A Glimpse of Carly's Work & Hello Bangkok

Rob has been doing a great job keeping up with blog while I've been preoccupied with a busy work schedule.   Now that we are both working, it's time for me to pick up the slack! 

Speaking of work... the reason we are here, after all... so far so good!  My current role is on on Johnson's Adult Body Care- focused on long-term strategy and innovation in Asia Pacific.  Johnson's Adult doesn't exist in the US (anymore) but in AP, it is nearly $150MM and an important part of our skincare portfolio.  I had the opportunity to present to the Asia Pacific Leadership Team a few weeks ago and was happy with the result, but more importantly, I found it truly fascinating to see an international board in action.  The APLT has leaders from each market or market cluster in Asia, plus different functional heads (finance, supply chain, etc.).   What made this meeting different than any of the meetings I have seen before the US is the sheer complexity of different points of view.   There are 16 very different countries in AP- from very sophisticated skincare markets like Japan and Korea, to emerging markets like Indonesia and India, to markets like Australia that behave more like Europe or the US than Asia in many respects, and finally China- which is so huge and complicated that it must be approached very differently than the rest of the countries.  I learned a ton in just that one meeting- and I am happy to say my "global mindset" (as we call it at JNJ) is definitely evolving.

Hello Bangkok
Another highlight of my past few weeks at work was that I attended my first business trip- in Bangkok!  I was there to approve and direct new artwork for one of our lines.  Throughout the trip, I was mostly with our packaging engineer from China, 2 engineers from our Thailand plant, and our Thai supplier reps.  Everyone attempted to communicate in English despite native tongues of Chinese and Thai- it was quite a test of patience and persistence on everyone's part to ensure everyone was understanding one another.  It was also a reminder that I am fortunate to speak English fluently (and a tiny bit of French) and take for granted that English is the universal language of business (at least in J&J).    

Each day we had lunch family style at the cafeteria in the manufacturing facility of our supplier.  The lunch was  very nice and I am sure it was a luxury compared to the daily lunches the manufacturing employees were eating at the tables just a few feet away. It was definitely truly authentic Thai-  think exotic (at least to me) fish with the head, very spicy soups, and quite a few dishes I really could not identify (that seemed to be frequently seasoned with teeny tiny shrimp?).  I of course tried everything and ate as much as was possible- but wow- my taste buds are not accustomed to spicy food!  Lets just say when I made it to the airport after my 2.5 day trip, I didn't even feel guilty at all for eating a Burger King meal.



I stayed in a beautiful hotel in Bangkok called Siam Kempinski which I would highly recommend.   The hotel was not that expensive (compared to US or singapore standards) and yet claims to be 6 stars- not just five- and I would believe it.  The service was amazing (including the capes that the employees wore!) and the rooms, lobby etc was beautiful.  I was surprised that the hotel was fully decorated for Christmas considering Thailand is largely Buddhist- but i appreciated the gorgeous giant Christmas trees and life size gingerbread house!

Outside the pristine hotel, Bangkok is insane- I have never seen so many motorcycles/motorbikes- even 3 wheeled taxis that are modified motorbikes.  Just like Phuket, I saw whole families riding to school and work on one motorbike.  The only difference in Bangkok was that the ladies (side saddle) on the back of the motor bikes were wearing skirts and high heels... such a juxtaposition with the gritty Bangkok streets.  (I couldn't catch a good pic of my own, but the pics here are exactly what I saw). The traffic is insane in Bangkok- people regularly ride 2+hours to get to work each way- and motorbikes are definitely more efficient when it comes to weaving through traffic (watch out if you ever drive there- I can't believe I once thought the 405 in LA was bad when it came to motorcycles weaving in traffic- that was nothing!).  I hope I can return to Bangkok when I have a bit more time to explore the city.


Cultural lessons: Correct, Repeat, Toilet... not necessarily all in one sentence.
A few other random things I have learned at work- mostly in the context of communicating with many different native language speakers-

• When someone wants to tell me they  agree with me they say "correct"( vs "right", or "ok", or "yes").  It can make you feel like you are on Jeopardy but I am getting used to it!
• When you don't understand what someone just said, you simply say "repeat", not " can you say that again" or "what was that you just said?". Simple words are best!
• Ask for the "toilet" if you need it- not the "restroom" or "bathroom"- Rob and I have both gotten some quizzical looks on that one!