Get to know the Greek, learn the Greek, understand the Greek.

On one hand, we are familiar with Greece—we’ve visited, been exposed to it, conversed with it, eaten from it, danced with it, laughed and cried, rejoiced and been hurt, but beyond all that, it contains many mazes that one must learn and understand. After all, the original maze was born in Greece: the Labyrinth, a vast maze built for King Minos in Knossos on the island of Crete, designed by the inventor Daedalus to imprison the Minotaur, a creature half man and half bull, who was eventually killed by Theseus.
To operate in Greece, one must make basic adjustments and learn along the way so that business activities don’t falter or get blocked, or so that you don’t find yourself in an endless maze. We must understand the mindset and behavior of the Greek citizen, the Greek businessman, the Greek government official, but at the top of the pyramid, that of the Greek family man. These adjustments require understanding. I will attempt to outline here the main points from theoretical and practical knowledge, but primarily from accumulated and consistent experience, and more. Those who work in Greece, interact with Greeks, represent a Greek company or businessman, relocate (move from one country to another), work with government officials, recruit a Greek partner, travel in Greece, or even just interact generally with Greece, must understand the Greek way, learn it, and try to think like them.

Between 2010 and the writing of these lines, I experienced Greece in all its layers (almost). This is a period in which I integrated and still integrate family and work, friends, business partners, acquaintances, academics, government officials, military and security forces, retirees, neighborhood "parliament" leaders, opinion leaders, artists, dog trainers, journalists, culinary consultants, general consultants, bankers, chief editors, interviewers, office managers, heads of organizations, religious figures, charlatans, and more. A school of business, business ethics, and cultural discovery. This is also a period of direct acquaintance with the way of thinking and the lifestyle of the Greek in everyday life. Today, as I accompany companies and businessmen in their activities in Greece or with Greek businessmen, I carry with me the lessons from this school, alongside professional, academic knowledge and accumulated business and commercial experience.

I’ve worked with and for Greeks, guided Greeks, connected Israelis to Greeks, implemented programs for Israeli businessmen and investors in Greece. I’ve made mistakes and fallen, stood up and fell again, learned, succeeded, loved, was disappointed, learned again, and succeeded and loved once more, and I am still in love. I’ve taken the metro and suburban trains to meet people, rented cars and drove independently to understand and learn firsthand the Greek driving experience in the city and countryside, in remote areas and city centers, in spring, summer, fall, and winter. I’ve visited cultural centers and museums, worked in co-working spaces, walked archaeological sites, translated editorials, interviewed for TV channels, radio, and newspapers, spoke before various groups at conferences, exhibitions, conventions, and private meetings, recorded everything my Greek friends recommended I learn, attended family events, visited friends in hospitals, met military and police personnel, opinion leaders, and philosophers from opposing backgrounds, participated in funerals of Greek friends’ relatives, did shopping, went out, but didn’t dance, sat at the bar with a gin and tonic observing people’s body language, and met more and more people. I learned the holidays and memorial days, participated in an anarchist protest in central Athens to learn from the inside, visited the city and countryside, mountains, plains, the interior, and the coast, absorbed the language, though I regret I didn’t learn it (though it’s not too late).

Throughout all these experiences, my interaction with Greece first and foremost introduced me to their hospitality and calm. With a “Kalimera” in the local café, at the bakery where I bought a morning bagel, at the chestnut stall on a winter’s day, during business meetings, conferences, in supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, and random encounters in apartment building entrances, in elevators, and more. Hospitality was also required of me, and I tried to do the right thing in every situation. I learned to ask my Greek colleagues before taking any steps in dealing with local entities, whether it’s writing a letter, requesting a meeting, memorandum of understanding, signing an agreement, making a claim, an invitation for dinner, or even in a follow-up meeting, a family gathering, a celebration, and so on.

