English

Somehow or other , he made their
messages sound at least halfway sensible
to Americans. And when there was
something that even George couldn’t
“translate” into American-style sense,
he would write, “ This will sound crazy,
but you should go along with it anyway.”

This is a sensible choice.

2. (of) knowing
aware

I am sensible of your kindness.

in one way or another

Somehow or other
I loved him
at first sight.

agree with
accept
support

I cannot go along with you
on this point.

It worked the other way around, too. When
the American managers visited Japan, George
accompanied us everywhere to ensure that we
didn’t do or say anything too stupid from the
Japanese viewpoint. Whenever we did that
anyway, he came to the rescue at once: “What
they really mean is …” Whole multitudes of
difficulties never arose thanks to George’s skill
at smoothing over small conflicts before they
became big, emotional and costly.

Thunder accompanies lightening.

We successd all thanks to you.

Since leaving that company in
George’s capable hands, I’ve advised
many firms on international operations.
And my first recommendation is always
the same: Don’t worry about language
problems—the first thing you need is a
cultural translator.

’

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multitude run into
profitable thanks to
apparent the other way around
sensible pick up
departure smooth over