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 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 …
Why time zones suck when working globally [The Culture Guy Podcast]
In this episode Christian talks 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. Kyle has spent the past decade living in Southeast Asia and tells people: “From what I’ve seen and experienced first-hand, the area where companies fall short the most seems …
How culture affects cuisine
One of the benefits of dealing with different cultures is the opportunity to explore the tastes of foreign lands and other people. Food and drink are as much representations of culture as are the arts, architecture, attire, or human behavior. Most of us experience this for the first time when we travel: what people abroad eat can be quite different …
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 …
A Transatlantic Career Requires Cultural Savvy
Accepting a foreign work assignment is potentially exciting and daunting. As a foreign assignee not only do you have to figure out the logistics of moving yourself (and your loved ones), you also need to get used to a different work environment. Regardless whether the cultural gap between your home country and the culture you are entering is narrow or …
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 …
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 …
Putting an end to exploitation
In order to understand and to adjust to cultures and behaviors we don’t like or find “strange,” it is helpful to remain open for the signals we receive from people around us. Especially from people who we might label as being “different” or whose behavior we interpret as “weird.” To allow input even though it’s uncomfortable, to not look the …
Southern U.S. identity and the struggle to overcome cultural gaps within a nation
On the day I post this article, the government of the U.S. State of South Carolina lowered the Confederate battle flag from outside its State House, where it had flown for more than 50 years. The removal of this flag follows a heated public debate about what this flag symbolizes: Southern heritage or white supremacy. This debate has been around …
Why our company mission is personal
Most of the people working with The Culture Mastery, and all of our team members, have crossed cultures at least once during their careers or in their personal lives. I grew up in what was then West Germany and stepped outside of his native culture for the first time at age of 17. I went across the Atlantic as a …