Viewpoint

Greg Kozera

Friday evening in Istanbul, Turkey. The Shale Crescent USA Team was part of a U.S. Commercial Services Roadshow to Turkey promoting U.S. investment. The week was invigorating but tiring. We traveled to Koceali and Ankara by bus. Then an early Friday morning flight from Ankara back to Istanbul where we had a scheduled meeting with a Turkish company who makes unique packaging products. They are serious about entering the U.S. market and manufacturing some of their products in the USA. At their company dining room, we had an incredible lunch of American hamburgers, fries, soup, salad and other tasty items. We had a Mediterranean diet all week. I liked the food but hadn’t had a hamburger in over a week. The burger tasted great and reminded me of home.

After a productive business meeting we were served tea before touring their four-story manufacturing facility. In Istanbul, land is extremely expensive. A facility like theirs in the USA would be a large single-story building. It was cheaper to build a 4-story factory in Istanbul than to purchase more land. The executives were friendly and easy to talk to. We discussed next steps. This was a typical Turkish business meeting lasting over three hours. The CEO had a driver take us to our hotel near Istanbul Airport.

We had a 7:30 a.m. flight the next morning out of Istanbul to London then to Pittsburgh. It had been a long day after a short night. Lynnda and I were tired. We were going to grab dinner at the hotel and go to bed early. A safe and comfortable plan. Then Nathan, Shale Crescent president called. Nathan is young, smart and adventuresome. He did some checking and found several good places to eat. We were in a strange city. We didn’t know the language. The restaurant was 20 minutes away. The comfortable thing to do was go to bed. Nathan’s judgment is good. We knew it was probably a good restaurant. We didn’t know if we would ever be back in Turkey. Lynnda and I stepped out of our comfort zone.

Nathan got an Uber. We got in, and the driver took off. Nathan tightened his seat belt. I don’t know what it is like to drive in a Grand Prix race. Our drive to the restaurant was close. We had several near misses on the drive. None of us knew how to say in Turkish, “We are not in that big a hurry.” We made it.

Looking at the menu we asked a lot of questions. I ordered chicken wings. Nathan and Lynnda really stepped out of their comfort zone ordering a meal for two cooked tableside recommended by the waiter. In Turkey we didn’t need to order appetizers. They always brought out side dishes. One was yogurt and cucumbers. The others we weren’t sure about. We tried everything and ate most of it. My chicken wings were incredible. They were grilled and seasoned, not breaded and fried. Very little fat. Very tasty. A man carrying a curved sword wearing sun goggles pushing a cart with clay pot on it approached our table. Our waiter only said, “Fire show.” We noticed people from other parts of the restaurant came into the room. The “chef” tightened his goggles, poured a clear liquid around the clay pot and lit it. Flames leaped from the cart almost touching the ceiling. Chef put on a show playing with the flames. Dinner was cooking in the clay pot. We all had a great time cheering the chef on. The show lasted several minutes. As the flames died down, the chef picked up the clay pot with his gloved hands. There was still fire on the lid. Chef suddenly took his sword and wacked the top off the jar. Pieces of the clay pot went everywhere including under our feet. We were laughing. Chef brought the clay pot to our table and poured its contents into a large serving dish. The savory aroma of beef and the sauce it was in stimulated my appetite. I shared my wings with Lynnda and got part of her beef.

It was a fun and delicious dinner we all enjoyed. The fire show was unique. Something we had never seen. We will never see anything like it in the USA. Someone would call the fire marshal. Lynnda and I would have missed it all if we stayed in our comfort zone. Thanks Nathan.

In life, growth and success happen when we get uncomfortable. Asking for a date in college was uncomfortable but essential for a good social life. In corporate sales, success came from being uncomfortable working with new and difficult customers. Setting high goals may be uncomfortable. If we fall short of a high goal we are better off than achieving low, easy goals and never learning what we are capable of.

The trip to Turkey was out of our comfort zone with a lot of unknowns; A long flight, 20 hours of travel. A country where we don’t know the language. A Muslim country and not knowing what to expect. I was worried about getting Lynnda around airports with the leg pain from her breast cancer pill. She did great. Everything worked out fine. Most of the fears people told us about were not worth worrying about. They never happened.

Getting out of our comfort zone allowed us access to over 400 companies in Turkey. Not all will be great fits for our region. Many are. We are working leads and doing follow-up video calls with prospects this week and scheduling more follow-up video meetings for the next two weeks. Nathan and I were interviewed by Turkish media. We got positive, accurate press allowing the Shale Crescent USA story to reach thousands of Turkish business people who could not attend the Roadshow. We had to get uncomfortable to move forward. Success isn’t easy. It comes in taking a risk, getting uncomfortable and stepping out of our comfort zone.

Greg Kozera, gkozera@shalecrescentusa.com is the director of marketing for Shale Crescent USA. He is a professional engineer with a master’s in environmental engineering and over 40 years of experience in the energy industry.

Greg is a leadership expert, high school soccer coach, professional speaker and author of four books and many published articles.