pretty close to each other. The cruise was awesome, with great views of Istanbul at sunset. A few other folks joined us on the cruise including Tara and her husband and two SCU Global Fellows who were studying in Istanbul. Overall it was a nice night of conversation, wine, food, and amazing views. Rather than try to describe it all, I've included some pictures below.

From 2010 Turkey

From 2010 Turkey

From 2010 Turkey

From 2010 Turkey

From 2010 Turkey

From 2010 Turkey

After the cruise we grabbed a few beers at Tunel with the group. Tara's husband Cihan is a hilarious guy who kept us entertained all night with his stories. Finishing up at Tunel, we caught a cab back to the hotel and ended another memorable night.