The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business

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At intervals I wanted to yell "Look, sod Geoff Tipple. Just sum the point you're making up in two lines". And as with many a business book too, we're never far away from a pitch for consultancy work or conference speech opportunities. Thus:

I really appreciate that the book is something much more than a collection of bias and anecdotes. Meyer proposes her own classification of cultures that in fact is very reasonable and intuitively matches my experience. There are plenty of viable examples - some of them really stellar (my fav one: peach culture VS coconut culture). Leadership Journeys [135] – Manish Kumar –“You never get enough time to spend with your loved ones” Trust in any business relationship is vital for success, irrespective of the cultural context that affects it. That said, an effective high relationship-based trust works with all cultures. It is therefore a better form of trust to build than high task-based that works only with a few cultures. Scale 7 – The Disagreeing Scale Perception of time and schedule differ from culture to culture and can range from linear to flexible on the scheduling scale. If even within one nation there are drastically different values and habits, how can we outline the universal characteristics of people living in the same country?Leadership Journeys [132] – Josh Staph –“A good leader knows what questions to ask and what questions need to be answered”

An international business expert helps you understand and navigate cultural differences in this insightful and practical guide, perfect for both your work and personal life. While the leading scale gives an idea of how decision-making works in different cultures, there is a separate cultural scale for decision-making altogether. The deciding scale can be consensual, or top-down High task-based scale – In countries such as the US and the Netherlands, the trust factor is created by achievements in business relations and profits. Such trust can be forged as well as dissolved easily. These 8 categories of cultural differences have helped us in the way we train companies, employees, and lead our personal lives. We highly recommend you take the time to read this book and start making your life easier when working with groups around the globe. Meyer’s strategies for working in cultures that decide by consensus mostly involve getting used to how much time decisions take and using that time to your advantage. She recommends building time for a longer decision-making process into your schedule and practicing patience when talks stall. She also suggests fostering positive relationships with your business partners so you’re not surprised by the decision, as well as making sure you’re comfortable with the process being used. (Shortform note: Make this process more comfortable by building trust with your business partners and holding your meetings in places conducive to reaching a consensus. And study how your unconscious assumptions might influence your comfort with the process.)

3. Leading: Egalitarian vs. hierarchical

If you want fundamental research - Hofstede. If you want to work with a particular nation, try looking precisely at books relevant to that nation.