Recently I was at a meeting where the head of global communications for a Fortune 100 company recommended that managers read a book called “The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business” by Erin Meyer. He raved about the book as a wonderful resource to those doing business with people in different countries.
As a small boutique PR firm, you might not think we have many international clients, but over the years we’ve served clients headquartered in Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, France, the United Kingdom and Mexico. In addition, some of our U.S.-based clients have also taken equity investments in foreign companies, which requires us to effectively collaborate with their parent company.
Every time we work with people living in another part of the world, we learn about their company’s unique culture, their communications preferences and how business is done in their country. For instance, a few years ago, we had a software client headquartered in Japan. I knew formality in business communication was important, but I had to learn the specifics of what that meant. To come up to speed, I spent a significant amount of time reading articles about Japanese business etiquette. This was helpful, but I wish I’d had “The Culture Map.”
In her book, Meyer provides readers a unique methodology to decode cultural differences so they can work together more effectively. She also does an excellent job explaining how cultural differences shape behavior and perceptions. Finally, she reminds readers that many of our perceptions are relative and based on our own unique culture experiences.
Consider the perception of age. If you’re 50 years old, you may think 30 is young. If you’re 15 years old, 30 might seem old. Similar relative perceptions exist around culture. Meyers asks readers to consider whether people in Spain build trust based on relationships or tasks: Are they a more relationship-based culture or a task-based culture? The answer is not as obvious as it might seem – it depends on what type of culture you grew up in or in which you currently live. If you’re from the U.S., the culture of trust tends to be more task-based than Spain, so you may perceive them to be more relationship oriented. However, if you are from India or China, trust building in Spain may seem more task-oriented in comparison to your culture.
This is just one of the eight areas that Myers focuses on in her book. The other areas include:
- Communicating: low-context vs. high-context
- Evaluating: direct negative feedback vs. indirect negative feedback
- Persuading: principles-first vs. application-first
- Leading: egalitarian vs. hierarchical
- Deciding: consensual vs. top-down
- Disagreeing: confrontational vs. avoids confrontation
- Scheduling: linear-time vs. flexible
When you scan this list, you can see the importance of each of these areas in doing business. Without an ability to communicate, evaluate, persuade, lead, make decisions, trust, and even disagree, it’s unlikely much will be accomplished. These foundational skills are critical and many of them are influenced by the cultural norms of your country.