Culture Map: How to Navigate the Realities of Multi-Cultural Business
- Downloads：4877
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-15 11:54:05
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Erin Meyer
- ISBN：1610392507
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Success in business requires navigating through wildly different cultural realities， and we become vulnerable without any knowledge of how to decode cultures foreign to our own。 For today’s ever-more-globalized audience， international culture expert Erin Meyer writes a fun and instructive guide to the tactics and strategies we’ll need to overcome cultural obstacles and obtain success。
Reviews
Rahul Samani
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Insightful book on how culture affects work， life， interactions and perceptions。 Where we come from shapes the way we think and perceive the world。 Being aware of the fundamental differences in culture goes a long way in building relationships across cultures。While a lot of what's mentioned in the book holds true， cultural lines are being blurred due to increased cross-cultural interactions and adoption of practices from other cultures。 It'll be interesting to see how things will pan out in the Insightful book on how culture affects work， life， interactions and perceptions。 Where we come from shapes the way we think and perceive the world。 Being aware of the fundamental differences in culture goes a long way in building relationships across cultures。While a lot of what's mentioned in the book holds true， cultural lines are being blurred due to increased cross-cultural interactions and adoption of practices from other cultures。 It'll be interesting to see how things will pan out in the future。 That being said， the content could've been delivered in a more concise format。 A lot of it is repetitive。 But this can probably be attributed to the low context culture that the author belongs to？ 。。。more
Sandra
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Great book to understand some of the reason why people behave in certain ways according to their culture。
Taylor Green
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Helpful not only from a business stand point， but a travel stand point。 So interesting！！
Martijn Van Vuuren
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Interessant onderwerp maar wat mij betreft had het boek in de helft van het aantal bladzijde geschreven kunnen worden。 Erg veel voorbeelden en anekdotes。
Ryan Beneke
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A practical， enjoyable guide to navigating cultural differences that has definitely helped me as an American better adapt to my Japanese-Korean cultural working environment。
Tino Dietel
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This book has opened my mind more about cultural differences。 It helped me understand the people I work with every day a bit more。 The examples Erin Meyer provides are very relatable and the detailed explanations provide the background to them。 Always all sides are highlighted not as problematic， but with what strengths are brought in。 At the same time it's shown how the culture is perceived by someone from a different one。With the 8 culture scales the book provides a tool the reader can use and This book has opened my mind more about cultural differences。 It helped me understand the people I work with every day a bit more。 The examples Erin Meyer provides are very relatable and the detailed explanations provide the background to them。 Always all sides are highlighted not as problematic， but with what strengths are brought in。 At the same time it's shown how the culture is perceived by someone from a different one。With the 8 culture scales the book provides a tool the reader can use and refer to later when interacting with someone from a different country/region/culture。"The Culture Map" can be highly suggested as a read for everyone interacting with different cultures - as clients， partners， teammates or employees。 。。。more
Gijs Koopman
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Meyers captures cultural differences in doing business into eight comprehensive dimensions。 When applied correctly， it will increase mutual understanding and appreciation for the other one’s background。 Essential insights for anyone who works across borders。 Loved every bit。
Sayel
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Clear， interesting and practical approach to understand cultural differences with a focus on working in a globalised world
Thaís
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Great recollection of multicultural experiences with funny examples。 Although I feel the book is slightly intended for those managing a team， I had fun seeing some situations where I’ve found myself， and it also made me question my own cultural lens when observing the world。 A practical book that I feel I’ll revisit in future。
Enhee Tsoodol
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Totally worth reading。 Highly recommend to anyone working in multicultural environment。
Charul Sampath
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Excellent book！ I'm an Indian living in Sweden for more than 7 years now working in a company with not just Swedes but many other nationalities too。 While reading this book， I had many 'Aha！' moments as I understood some of the incidents from the past。 I also think all of the concepts in this book can be applied to map and understand individual personalities， and not just countries。 A very insightful book indeed。 Excellent book！ I'm an Indian living in Sweden for more than 7 years now working in a company with not just Swedes but many other nationalities too。 While reading this book， I had many 'Aha！' moments as I understood some of the incidents from the past。 I also think all of the concepts in this book can be applied to map and understand individual personalities， and not just countries。 A very insightful book indeed。 。。。more
John Wargo
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Loves this book。 Well organized， lots of useful examples， amazing cultural analysis。 I so Wich i had this decades ago。
Triin Samuel
