The Story
In Kuwait, a management consultant's longtime counterpart left his role at a large holding group over the summer and took a senior post elsewhere. Her firm reassigned the account to his successor and moved on. A rival firm's partner called him in his first week to congratulate him, and asked for nothing. The first advisory mandate of his new role went to that firm.

Cultural Principle
In the Gulf, loyalty attaches to people more than to institutions. A counterpart's new role is not the end of a relationship. It is the beginning of its next chapter.

Takeaway
Serve the successor well, and follow the person who moved. Congratulations offered in the first week read as warmth. Offered later, they can read as calculation.

Warmly,
Taqua