US vs. British working culture: what I learn from my American customers

I spent a lot of time working with American entrepreneurs. In 2023, I launched a ghost writing company in London by writing for founders of technology and real estate space.

I work mainly with American customers and I have visited the United States several times in recent months.

The more time I spend in the United States, the more I realize how the British tackles work differently.

I find that the Americans are more likely to take up the challenges and to have a greater appreciation of the risk, while the British prioritize comfort and perfection. Here are the main features that have made our differences in the most apparent work culture.

1. Kiss “Schlep blindness”

“”Schlep blindness“was invented by the founder of Y Combinator Paul Graham. This means that we can become blind with tedious tasks.

I found that the Americans will tackle little glamorous problems, while the British are more realistic on faults and obstacles. This last approach can make you achieve how difficult a goal is to achieve and less likely to take up a new challenge.

An American founder recently told me to start something with a level of naivety, especially if it seems tedious, means that you will be more likely to ignore potential challenges and continue. On the other side of the “Schlep”, there is often a higher reward.

I think it is because there is an entrepreneurial and meritocratic spirit stronger in the United States.

Many of my British friends talk about changing career in something more fulfilling and aligning their passions. But the people I spoke with in the United States say that it is more important to become passionate about the process.

You shouldn’t hate your work, but an increasing work that seems boring is often based on a higher return on investment.

When I started my ghost writing business, it took months of rejection to get my first customer. If I knew how difficult it would be, I might never have started. Instead, I just took it one day both and I got used to doing uncomfortable work.

2. intentional network building

In Great Britain, our social and professional circles are often formed by chance – school links, family friends or colleagues. Most of my school friends live and always refer to the same city.

But the Americans I met are more intentional in their circle.

The founders and the businessmen I met in the United States built Reach out to interesting people online in their Daily schedules. They found friends, co -founders and online networking opportunities.

It may be the fear of failure or the great poppy syndrome, but I think that people are not as proactive in networking in the United Kingdom. The British sometimes consider Americans to be unpleasant, but I see that it is without excuse and ambitious.

I have always found easier to build relationships across the pond. I think that in parallel with the intention, there is also more openness and energy high to socialization.

In London, it is an unwritten rule that you do not speak to foreigners. In America, you enter a clothing store and you have the impression that the clerk is your best friend – everyone does everything possible to start a conversation.

3. Execution on perfection

“Done Beats Perfect” is a saying that I often hear in America.

In Great Britain, we often delay the launch of a product or an idea until everything is polite.

I think it is partly because of the stereotype “rigid upper lip”. Failure to do something would be to show emotion, which can be seen negatively in British culture. Perfectionism is often disguised fear.

In the United States, emails are answered in a few hours. The problems are solved that day. My American friends do everything with another level of intensity. Before they even have time to think, they took measures.

I believe that we should take our time with great things like working on and with whom to associate. But once you are on the right path, the more experiences you can perform for comments, the better.

I used to spend hours sweating on tiny details in my work and my personal life. It took a lot of practice, but finally, I learned to set deadlines, I ignored the internal British voice and I started to act.

Each iteration would bring me where I want to be much faster than trying to be perfect before launch. I think it’s more common in British culture where not trying at all is better than trying and failing.

4. Relationship with the challenge

The American entrepreneurs I met seem to have a different approach to the difficulty itself. They are actively looking for challenges.

I recently returned from a trip to New York where I met a bunch of founders. We went to run and discussed business and life.

There was a model where serious marathon runners also succeeded at work. They said how they liked to kiss pain and challenge.

Companies, such as marathons, are difficult to manage and it takes a certain type to seek this challenge. I am not saying that everyone in the United States is like that, but I came across many that seemed to prosper in stimulating chaotic situations.

In the United Kingdom, it is more normal to seek comfort: a respectable house and reasonable working hours. It is perhaps because British culture does not glamor ambition to the same extent as the United States.

Sometimes I find myself wishing a refrigerated weekend. As soon as I have one, my mind sucks the rush towards the construction of things. This state of mind makes me feel a little in its place in the United Kingdom.

I meet a lot of British who does not like their work or who like to talk about it. While when I see people in WeWork on weekends, I love it. It tells me that we have something in common.

A different game entirely

Regarding work, British and American cultures do not play the same game with different results – they play different games with different rules and objectives.

British culture optimizes stability, respectability and manageable progress. The American entrepreneurial culture optimizes for disproportionate impact, rapid evolution and breakthrough opportunities.

Neither approaches is intrinsically higher, but they produce different results.

For my part, these ideas have transformed the way I build my business. I started to take up little glamorous challenges, to set more ambitious targets, to launch faster and to see difficulties like opportunities.