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A highly practical book that I recommend to anyone who is communicating to or trying to interpret the actions of people from other cultures。 Illuminated some of my assumptions which I thought were universal， but are apparently cultural。 Pretty easy to read。Some people have complained about this book reinforcing cultural stereotypes， but I think it would be basically impossible to write a practical book on this topic without some amount of generalization。 Of course， you should still check with th A highly practical book that I recommend to anyone who is communicating to or trying to interpret the actions of people from other cultures。 Illuminated some of my assumptions which I thought were universal， but are apparently cultural。 Pretty easy to read。Some people have complained about this book reinforcing cultural stereotypes， but I think it would be basically impossible to write a practical book on this topic without some amount of generalization。 Of course， you should still check with the person instead of blindly expecting them to adhere to a stereotype。 This book helps with that by providing ideas for these discussions and some baseline guidelines for how to minimize the probability of being misunderstood until then。 。。。more
Viktor Åkerskog
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This was the most eye-opening book I have read in a long time， and I really appreciate the new lens it has given me to look at culture through。 I have yet to work in an international setting， but after reading The Culture Map， I feel like I have the tools I need to do it well。I strongly recommend this book to anyone who works with or wants to work with people from other countries and cultures， as well as to those who just want to learn more about their own。 Just be prepared for some discomfort， This was the most eye-opening book I have read in a long time， and I really appreciate the new lens it has given me to look at culture through。 I have yet to work in an international setting， but after reading The Culture Map， I feel like I have the tools I need to do it well。I strongly recommend this book to anyone who works with or wants to work with people from other countries and cultures， as well as to those who just want to learn more about their own。 Just be prepared for some discomfort， if you feel that your way of doing things is the only right way 😄 。。。more
Johannes Vogel
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Essential reading when working in an international environment。Easy and enjoyable to read， great anecdotes that capture the essence of the lessons and actionable advice。
Kathy
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Thought provoking and practical book that gives you more ways to look at people interactions。 Highly recommend！ The audio book was well read， but hard to look at the PDF while you're listening on the go。 Great examples in business of how communications can go sideways。 Also helpful suggestions on how to approach personality vs cultural disconnects。 Thought provoking and practical book that gives you more ways to look at people interactions。 Highly recommend！ The audio book was well read， but hard to look at the PDF while you're listening on the go。 Great examples in business of how communications can go sideways。 Also helpful suggestions on how to approach personality vs cultural disconnects。 。。。more
Sylvia Jakobi
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A must book for those who live abroad or have exposure to international context at work or live in intercultural relationships。 As much as I believe we are all very different， there are aspects of our personalities that stem from our cultural backgrounds。 There are ways we think， express ourselves， imagine and expect things to happen， and when dealing with foreigners， simple things can be become obstacles to success。 One sentence can have different meaning depending where you are from， who you s A must book for those who live abroad or have exposure to international context at work or live in intercultural relationships。 As much as I believe we are all very different， there are aspects of our personalities that stem from our cultural backgrounds。 There are ways we think， express ourselves， imagine and expect things to happen， and when dealing with foreigners， simple things can be become obstacles to success。 One sentence can have different meaning depending where you are from， who you speak to or where you live。 To better understand the people we deal with I'd very much recommend immersing in this book or simply take it with you on your next long haul flight。The only disadvantage of this book， as it happens quite often， is lack of understanding the culture so called Eastern Europe （that in fact is Central Europe）。 。。。more
Amy
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[audiobook] Meyer provides some good suggestions on how to understand differences beyond most superficial "diversity training" sessions that I've had to sit through about respecting others' backgrounds。 Her "8 Cultural Distinctions" are helpful in clarifying how people communicate and understand professionalism。 She does seem fair， in giving the positive sides of both ends of her dichotomies。 She also leads with the suggestion to listen， adapt to the locals， and act with humor and humility。 That [audiobook] Meyer provides some good suggestions on how to understand differences beyond most superficial "diversity training" sessions that I've had to sit through about respecting others' backgrounds。 Her "8 Cultural Distinctions" are helpful in clarifying how people communicate and understand professionalism。 She does seem fair， in giving the positive sides of both ends of her dichotomies。 She also leads with the suggestion to listen， adapt to the locals， and act with humor and humility。 That said， her ideas are flawed。I disagree with how she has characterized culture， as individuals' nationalisms， as the primary explanation of everything， with little of their behavior to do with their gender， class， or politics。 Her messy efforts to explain how cultures came to be， with a history of communism leading to less trust or a more diverse society leading to less shared social context， can seem true。 Yet her explanations are simplistic， and defer to tradition too much in how we shape our social spaces。 The suggestion that a smaller team would make decisions faster is true， regardless of how many cultural backgrounds were in it。 Consensus is generally easier with a smaller group of people， it is dangerous to let diversity be a large culprit there。 Her idea of culture is very "Olympic Games"， in that it's treated as a way that each identity has similar standing。 Her book is specifically about business around the world， so I will only fault her for that mindset a bit。 To be clear， the experience of minorities is different from that of immigrants。 Being an American expat in Morocco is a very different experience than being a Moroccan-French individual having to grow up in a country with no small degree of islamophobic and xenophobic forces。 