Finding Common Ground Among Team Members

Many of us today work in an environment with team members who are so dramatically different from you. Different cultures, career stage, and age all contribute to those age old comments of "I have nothing in common with him/her?", "We have nothing to talk about".

Over the last few months of working on a truly global project, 14 countries and 6 continents represented, the one underlying commonality that brings a group together is...FOOD. Everyone eats and most people have grown up with certain traditions/preparations of food that are near and dear to them who love to talk about it, its nostalgic!

Just this week, food was the catalyst for me and an Indian colleague to have a great conversation on his favorite Indian restaurant that actually is near my house and after visiting it for dinner last week another reason for us to catch up for a few minutes over a cup of coffee. Which, by the way, Royal India in Milwaukee is a great find. The service was fabulous and the food was even better.

Next time you are looking for a conversation topic or can't seem to find anything in common with someone, try asking him/her about their favorite meal, restaurant, etc. You'll probably learn something interesting about him/her and possibly be introduced to a reat new restaurant. Worked for me!

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