Bull in a china shop? What about an Italian driver in the office?

By Kat McDaniel, Principal at MEDiAHEAD

Most people know that I love Italians and Italy. Their driving? Not so much.

With your co-workers, it’s always best to communicate with confidence and be decisive about decision making.
With zero decision making, Italians propel themselves into traffic without making sure it’s safe.

In a meeting if you hesitate, people assume that you are thinking about the correct way to answer.
Italian drivers assume hesitation means you’re not going. They will go around you, which makes it even more difficult to eventually insert yourself into traffic.

When someone asks you to stop something you are doing, most people are courteous and listen to what their co-worker needs.
Italian drivers consider a stop sign a suggestion, stop signs in Italy mean the coast is clear. There may be no need to stop, or even slow down. And if you do stop when it’s not necessary, you may get rear-ended.

A well know Italian saying about driving is, “You watch your front, let everyone else watch your back.” Not true, if they feel that 100 miles per hour is not fast enough, they will get inches from your bumper and start flashing their lights incessantly. They also love to straddle the white line, while trying to intimidate you. This behavior would not last long in an office setting.

A turn signal means “HERE I GO!” not I want to go, or I’m waiting to see if you will let me go. Can you imagine the disruption in meetings?

Italians are passionate, using hand gestures, strong words, and aggressive driving and honking. It cracks me up when I drive there, but I would not under any circumstances allow this behavior in the office.

The moral of the story? Don’t behave like an Italian driver in an office setting. If you do, you may crash… hard.