I spent five years in an EMEA role at Oracle, responsible for the go-to-market strategy for a supply chain demand planning product Oracle had acquired

I took the role largely because I love travel, that was the upside

The downside was that Oracle wasn’t really known for its supply chain solutions at the time

That meant a lot of what we were doing was “missionary work”: getting out into the field and educating the market on why this product mattered and why Oracle should be taken seriously in that space

As a result, I was in a different country almost every week, working closely with local account teams

I was often leading opportunities myself too, and as someone who came from a new business sales background, that part felt very familiar

One week I’d be having lunch with the owner of a wholesale business in Saudi Arabia

The next, I’d be presenting to a board in South Africa

The week after that, I’d be in Milan

I even had a sales rep based in Moscow, which meant a few trips to Russia

On one of those trips, I was speaking at a conference

This was before the Ukraine war, when you could do business comfortably in English and the room was full, people from Deloitte, EY, Accenture, and many other American and British firms that were operating there at the time

A colleague and I jumped into a taxi at the hotel to get to the conference

On the way, we were pulled over by the police

The taxi driver spoke a little English and turned to us calmly:
“Don’t worry, I deal with it.”

He got out of the car, jogged over to the police vehicle, and I could see him taking his wallet out

He climbed into the police car, and a few seconds later he was back

“All sorted,” he said

Trying to choose my words carefully, I asked, “So… what’s the going rate?”
Then added, half-joking, “Make sure you write a receipt for the full amount.”

He laughed, got us to the conference on time, and shook both my colleague’s hand and mine

For him, it was just another day at work

I certainly didn’t want to phone the conference organisers (or home) to explain that I couldn’t attend because I’d been arrested by the police

Conclusion
In the end, everyone was happy: the taxi driver, us, and, no doubt, the police

It was a reminder that when you work across regions, cultures, and markets, go-to-market lessons don’t always come from boardrooms and slide decks

Sometimes, they happen in the back of a taxi

Thanks to the Moscow Times for the photo