The Table of Elements for Global Business Readiness

What do expat families need away from home? Which components make a community a desirable destination global business and foreign assignees? Our clients trust us and rely on us that we will lead their teams to more success across cultural borders. We are the aspirin to your expat headache. So we researched the most important success factors and compiled them …

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 …

24 entrepreneurs share global business tips

Recently I was featured in the video series Entrepreneurs Conquering the World, together with 23 other international business leaders. Each of us shared in a 30-minute interview some of the keys to our success – how we discovered and mastered the art of doing business internationally. If you missed any of the interviews or the free gifts that each speaker …

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 …

What do expat families need away from home? Join the conversation!

You may have heard the phrase: Companies don’t go global, people do. And the people who go global to take their companies with them want to be as successful abroad as possible. Who is responsible for their success? There are many factors: The expatriates themselves have to do what’s in their power to get the skills, tools, and support they …

Solving a translation challenge with the help of sex workers [The Culture Guy Podcast]

In this episode Christian talks once more to Kyle Hegarty, who is the Managing Director of Leadership Nomad, part of the TSL Group, where he focuses on helping companies expand across the globe. This is the second time Kyle is a guest on the podcast. You can also hear him talk about the challenges of dealing with time zones in global business. Kyle …

How a TCK uses his difference to make a difference [The Culture Guy Podcast]

In this episode Christian talks with Tayo Rockson, whom some might label as a poster-child third-culture kid (TCK). Tayo was born in Nigeria and grew up in several different countries, among them Sweden, Burkina Faso, Vietnam, and the United States. He is the author of “The Ultimate Guide to TCK Living: Understanding The World Around You” and host of the …

From behind the Iron Curtain with a big heart [The Culture Guy Podcast]

In this episode Christian talks to Mykola Latansky, founder of the True Success Movement and President of the Academy of True Success. Mykola is Ukrainian and grew up in the Soviet Union. Shortly after the collapse of the USSR he hopped through the now rotting Iron Curtain to explore Western Europe. Not always did he follow all the laws during …

Talking about cross-cultural business with The Worldly Marketer

Doing business across cultures comes with many challenges, one of them being able to communicate in foreign languages. As more and more people prefer to consume product and service information in their native tongue, it is becoming increasingly relevant to build and retain an audience in their preferred language. Helping businesses communicate more effectively and internationally with their target audience …

How learning to say “I’m sorry” helps you recover from cultural faux pas [The Culture Guy Podcast]

In this episode Christian talks to Mamie Lamley, founder of Mandala Mystics and Coach at Empowerment on Fire. Ms. Mamie is a native of Waiʻanae, a small city on the island of O’ahu, which is part of Hawai’i, the 50th State of the USA. During the interview she explains how to properly pronounce these place names, and you’ll learn what …

Why hiring for “cultural fit” is usually a bad idea

Hiring for “cultural fit” has been a buzz word for the human resource and talent development field in recent years. Search for the term on Google and you’ll get more than 22 million results. If you follow this topic you’ll see that the concept appears to be widely accepted across many industries. The idea that sorting for compatibility with an …

Why the smell of lions can be misleading [The Culture Guy Podcast]

In this episode Christian talks to Joe Lurie, author of the book Perception and Deception – A mind-opening journey across cultures. The book is is an engaging and insightful introduction to cross-cultural communication in a globalized world. It contains dozens of intriguing intercultural experiences, gathered from Joe’s research and his decades living abroad and managing UC Berkeley’s International House, a …

Master the Art of Crossing Cultures with this Superpower

  In this interview he recently gave Joel D. Roberts, Christian Höferle talks about how you can cross cultures efficiently – with more ease and less stress by applying a certain “superpower.”         If you are interested in learning more about cultural competence, we invite you to sign up for our newsletter, The Culture Reflections. As a …

How Johnnie Cass fights the Tall Poppy Syndrome [The Culture Guy Podcast]

In this episode Christian talks to Johnnie Cass, communication expert, international speaker, NLP master, and coach from Sydney, Australia. Johnnie has been traveling the word for the past 15+ years and has worked with tens of thousands of individuals on five continents, coaching them all to greater levels of personal and business success. With a diverse background in film, television and …

Learning to read The Culture Map with Erin Meyer [The Culture Guy Podcast]

In this March 2016 episode Christian talks to Erin Meyer, Professor at INSEAD University in Paris, one of the leading international business schools. Erin is also the author of The Culture Map. Originally from Minnesota, Erin has been living in Paris for many years. Prior to that she worked in different parts of the world, e.g. in Botswana. There she …

From Samurai to Third Culture Kid to Culture Connector [The Culture Guy Podcast]

In this February 2016 episode Christian talks to Dr. Takanori K. Endo, CEO of Mind Life Solutions, and Crucing, LLC. Dr. Endo is a licensed clinical psychologist, international trainer, and speaker. Since 2005 he has dedicated his time to researching human psychology as it relates to competence, crisis, and conflict resolution. He has helped thousands of people in over 30 …

Finding the zone of appropriateness when crossing cultures [The Culture Guy Podcast]

In this first episode of 2016 Christian talks to Andy Molinsky, author of the book “Global Dexterity” and Professor at International Management and Organizational Behavior at Brandeis University. Andy specializes in cross-cultural interaction in business settings and has created a popular MBA course focused on cross-cultural adaptation. He has published widely on the topic of cultural adaptation; his work has …

How to motivate and inspire other cultures by being you [The Culture Guy Podcast]

In this episode Christian talks to Robert Riopel, international trainer and teacher for New Peaks. Robert is Canadian and lives in Calgary, Alberta with his wife Roxanne and his razorback pig Gracie May – you’ll have to listen to the show to hear what that is all about. Robert is a Master Trainer for New Peaks and Christian has had …

Give the next generation workforce what they need

Ever since they have been entering the workforce, there has been a lot a of talk about Generation Y or, as they are often referred to, the Millennials. As they take on different levels of responsibility, organizations pay close attention to how they can harness the preferences of the Gen Y-ers. Like with every generation change that happened before, the …

Developing cultural competency as life-long journey [The Culture Guy Podcast]

In this episode Christian talks to Dianne Hofner Saphiere, creator and principal of Cultural Detective (CD). Cultural Detective® is a dynamic tool system that develops invaluable competence in individuals and organizations. The project is a collaboration among dozens of acclaimed intercultural experts worldwide. The CD system enables organizations and leaders to meet the high-performance demands of an increasingly global and …