Ron McFarlandの Personal Journey (9-s): Business Trip - The Canary Islands

The Canary Islands

今年、最後の記事は「キャナリー諸島」。ヨーロッパの避寒地でのセミナー。ちょっと羨ましい。

来年は、1月7日から続きを掲載します。では、少し早いですが、良いお年を。See you next year!

Off the coast of Morocco to the west are the Canary Islands. Those islands are part of Spain, and that is the place Columbus stopped on his way to discover America. There are several islands, but two main islands, Grand Canaria and Tenerefe. The economy evolves around tourism for northern Europeans wanting to get out of the cold and to get in some relaxing sunshine.

I gave several seminars there, as the Canary Islands had no European restrictions in terms of imports and safety/emission regulations. Unfortunately, only Spanish is spoken there except around the tourist areas in the south of both of those two islands. Much like Hawaii, the people are very relaxed and casual and not as industrious as their northern colleagues.

< Sales Training with a beautiful German lady who was fluent in Spanish, March 1988 >

Ron McFarlandの Personal Journey (9-r): Business Trip - Egypt

Egypt

一度行ったら忘れられない国、ブランド重視の国民性
Egypt is one of those countries that you never forget if you go there. Isuzu Motors and General Motors had a vehicle assembly joint venture there, which serviced about eight dealers. One of the dealers, Monsour Chevrolet, dominated the market and probably still does today. The same vehicle was sold under the Isuzu name, Chevrolet name and Bedford name. The Egyptians are very loyal to brands, dealers and individuals. Therefore, the name and contact are more important than the product itself.
I stayed at the Minna House Hotel outside of Cairo in Giza, right at the foot of the pyramids. That is the famous hotel that the Americans and British planned the African campaign in World War II. I jogged around the pyramids every morning before going to work. I will never forget it.

< Minna House Hotel, Giza Egypt, December 1987 >





The history there can be traced back 7,000 years, before any known religion. The country of Egypt can be traced back 5,000 years. Needless to say, just wandering around those ruins and structures makes your mind run wild with fascination as to life way back then.

< Outside the Egyptian Museum, Cairo >


< The Sphinx, Giza Egypt >


アッパー・エジプト、ロウアー・エジプトとは？
Egypt is a country that lives off of one river, the Nile. The country gets very little rain and all life surrounds the Nile. One interesting thing about Egypt is they talk in terms of “Upper Egypt” and “Lower Egypt”. Upper is not north. It is south. Lower is not south. It is north. The reason being is that the Nile flows into Egypt from Sudan in the south and empties into the Mediterranean Sea. I was to travel to Egypt quite a few times over the years.

Ron McFarlandの Personal Journey (9-q): Business Trip - UAE (United Arab Emirates)

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

In 1987, I gave sales training in the UAE (United Arab Emirates). I had provided training in the big Middle East countries of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait but nowhere else. Well, the smaller countries like Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and the UAE itself wanted training.

Dubai had, and probably still has, the best living standard in the Middle East, and Isuzu Motors, along with most companies from the west, have regional offices there. We had seminars for the region there, and people were coming in from all over the Middle East. We set up four seminars, two basic sales seminars, one seminar specifically for selling heavy trucks and sales management for the managers in the region. It was a mixed group and a very enjoyable two weeks in Dubai. I was so used to packing my bag and moving every 4-5 days that it was nice to stay in the same place and let the participants come to me. That was the first of many seminars in Dubai. In recent times, Dubai has become quite a boom town and has developed a tourist business.

< Sales Management and Role Playing in Dubai, UAE July 1987 >




< Frisby, Fernandez, Mohadeem and other managers, Dubai, UAE July 1987 >


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先日、ロンさんは六本木のアメリカンクラブでインタビューを受け、それがYoutubeにアップされました。

タイトルは「BRIDGING THE GAP」ですが、内容はまさしくこのブログのタイトル「Ron's Personal Jourbey」です。

以下は、ロンさんからのメールです。

Subject: Fwd: RON HERE AND NOW

I was interviewed at the Tokyo American Club, which was posted on YouTube.

Many of you know my background, but here is me now. Talked about growing up, coming to Japan, and what I'm involved in right now.

Hope you enjoy it.

https://youtu.be/crg8mWW6ciw?si=fR5GGXaiHEMhmXZn

Ron McFarlandの Personal Journey (9-p): Business Trip - The Ivory Coast

The Ivory Coast

フランスの植民地だった象牙海岸。現在のコートジボワール。1987年のアフリカの旅です。

The Ivory Coast is the first West African country I had ever been to. I gave a basic sales seminar there. The country was not as poor as you may think at that time. It has a lot of water and can grow a great deal of tropical crops. Also, it has minerals and other raw materials, which are mainly exported to Europe.

It is one of the original French territories, and the official language is French. In that region, most of the countries use French as the official language. Nigeria and Cameroon are half English and half French depending on the region of the country.

< Sales Training in the Ivory Coast in French, June 1987 >





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先日、ロンさんは六本木のアメリカンクラブでインタビューを受け、それがYoutubeにアップされました。

タイトルは「BRIDGING THE GAP」ですが、内容はまさしくこのブログのタイトル「Ron's Personal Jourbey」です。

以下は、ロンさんからのメールです。

Subject: Fwd: RON HERE AND NOW

I was interviewed at the Tokyo American Club, which was posted on YouTube.

Many of you know my background, but here is me now. Talked about growing up, coming to Japan, and what I'm involved in right now.

Hope you enjoy it.

https://youtu.be/crg8mWW6ciw?si=fR5GGXaiHEMhmXZn