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Create your own luck by taking local superstition into account.28. August 2013Although you may scoff at superstition, seeing it as irrational and with no role to play at the workplace, remember that it is important to many. In the USA, one in four admits to being superstitions, and in China one in three says they believe in fortune tellers. Rationally, the numbers 13 and 666 only have a numerical value; however, these numbers can give subtle negative connotations, ranging from a distracted smile, to the belief it will bring bad luck. In some cases, even a small distraction can give a bad start to a budding relationship.

The questions you should be asking yourself are not whether you are superstitions, but rather:

• Are you willing to risk starting a new relation with a backdrop which may give unlucky connotations?
  
• Would you benefit from showing respect for local customs and beliefs, by taking account of everyday beliefs, like superstition?
  
• What does it cost to consider details that may signal good or bad luck?

Superstition varies between cultures and people. While the number 13 is considered unlucky in the West, the number 9 sounds phonetically like "suffering in Japan". This means that a price, such as is often found in the West, of 99,- would sound like "suffering, suffering" in Japan. Similarly, in both China and Japan, the number 4 sounds like "death"; leading many to avoid it. Possibly coincidentally, looking at the various product lines of Sony cameras, you will see many go from the 3-series, straight to the 5-, 6- and 7 series, skipping the fourth. In Malaysia, a country where Eastern and Western business often meet, you can find many hotels without floors number: 4, 9 or 13. However in some of the same hotels, you can find floors 12a and 12b instead. In India, where numbers ending in 0 are unlucky, it is common to add a little when giving a monetary gift, to avoid the round number. In Italy, where the number 17 is unlucky, the 17th turn in the bobsleigh track was called: "Senza Nome", meaning "Without name" during the Torino Olympics in 2006. Conversely in China, where the number 8 is considered lucky, the Beijing Olympics started exactly 8 seconds, past 8 minutes, past 8 pm, on the 8th of August (8th month) in '08. It was a great Olympic games.

Picture from an elevator in an apartement complex in Shanghai. Note that the floors: 4, 13 and 14 are missing.

Numbers are not the only thing signaling luck or misfortune; for many Chinese Feng Shui is widely used when building and styling homes and offices. Here topics like color, geographic direction and the elements, to name a few, have a role to play.

While trying to take consideration to all superstition would be an impossible task for anyone, showing respect for some central themes may be the "little extra" that signals your respect for local culture and makes your life a little easier. From a rational point of view, it can be a simple cost - benefit analysis.