Right, someone asked me about France versus the UK the other day, and it got me thinking about this project I was on a few years back. Wasn’t exactly a battle, mind you, more like… well, different ways of getting things done, you know?
So, I found myself stuck in the middle, coordinating between a team based just outside London and another one near Lyon. My job was basically to make sure everyone was on the same page, moving stuff from A to B smoothly. Sounds simple, right? Yeah, well.
Getting Started Was… Interesting
First thing I noticed was how meetings went. The UK folks, they were all about the agenda, sticking to time, quick points, boom boom boom, done. Get in, get it sorted, get out. Grab a quick tea, maybe a biscuit if you’re lucky.
Then you’d have the call with the French team. It felt more like a proper discussion, you know? People would really dig into the details, go off on tangents sometimes, explore ideas. Took longer, definitely. And coffee breaks? Serious business. Proper coffee, sit down, chat about things other than work for a bit. It wasn’t bad, just… different pacing.
I remember this one time we were trying to decide on a technical approach. The UK side sent over a short doc, maybe two pages: pros, cons, recommendation. Clear, concise. The French team responded with this massive document, background history, philosophical considerations, multiple options explored in depth. Both good, in their own way, but trying to merge them? That was my headache.
Day-to-Day Stuff
Communication styles were another thing. I found the Brits often used understatement. “A bit of a snag” could mean anything from a typo to the whole server being on fire. You had to learn to read between the lines. My French colleagues tended to be more direct, more passionate, maybe? If something was wrong, you knew about it. If they liked something, they really liked it. Took some getting used to, switching between the two.
Here’s a few things that stick out from that time:
- Deadlines: The London team lived by them. If the deadline was Friday 5 PM, they’d push hard to hit it, maybe cutting corners slightly if needed. The Lyon team saw deadlines as important, sure, but not at the expense of getting it right. If it needed more time for quality, they’d argue for it. Led to a few tense moments for me, playing negotiator.
- Lunch: UK side – quick sandwich at the desk, often. France side – a proper sit-down lunch, away from the desk, was pretty standard. Honestly, I preferred the French way on this one!
- Hierarchy: Seemed a bit flatter in the UK team, easier to approach senior people maybe. In the French team, there felt like a bit more formality, more respect for the levels, you could say.
The Biggest Challenge for me was just keeping everything synchronised. Like two different engines trying to power the same car. One revving high and fast, the other running smoother but maybe slower off the line. My job was the gearbox, trying not to grind the gears too much.
We got there in the end, delivered the project. Wasn’t perfect, few bumps along the road. But it worked. What did I learn? Well, mostly that there’s more than one way to skin a cat, as they say. And that understanding the people, how they think and work, is way more important than just the process diagrams and project plans. It wasn’t really France versus the UK, it was just… France and the UK, doing things their own way, and me trying to make it all fit together. Made me a better listener, I think. And definitely improved my coffee appreciation.
