By Joost Narraina, Strategic Creative Director
In 2017, Philip Morris sent me to Curaçao to launch a new affiliate from scratch. Build the team, define the strategy, exceed all KPIs.
What I thought would be a career stepping stone became the experience that shaped how I approach business relationships, cultural sensitivity, and strategic creative work.
Working in the Caribbean taught me lessons about business I never could have learned in European boardrooms.
Landing in Willemstad, I expected to apply European business practices to a tropical setting. Fast meetings, direct communication, immediate decision-making.
I was completely wrong.
My first week, I scheduled back-to-back meetings trying to establish partnerships with local distributors. The meetings ran long. People showed up late. Conversations wandered to family, weekend plans, and local politics before getting to business.
I was frustrated. They were building relationship foundation I didn't understand yet.
In Curaçao, business isn't transactional. It's relational. You don't close deals with people you don't know personally. You don't build partnerships without understanding family context and community connections.
This wasn't inefficiency. It was strategic relationship building that created more sustainable business outcomes than contract negotiations.
My breakthrough came when a local distributor invited me to his daughter's graduation party. Instead of seeing it as social obligation, I recognized it as business investment in long-term partnership.
That relationship became one of the strongest commercial partnerships we established.
The Curaçao experience fundamentally shifted how I approach business development:
Before Curaçao: Focus on delivering professional services efficiently After Curaçao: Focus on building authentic relationships that enable better service delivery
Before Curaçao: Separate personal and professional interactions After Curaçao: Integrate human connection with business partnership
Before Curaçao: Measure success by project completion and revenue After Curaçao: Measure success by relationship depth and long-term value creation
Working across language barriers taught me strategic communication skills I use daily:
Clarity over cleverness: Complex ideas need simple expression when working with multiple languages and cultural contexts.
Context matters more than content: Understanding someone's background helps you communicate in ways that actually land.
Patience creates better outcomes: Rushing communication leads to misunderstandings that cost more time than careful initial explanation.
Visual communication bridges gaps: Showing concepts through imagery and examples works better than explaining them through words alone.
The relationship-first approach I learned in Curaçao became competitive advantage in European markets:
Client retention improved: When you understand clients as people, not just revenue sources, they stay longer and refer more business.
Project quality increased: Strong relationships enable honest feedback that improves creative work and business results.
Decision-making accelerated: Trust built through authentic connection speeds up approval processes and strategic alignment.
Cross-cultural strategic thinking
Living and working in a different culture taught me to question assumptions I didn't realize I had:
European assumption: Directness equals efficiency Caribbean learning: Context-building often creates faster long-term progress
European assumption: Professional boundaries improve business outcomes Caribbean learning: Personal connection enhances professional collaboration
European assumption: Time efficiency is the primary business metric Caribbean learning: Relationship quality often matters more than timeline optimization
The cultural sensitivity I developed in Curaçao now influences every client partnership:
Understanding business culture: Every organization has unspoken cultural dynamics that affect creative strategy and implementation.
Adapting communication style: Some clients need direct, data-driven presentations. Others need relationship-building and collaborative exploration.
Reading between the lines: What people don't say often matters more than what they do say, especially in strategic creative briefings.
Building trust before selling: Authentic relationship foundation enables better creative collaboration and business outcomes.
In client discovery calls: I spend more time understanding organizational culture and personal working styles than discussing project specifics.
In strategic creative briefings: I focus on business context and stakeholder dynamics, not just creative requirements.
In project management: I prioritize relationship maintenance alongside deliverable quality and timeline management.
In business development: I measure success by relationship depth and client satisfaction, not just project volume and revenue.
The Curaçao experience revealed strengths I didn't know I had:
Cultural adaptability: I can quickly understand and adapt to different organizational and cultural contexts.
Relationship building: I genuinely enjoy getting to know clients as people, not just business contacts.
Strategic patience: I'm willing to invest time in relationship foundation that pays dividends in better long-term business outcomes.
Cross-cultural communication: I can bridge different communication styles and business approaches effectively.
The relationship-first approach I learned in Curaçao creates competitive advantages:
Higher client retention: Clients stay longer when they feel understood and valued as people.
Better project outcomes: Strong relationships enable honest feedback and collaborative problem-solving.
Stronger referral networks: People refer business to people they know and trust personally.
Cultural intelligence: Understanding diverse business approaches enables better service to international clients.
What I thought was a career assignment became personal development that enhanced every business relationship since.
The time I spent building authentic connections in Curaçao created better business outcomes than any sales training or business development course.
The lesson: Investment in understanding people and cultures pays dividends in every business context.
Today, when clients hire me for strategic creative direction, they're not just getting professional expertise. They're getting someone who understands that business success comes from authentic human connection combined with strategic thinking.
The relationship-first approach I learned in Curaçao enables deeper strategic partnership, more effective creative collaboration, and better long-term business outcomes.
Some of my strongest client relationships started with conversations about family, travel, or shared experiences that had nothing to do with creative strategy but everything to do with human connection.
Working in Curaçao taught me that the best business relationships aren't just professional partnerships. They're authentic human connections that enable better collaborative work and sustainable business success.
Stay great,
Joost
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