That's my warning for anyone looking to extrapolate this book to domestic offices with multicultural contexts。 One suggestion that irked me was that children of immigrants， or immigrants themselves would be good "bridge people" to help others with cultural accommodation。 That pushes responsibility for social harmony to those who are already burdened with cultural adaptation and assimilation。 She could stand to read some Audre Lorde。If you like this book， then I would suggest Acemoglu and Robinson's "Why Nations Fail"， Banerjee and Duflo's "Poor Economics"， and de Mesquita and Smith's "The Dictator's Handbook"。 Development economists and political scientists have been working fairly hard to disprove the idea that culture is a primary explanation of people's workplace behavior， and these authors' explanations have more academic merit。 How Acemoglu and Robinson explain extractive and inclusive institutions is best related to Distinctions 6 and 7。 Alesina's "The Size of Nations" might be a better explanation of Distinction 1， but I have yet to read that。 Distinctions:1。 Low vs。 High context communication 2。 Principles vs。 Applications first persuasion3。 Task vs。 Relationship-based trust 4。 Direct vs。 Indirect negative feedback5。 Confrontational vs。 Avoidant disagreement6。 Consensual vs。 Top-down decision-making7。 Egalitarian vs。 Hierarchical leadership8。 Linear vs。 Flexible time schedulingI would like to know what anthropologists think of her work in regards to cultural relativism。 。。。more
Radu Pirlog
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The best book I read on the topic of intercultural cooperation for business。 highgly recommended for people working in international environments （business or academic）。
Christopher Winnyk
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Practical reference。 Not a page turner by any means。
Mohamed Elsadek
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The book offers some interesting observations based on the writer’s professional experience which she has collected globally。 She tried to use experience to create an understanding on how cultures affect how people around the globe do business。 I recommend the book to any one leading or working as a part of global team。
Mike Kovacic
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Fascinating read about the interplay of different cultures not only in the business world but everyday life itself。
Marike
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I thought this would be another superficial business book but was pleasantly surprised。 Eventhough I studied intercultural communication in University and have lived in and worked with different cultures， I still had a lot of new insights while reading this book。
Alê Borba
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Every person who wants to understand more about cultural differences and how to adapt to those differences should read this book。 It is just open minding！
Shanzi
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After 6 years， this is still an accurate description of cultural buisness differences。 The anecdotes are perfect for understanding how to work cross-culturally and teaching you about your own culture's "water" After 6 years， this is still an accurate description of cultural buisness differences。 The anecdotes are perfect for understanding how to work cross-culturally and teaching you about your own culture's "water" 。。。more
Bogdan Mytnyk
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Excellent。 Must reaf for those who work in multicultural team。
Sebastian Gebski
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I had it on my recommendations list for a long time， but my impression was always like: "damn， I don't need a book on cultural differences; I've worked in many international enterprises， I have been trained， I have practical experience - it would be just a waste of time"。In the end， it wasn't （a waste of time）。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 intu I had it on my recommendations list for a long time， but my impression was always like: "damn， I don't need a book on cultural differences; I've worked in many international enterprises， I have been trained， I have practical experience - it would be just a waste of time"。In the end， it wasn't （a waste of time）。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）。I think that the biggest value out of this book is NOT about memorizing the differences between the actual cultures （actually， that brings biases）。 The real value is all about acknowledging that there ARE differences and one has to live with them。 No single culture is superior， no single approach is the right one。 You need to be flexible and understand the root causes of some behaviors to adapt and reap most of the particular situation。Solid 4。5-4。7 stars。 Prolly the best book on that topic I've read。 Not affected by the virus of political correctness。 。。。more
Marcin Przekop
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I have got this book at one of the corporate trainings and as I prefere reading on Kindle it stayed on the shelf for over half a year。 I was so wrong to let it sit there。 This book changed my perspective on human interactions between cultures。 As I work in multicultural environment I could immediately relate examples given to my own experiences。 This book on the real life scenarios explaines human behaviour and the traps we tend to fall in when we assume that other people should behave similar t I have got this book at one of the corporate trainings and as I prefere reading on Kindle it stayed on the shelf for over half a year。 I was so wrong to let it sit there。 This book changed my perspective on human interactions between cultures。 As I work in multicultural environment I could immediately relate examples given to my own experiences。 This book on the real life scenarios explaines human behaviour and the traps we tend to fall in when we assume that other people should behave similar to us。 People from different culture are often not similar， so expecting similar behaviour is just wrong。 This book teaches respect in the perfect way - by teaching you to "think in other people's shoes"。 。。。more
Alen Jovic
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My team is almost completely mixed - at some point I had 10 people on a project - no 2 from the same country。 This book provides great overview （and correct in my experience） of major cultures attributes for various metrics （feedback， open/closed， relationship vs task， etc。。）。 Useful both privately and at work。 I wish I read it before。
Melly
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