Show Up Where They Are, Not Just Where You Are

The Story
In Dubai, an investor learned that a principal he had been cultivating a relationship with would be spending part of the summer in a city the investor was already planning to visit. He mentioned it in passing, without pressure, in a brief message before Eid. The principal suggested coffee. What followed was the most candid conversation of their working relationship, no office, no agenda, no formality between them.

Cultural Principle
Meeting a Gulf counterpart in their summer context, outside the structure of the Gulf market, offers a register of exchange that formal settings rarely permit. The relaxed geography changes what is possible in a conversation.

Takeaway
If travel plans place you near a counterpart's summer location, mention it simply and let them respond. The willingness to show up somewhere that is theirs, on their terms, is its own gesture of regard.

Warmly,
Taqua