It wasn’t easy taking the very first step in building a specialised small company in a big–and somewhat scary–market ten years ago. When I think about the countless challenges that we face, and continue to face, I find myself wanting to turn this post into long-winded narration of the trials and tribulations, the firsts and the wins of our story as members of one family attempting to succeed in this business without sacrificing our culture and familial ties in the process.

Nevertheless, I promised the editor of this blog that I would stick to my deadline (which I’ve already missed by more than a week) and write about the ethics and etiquette of today’s business. So I’ll leave my storytelling tendencies for another day, or perhaps I’ll tell this story on our upcoming podcast.

Bismillah, we begin.

I still recall that meeting in Abu Dhabi, specifically in Mina Zayed, when my partner in life and business, Abdul Rahman, ordered a large quantity of luqaimat, dates, and various teas to be delivered to the meeting’s address. There were to be more than thirty people from several companies to work on one of the most important governmental projects at the time. Rouya wasn’t the host, but was invited alongside the rest of the company to participate in a brainstorming session. However, we were raised to always bring a plate or two whenever we visited neighbours, friends or family, so we resolved to follow this tradition. When we arrived, we were surprised to find that our colleague Rana Hijazi had also had the same idea, so she came to the meeting carrying a beautifully-assembled tray of nuts and dried fruits.

I remember the smiles that adorned the faces of the government team, who did not find our gesture strange but highly appreciated it. I also remember the bewilderment of the foreign consultants as we carefully set the food and drinks on the table before even introducing ourselves as consultants from the UAE.

From there, we started questioning business protocols and etiquette, and whether our business practices truly reflect our rich culture and hospitality. If we define business etiquette as a set of unwritten rules–or rather, written in foreign books–how can we redefine it in this part of the world to better represent our country and heritage? 

What, then, is the importance of “breaking bread” in business? When I researched the topic–and I admit that my rudimentary research was limited to basic search engines–I found that many foreign theories encourage the comprehension and respect of the local culture where a project is taking place. For example, Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory sheds light on how understanding the values and norms of a place and culture plays an essential role when working and communicating with people from that culture. Similarly, Trompenaars' Cultural Dimensions model affirms the importance of understanding how the norms of every culture affect communication, relationships, and decision-making in its businesses. This awareness of cultural differences allows us to adapt our business and communication practices to become more effective in specific cultural contexts. 

Even though we have an overflow of these “theories” that tackle the integration of culture into business on a surface level, I have found, in my humble opinion, that we still fumble when we consider mixing our warm, rich traditions with the prevalent and somewhat cool business etiquette.

For instance, we find ourselves starting every email in Arabic with the same stale translation of “I hope this email finds you well” rather than opening with a warm and genuine salutation that welcomes the receiver by wishing peace upon them and asking about their life, as is customary in Arabic letters.

We also somehow jump straight into any meeting’s agenda without first making small talk, breaking bread between us, and sipping on coffee, all of which can break the monotony of meetings and ease the hectic nature of daily work. These meetings tend to have a hierarchical skeleton that doesn’t reflect the essence of our cultural gatherings or traditional conversations, in which equity and inclusivity are the keystones that our ancestors abided by in their thriving majalis. And as if we’re dissociating from the humanity and empathy that distinguishes our Eastern culture, we shy away from sharing our feelings whether they be about the meeting itself or about various matters like politics, culture, Ramadan, or any topic on our minds.   

At Rouya, we encourage our team members to redefine work etiquette everyday; we want and need to dismantle the hold that other cultures have on our own business culture here. We were born and raised in this country–and region–that successfully challenged the stereotypes the world believes about us. This place is defined by its rich heritage and deep roots, which are here to stay. In every meeting, we break bread and drink delicious tea and ask about each person’s welfare, their family’s welfare, and even their neighbour’s welfare, before attempting to do any work. If we call something “unprofessional” on occasion, we ruminate on whether that perception is simply a remnant of an outdated foreign cultural dominance. We also insist on imparting these customs to our international colleagues and partners even if they initially find our behaviour strange. We are the people of “Give gifts and you will love one another,” as the Prophet Muhammad–peace be upon him–says, so when we share a bit of bread, we share with it respect and amiability and sincerity.

At Rouya, we don’t hesitate to be our fullest selves, and we do so everyday without fail.