On my first week in a Dubai boardroom, I strode in with an American sense of efficiency, laptop open and slide No. 1 queued. “Let’s dive right in,” I said, eager to protect the schedule. The Emirati general manager, looking aghast, set down his coffee and replied, “First, we must have coffee.” For the next 20 minutes we talked about families, weekend plans and favorite karak tea shops. My straight‑to‑content approach had signaled coldness; their relationship‑first norm read my urgency as rudeness.
