A few years ago my company was bought by a big German conglomerate.
Generally its a good company to work for but naturally they want to centralize the power and decision making in their own country.
The problem is that they lack the infrastructure, will and ability to take the lead without the support of America
while at the same time, our Americas group is perfectly capable of going it alone. We are self contained.
So basically , from my peers and management in Europe over the years, they don't want Americas to take the lead, nor do they want us to work in isolation. What they want is for them to dictate policy and then see us as the resources they can use to accomplish whatever they need.
Unfortunately for them, since they aren't capable of actually accomplishing anything without us, we happily offer to share our work but we also remind them that we are going to do it our way and if they don't like it, they are more than welcome to go it alone.
And this approach infuriates them.
I find the reaction from Europe on Trumps "America First" speech very similar to what I deal with at work.
In a nutshell, Europe wants the advantages we bring to the table - advantages they can't do themselves and most likely can't do well without - yet don't want us to have any say in how or when to use them.
And they hate us for it.
Last edited by KFWA; 04/28/16.
