The Culture Map

Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business

by Erin Meyer

Number of pages: 288

BBB Library: Politics and Public Affairs

ISBN: 9781610392501

About the Author

Erin Meyer is a professor at INSEAD, one of the leading international business schools. Her work focuses on how the world’s most successful managers navigate the complexities of cultural differences in a global environment. She offers cutting-edge insight and practical strategies to improve the effectiveness of projects that span the globe.

Editorial Review

The vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work. This is especially true as more and more of us communicate daily with people in other countries over virtual media like e-mail or telephone. Culture has impacted your communication, how you understand one another, and ultimately how you get the job done. Yet in the absence of the visual and contextual cues that physical presence provides, you didn't even recognize that something cultural was going on. These cultural differences may seem small. But if you're unaware of the differences and unarmed with strategies for managing them effectively, they can derail your team meetings, demotivate your employees, frustrate your foreign suppliers, and make it more difficult to achieve your goals.``

Book Reviews

"The Culture Map stands out as a practical book to explain and frame a very difficult collection of concepts that are increasingly relevant today." - Forbes

"The book abounds with well-chosen anecdotes to illustrate the misunderstandings that can arise from clashing cultural assumptions, making this enlightening book a pleasure to read." - Foreign Affairs

"These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business." - Kirkus

"she fills this book with examples from her own experience to show how these challenges can playout in reality." - Director Magazine

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Wisdom to Share

you can quickly run into problems when working with people who are accustomed to other modes of reasoning.

Your habitual pattern of reasoning is heavily influenced by the kind of thinking emphasized in your culture's educational structure.

If you're not sure what you have been asked to do, don't read between the lines but state clearly that you don't understand and ask for clarification.

sometimes it would be better to not be so polite, as it gives the impression of vagueness or uncertainty.

By searching for implicit cues, you can begin to read between the lines more accurately.

Be as transparent, clear, and specific as possible. Show all of your cards up front.

Communicating isn't just about speaking but also listening.

Japan as in India and China, people use a different style of communication—one that depends on unconscious assumptions about common reference points and shared knowledge.

But good communication in a high-context culture like Japan is very different.

Being a good listener is just as important for effective communication as being a good speaker.

By analyzing the positioning of one culture relative to another, the scales will enable you to decode how culture influences your own international collaboration and avoid painful situations.

Culture has impacted your communication, how you understand one another, and ultimately how you get the job done.

The vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work.