08/01/2026
ℌ𝔬𝔴 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝓣𝔥𝔯𝔢𝔢 𝓚𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝓀𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔂𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔟𝔲𝔰𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔢𝔵𝔭𝔞𝔫𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔦𝔫 𝓢𝔭𝔞𝔦𝔫.
No, they’re not mythical.
They’re cultural. And very real.
6 January is a national holiday in Spain, in observance of the Three Kings.
Bigger than Christmas. Family centred. Deeply heartfelt. Untouchable.
And yet, on that very day, I received requests for a call or meeting or other non-urgent work topics.
So did some of my clients and contacts.
This may look like a small detail.
It's actually a WARNING.
It's a quiet signal: that person/company does not truly understand the culture of the country they are trying to operate or expand in.
When a company ignores the most important cultural day of a country, it usually means:
🔸 They don't understand local decision rhythms
🔸 They confuse availability with commitment
🔸 Relationships remain transactional
🔸 They export headquarters habits and calls it “global”
🔸 They will struggle to build trust, no matter how good the product is
🔸 Ex*****on becomes harder than it should be
International expansion does not collapse in boardrooms.
It bleeds out in details.
Culture is not “soft”.
It's an operating system.
And in Spain, pressing “send” on 6 January is not neutral.
It tells your counterpart exactly how much you don’t know yet.
This detail may sound obvious.
What’s not obvious is how often other "subtle" signals remain unknown.
I support boards in surfacing them.
If you are expanding into Spain or Italy, I don’t help you enter the market.
I help you avoid having to fix it later.
💬Let's talk? 🤝