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

Marc Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.;As today's business world becomes ever-more global and virtual, executives and managers are expected to work harmoniously together with counterparts from a broad array dramatically different cultures and backgrounds, often without leaving their desks. But when you throw people together who come from starkly different backgrounds and cultures- from Americans who precede anything negative with three nice comments to French, Dutch, Israelis and Germans who get straight to the point (your presentation was simply awful);from Latin Americans and Asians who are steeped in hierarchy to the Scandinavians who think the best boss is just one of the crowd- the result can sometimes be disastrous. Even with English as a global language, it's easy to fall into cultural traps that endanger careers and sink deals. In The Culture Map, renowned expert Erin Meyer offers highly practical and timely perspective on one of today's most pressing business issues: how do different cultures influence the way to do business when working globally? And she explains how to dramatically increase business success by improving one's ability to understand the cultural drivers of colleagues, clients, and suppliers from different countries. With the rapid increase in global call centers, outsourcing, supply chains, and project teams, cultural diversity touches almost everyone. Globalization has led to the rapid connection of internationally based employees from all levels of multinational companies. The advent of information and communication technology means that work itself has globalized. Where once you might have been expected to collaborate with colleagues from one or two foreign territories, today many people are part of global networks connected with people scattered around the world. Yet most managers have little understanding of how local culture impacts global interaction. Even those who are culturally informed, travel extensively, and have lived abroad often have few strategies for dealing with the cross-cultural complexity that affects their team's day-to-day effectiveness. The Culture Map provides a new way forward, with vital insights for working effectively and sensitively with one's counterparts in the new global marketplace--;Provided by publisher.;As today's business world becomes ever-more global and virtual, executives and managers are expected to work harmoniously together with counterparts from a broad array of dramatically different cultures and backgrounds, often without leaving their desks. But when you throw people together who come from starkly different backgrounds and cultures-- from Americans who precede anything negative with three nice comments to French, Dutch, Israelis and Germans who get straight to the point (your presentation was simply awful);from Latin Americans and Asians who are steeped in hierarchy to the Scandinavians who think the best boss is just one of the crowd-- the result can sometimes be disastrous. In Culture Map, renowned expert Erin Meyer offers highly practical and timely perspective on one of today's most pressing business issues: how do different cultures influence the way to do business when working globally? And she explains how to dramatically increase business success by improving one's ability to understand the cultural drivers of colleagues, clients, and suppliers from different countries. Culture Map provides a new way forward, with vital insights for working effectively and sensitively with one's counterparts in the new global marketplace--;Provided by publisher.

Brief Description:
"As today's business world becomes ever-more global and virtual, executives and managers are expected to work harmoniously together with counterparts from a broad array of dramatically different cultures and backgrounds, often without leaving their desks. But when you throw people together who come from starkly different backgrounds and cultures-- from Americans who precede anything negative with three nice comments to French, Dutch, Israelis and Germans who get straight to the point ("your presentation was simply awful"); from Latin Americans and Asians who are steeped in hierarchy to the Scandinavians who think the best boss is just one of the crowd-- the result can sometimes be disastrous. In Culture Map, renowned expert Erin Meyer offers highly practical and timely perspective on one of today's most pressing business issues: how do different cultures influence the way to do business when working globally? And she explains how to dramatically increase business success by improving one's ability to understand the cultural drivers of colleagues, clients, and suppliers from different countries. Culture Map provides a new way forward, with vital insights for working effectively and sensitively with one's counterparts in the new global marketplace"--

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Navigating Cultural Differences and the Wisdom of Mrs. Chen -- 1. Listening to the Air: Communicating Across Cultures -- 2. The Many Faces of Polite: Evaluating Performance and Providing Negative Feedback -- 3. Why Versus How: The Art of Persuasion in a Multicultural World -- 4. How Much Respect Do You Want?: Leadership, Hierarchy, and Power -- 5. Big D or Little d: Who Decides, and How? -- 6. The Head or the Heart: Two Types of Trust and How They Grow -- 7. The Needle, Not the Knife: Disagreeing Productively -- 8. How Late Is Late?: Scheduling and Cross-Cultural Perceptions of Time -- Epilogue: Putting the Culture Map to Work -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Index.

Review Quotes:
"Erin Meyer provides us with a brilliant guide to what all business leaders need to know right now: How to succeed in managing across the diverse cultural contexts of today's workplace!"-- Marshall Goldsmith, author of the New York Times and global bestseller What Got You Here Won't Get You There

Review Quotes:
"Whether you are sitting at a desk in Boston or eating at a restaurant in Beijing, communicating across cultures is the great challenge of the global economy. Getting it right will be the difference between success and failure. Erin Meyer has written a very important book. Managers everywhere should read it." -- Des Dearlove and Stuart Crainer, founders of the Thinkers50

Review Quotes:
"Whether you're a corporate or traditional diplomat, global traveler, government official, or passionate world citizen, this is the one book you should not miss. Chock-full of real-world examples and a simple framework that can be utilized in any cross-cultural context, Meyer's work is characterized by a fresh and relevant voice, distilling down the essentials of communicating, persuading and working effectively around the globe. It is rare that I pick up a cross-cultural book and can't put it down."-- Cari Guittard, Huffington Post

Review Quotes:
"With business becoming ever global, there are a raft of books available on dealing with cultural differences. If you only read one, make it INSEAD professor Erin Meyer's...Skillfully blend[s] real-life examples...with an analytical framework... What brings this book to life are the numerous examples Meyer has encountered, both in her own life as an American living in Paris, and in her experience as running the Managing Virtual Teams module at INSEAD."-- HR Magazine, 5 star review

Review Quotes:
"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

Review Quotes:
"Amusing."-- Financial Times

Review Quotes:
"This readable book explains how to dramatically increase organisational success by improving our ability to understand the behaviour of colleagues, clients, and suppliers from different countries."-- Professional Manager (UK)

Review Quotes:
"A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures...Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business."-- Kirkus Reviews

Review Quotes:
"In a relaxed, entertaining, but always knowledgeable style, Meyer draws on numerous examples from her experiences to explain how to detect the invisible barriers in the global business world--and how to get past them."-- Siemens Industry Journal

Biographical Note:
Erin Meyer is a professor at INSEAD, one of the world's leading international business schools. Her work focuses on how the world's most successful global leaders navigate the complexities of cultural differences in a multicultural environment. Living and working in Africa, Europe, and the United States prompted Meyer's study of the communication patterns and business systems of different parts of the world. Her framework allows international executives to pinpoint their leadership preferences, and compare their methods to the management styles of other cultures.

Review Citations:

• Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2014 (EAN 9781610392501, Hardcover)