Etiquette is a set of rules and should not be imposed in Greece the same way it might be elsewhere. We tend to compare different cultures. Compliance with these rules is important for all of us. The dress code at work, at a social event, at a business conference, in a formal meeting, etc. Sometimes we tend to “undermine” it, but it’s important to give it the attention it requires. You need to know whom you’re addressing in the second person and whom in the third. Understanding the work hierarchy, the importance of the family core, how to eat gyros, how to mix a Greek salad, the difference between ouzo and tsipouro, what to bring as a gift for dinner, how children are central to life, respecting your father and mother, and the lack of tolerance for those who violate local culture. Greece, in terms of personal safety, is quite safe, but in recent years, there’s been a decline in this aspect, and Greeks are addressing it, and we always find that significant criminal events make the headlines. This is not arbitrary, there’s logic behind it. SIGA-SIGA, slowly, slowly.

Self-control and adherence to rules have more advantages than disadvantages. The traditions, the rules, and the emphasis on them are what make the Greek kitchen what we know and love, SIGA-SIGA as a way of life, and calm in the face of a crisis, big or small. There’s the Swiss clock and the Greek clock, get used to it. There’s the German two-wheeled bike and the Greek one (with or without a helmet), get used to it. There’s the French bank clerk and the Greek one, get used to it. There’s the Italian pastry chef and the Greek one, get used to it. There’s the Turkish taxi driver and the Greek one, get used to it. There’s the Polish waiter and the Greek one, get used to it. The street vendor, well, here, almost all of them are the same, except for the Israeli street vendor.

In Greece, unlike Israel, there’s a way to do almost everything. In Israel, we value originality, flexibility, improvisation, and worship the "it will be fine" attitude. In Greece, they value the order of things, logic, and the known path. This applies to public behavior, how you set a table, the seating order around the table, managing negotiations, body language, tone of speech, the Greek coffee, standing in line, and submitting to what is customary and known. Things must be done properly—Δεόντως (Deontos). For a Greek, "if you grab a lot, you get nothing."

Welcome to Greece. You need to know the Greek way of thinking and how to work with it.

Greece can be misleading! The encounter with the Greek way of life taught me that activities with other European countries are not the same as in Greece. Behind what we know are layers of ancient culture that we usually don’t recognize. What I discovered in my first three years of business activity in Greece, amid the great economic crisis that threatened to ruin Greece, tightened over the following years during which I served Israeli industrial and commercial companies working with clients in Greece, remains relevant to the challenges my clients face now: we must understand Greek culture, its differences from Israeli culture, and its similarities and differences with Western European culture in general, in order to act effectively within it. Selling in Athens, Thessaloniki, Larissa, Trikala, Volos, Chalkida, Heraklion, or Patras is not the same as selling in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, Nazareth, Beersheba, Tiberias, or Haifa. The same applies to managing local employees, business partnerships, entrepreneurship, company acquisitions, and any other task.

Greek meticulousness, which contains more hierarchy and order, but not necessarily planning, reveals very little tolerance for deviations but creates gaps and limits breaking conventions. When we, as Israelis, land in Greece, we bring with us the ability to think and act outside the box, to move quickly, to juggle multiple tasks simultaneously—everything here and now, a bundle of traits that are sometimes lacking in Greece and might even be undesirable.

I’ve encountered different reactions to being Israeli. There are Greeks who love Israel, and some who don’t lean towards us, and that’s fine. There are Greeks who don’t see much significance in our being Israeli and those who admire the boldness, the creative thinking, the "I know what I want" Israeli attitude. But most, on either side, feel uncomfortable with the sloppiness, the loudness in conversation management, and failure to adhere to rules during hosting, meetings, and introductions. Yet, the average Greek appreciates directness, empathy, camaraderie, and the business outcomes that arise from this profile. Yes, this is an ambivalent attitude, with one side serving us and the other harming us, and we must learn to operate within this environment, maximizing the benefits of being Israeli while minimizing the damage it might cause.

So, how do you operate in Greek culture?
In order to understand the Greek way of thinking and how to work with it. First, it is essential to understand that there’s no need to be Greek in Greece. There are enough Greeks