American Optimist
That Which the Rest of the World Still Admires
Welcome back.
Beneath the layers of pessimism, the misanthropy that seems to have beset the US, the doubts many of us have about who we are as a nation, an American ethos is alive and well, one that the rest of the world continues to admire, seeking to both access and emulate.
Yes, and…
Exactly. That’s the seed. Our intrinsic “Yes, and” approach to commerce and culture. The starting point for improv comedy and, so it appears, what people elsewhere still think America gets right.
Let’s not confuse ethos with exceptionalism. The notion of exceptionalism, heartily applied by Americans to America, is too charged to be useful, too laden with bravado, blind belief and finger-wagging to be of serious purpose.
And let’s not define it precisely as an entrepreneurial streak or an inventor’s view of what’s possible. Those are parts of it, but they are too constrained by enterprise to be as intrinsic as what we’re contemplating.
No, this is the undeniable “can do” bent pervading the American spirit, at least as viewed by those from the outside. At times, it is aspirational. Not always. Understandably, many Americans haven’t felt the positive of late, what with our values, rules and laws, our experiment in self-governance, in question. Nonetheless, it is a case study in forward movement, even in a time of perseverance.
And we are here to report that the rest of the world still sees it. And wants it.
French Connection
In January, we established an outpost in Paris. This year, our team has taken scores of meetings with business leaders around France, as well as in the UK, Italy, Austria and Greece.
What we’ve found has surprised us.
For all of the muck the US is depositing in economic and diplomatic realms, the drab and mean-spirited rhetoric from official channels, Europeans continue to identify with, as they see it, the fundamental American attitude of possibility. We are, after all, the unofficial land of such freewheeling-ness. Our impulse to peek around the corner without an inkling of what’s there. To pursue the possible in the face of the probable. To have conversations for the sake of them. Because. Because…who knows?
So engrained it is we Americans take it for granted.
Perhaps Europeans tend toward skepticism because the nations and states of that continent have been around so long. Literally, they see a length to history we don’t. They’ve been there. Over and again. They’ve done that.
No, we Americans will always be a little nouveau.
Perhaps it’s also proximity. Those cozy European borders. Proximity can breed caution. An ocean away, from sea to shining sea, Americans have always had the luxury of space, a vast terrain on which to experiment. And, yes, we experiment: the good, the bad, the ugly.
Whatever the differences, we have found Europeans keen as ever to tap into this American temperament, fascinated by its many dimensions. We get the sense that their fascination, at times, is a bit like the glance one steals at a car wreck. But, more often, it seems to concern a genuine, bridled enthusiasm for our predilection to simply “move things along,” the kind of hyper-creativity that can be, depending on circumstance, either high-minded or down-and-dirty.
We have heard it again and again the last ten months:
Americans “say yes.”
Americans “make decisions.”
Americans excel at “moving fast.”
Americans “are easy to work with.”
When it comes to transacting, Americans “don’t take things personally.”
We have been interested in the ways Europeans broadly define both our perspective and predilections. We seek “what’s next,” embracing “the new.” The idea makes sense, traced as far back as our founding. A country built on a new continent (the land, of course, wasn’t new to those already here). Future-looking and forward-moving. The intent to fashion a nation different in purpose.
Europeans also perceive Americans as having a curiosity and interest in all things from aboard. Based on our buying habits, travel patterns and overall economic activity, they are right. Even in an era when the country is putting up official trade-based walls, American consumers in the financial position to consume (those keeping our national economy somewhere above water), are keen for that which comes from abroad. We, apparently, want the best representation of every particular thing. To acquire those things, we do not hesitate. No, we commit. Mention the American consumer to a European and their attention is rapt.
To Europeans, used to more deliberative, careful commercial attitudes, these are reasons to cheer.
Going to Market
Along with the fascination comes a desire for access to our markets. To literally be in the States, to claim a piece of the land, our attentions and consumer interests. The opportunity for Americans in this is that much about our economic ecosystem and cadence remain a mystery. It has become for us a burgeoning part of our business - advising European clients on how to enter the US market, sharing strategies and pathways to do so.
It isn’t all California sunshine and roses (though a French architect was near joyful tears this week at the thought of the creative role we are establishing for him in Los Angeles).
Crossing the Atlantic is tricky business. Costs are higher. For all our enthusiasm and wider wallets, Americans have different habits and priorities. It’s not a continent into which one dips their toes. It’s a plunge from the high dive.
Enthusiasm can also be an exercise in excess, to state the obvious. The American way can be (over)indulgent. We paper over foundational cracks that create instability for the entire business environment. Some of that, many suspect, is happening now.
But we choose to take the long view. The optimistic view?
The current American political and civic strictures won’t last forever. Though damaged, the country will yet emerge from this epoch of autocracy and reductive, crude, corrupt policy-making, at which time an EU invasion of brands, goods and makers might truly take root. Those companies that make inroads now will be best positioned to capture American minds and money.
Onward.
BC + CA + EH