Talking Global Business with The Culture Guy

Tami Savage is an Air Force veteran, a self-professed computer geek, and a process, automation & systems consultant in the Washington, D.C. area. She recently approached us to learn how The Culture Mastery uses assessment tools and personality profiles in order to serve our clients. The result of her inquiry was an interview Tami conducted with Christian Höferle, The Culture …

How leadership differs across cultures

What makes leaders good in the workplace? That depends on where in the world your workplace is. But one thing is clear: in most situations today, good leaders need to be able to manage across cultures. This means listening to what people are saying and understanding it; reading between the lines, rather than simply reacting. Leadership today requires a high …

“Chinese bastards”: What we can learn from Daimler’s cross-cultural incident

When emotions hit a high, intelligence drops to a low Whether we like it or not: Sometimes people lose their temper and act out against others. And it is usually not a pretty picture. When this happens to company leaders on foreign assignment it can create a ripple effect with far greater reach than the untamed emotional release itself. In 2016 a cross-cultural incident …

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Meet your global growth goals with BANK

Global Excellence – Affordable Results – Trusted Methodology – Harmonious Connection Does your organization consistently meet its global growth goals? Are you finding that selling and marketing to clients and prospects from outside your country is more challenging than in your home market? With the BANK personality training system this challenge will soon be a thing of the past. We are …

Why cultural competence is one of seven success factors for ‘glocal’ business

Recently on this blog you found our Table of Elements for Global Business Readiness. It has become quite popular among our clients. And it’s exciting to see that EDGE Business Magazine published a modified version in its January 2017 issue. In their Skill Sets column Christian Höferle explains the importance of cultural competence for sustainable growth for ‘glocal’ businesses. Cultural Competence a KeyGrowth Factor …

What executives, doctors, lawyers, students, teachers, baristas, and goat farmers have in common [The Culture Guy Podcast]

Getting outside of your comfort zone is easier with the tips in Andy Molinsky’s new book, Reach Exactly a year after he first appeared as a guest on The Culture Guy Podcast, Andy Molinsky is back. In this first episode of 2017 Andy talks about his latest book, Reach: A New Strategy to help You Step Outside Your Comfort Zone. Often, …

How lawyers can cross cultures with ease [The Culture Guy Podcast]

Why international attorneys need to learn about intercultural communication Jeri Weber is an attorney-at-law and an intercultural consultant for legal professionals. She was born and raised in the U.S. Midwest, spent time in Asia as an exchange student and has lived and worked in China, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. On this episode Jeri highlights the fact that most …

Why this NRI thinks “I will” beats IQ [The Culture Guy Podcast]

Why Mitch Patel thinks skills can be taught and not attitude Mitul “Mitch” Patel is the founder and CEO of Vision Hospitality Group, Inc., which will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year. Mitch is the son of immigrants from India – his father came to California from a village in Gujarat with $8 in his pocket. Today Mitch leads an …

Cultural work in a post-truth, narcissistic world

This November I attended a SIETAR meeting for the first time. Not sure why it took me so long to engage with intercultural professionals and educators at this level. I certainly recommend you don’t wait as long as I did. The gathering I attended was the annual conference of SIETAR USA in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The convention officially started on the …

Crack the Cultural Codes of 10 Countries

Many of the readers of this blog and users of our website work across cultures or with teams across borders and cultures on a regular basis – whether you spend your time in the office or out on the road. When you do work with people who are different than you, it is critical to have a rough sense of …

Master these skills to become an efficient global leader

When Andreas Gelder was transferred to the U.S. subsidiary of his company, his responsibilities shifted. At the head offices of his European employer he was a young up-and-comer and a part of a larger team in the finance department. Now he had to master several new roles: he became the head of finance for the Americas – a territory which …

How to Build Trust in Global Negotiations

Negotiations are part of almost every communication. We talk to come to an agreement with our counterpart. This could be simply to decide on a time for a meeting, to approve a business strategy, or to make a deal. In global business more often than not these negotiations are done using the English language. Whether you are a native speaker …

Why you need to attend the annual conference of SIETAR USA [The Culture Guy Podcast]

Brett Parry, who serves as the Director of Communication and Marketing for SIETAR USA, is an independent intercultural coach and facilitator. Originally from Australia, he works throughout the United States from his home base in Chicago. In his role at SIETAR (Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research), he has spearheaded efforts to revamp the organization’s online presence and digital …

The Culture Guy Podcast

How Joe Lurie intrigues people through difference [The Culture Guy Podcast]

Joe Lurie, the author of Perception and Deception – A mind-opening journey across cultures, is back for another conversation about bringing people from around the world together. If you missed the first time Joe was a guest on The Culture Guy Podcast, you can listen to the episode in the archives. During this new episode Joe shares with Christian his …

Mastermind with us at the SIETAR USA Annual Conference

How many of you will be attending this year’s annual SIETAR USA conference? Let us invite you to join us in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from November 9-12, where the leading professionals in the intercultural arena will gather to learn from each other. For the team at The Culture Mastery this will be a first, as Christian Höferle will be leading through …

We’re in the human dignity business

Guest blog by Jerry Redman, Co-Founder and CEO of Second Life of Chattanooga One of two things usually happen when I’m asked what I do for a living: upon hearing the answer many folks immediately appear very uncomfortable, or others launch into a lengthy series of questions and comments about our work, the issue of trafficking itself, their outrage that …

Why Openness is an Excellent Indicator for a Healthy Culture

One of my mentors is a big fan of Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller and while I haven’t studied Fuller’s work yet, there are a few quotes that stuck with me. Perhaps one of the most powerful Fuller quotations is this: “True leadership comes from the willingness to admit publicly to your mistakes.” Now, it would be thoughtless of me to not …

Balancing different leadership approaches as an expat boss [The Culture Guy Podcast]

As the daughter of first generation immigrants to Australia, Stephanie Barros learned from childhood on how to balance the cultures of her birth country and those cultures represented in her family who, hailing from the Philippines, combines roots from England, Spain, Portugal, and Germany. Today, living in Singapore with her family and working as an executive for a U.S.-based, multinational …

Follow your passion to deal with the challenges of living abroad [The Culture Guy Podcast]

Living abroad as an expatriate family comes with privileges and challenges. Belén Galindo Lizaldre and her husband Roberto Goñi Ruiz uprooted their family of four from Pamplona (Spain) to move to Chattanooga, TN in the United States. Three years in the Tennessee Valley have left a lasting impression on this expat family and on this episode Belén & Roberto share …