women at the meeting

Why Cultural Intelligence is a Must-Have Power Skill for Global Business

Smart human resources professionals and savvy executive leaders know that if we want to be successful in increasingly diverse and global workplaces we need a set of power skills that too often aren’t taught in colleges, business schools, or as part of workforce development trainings. In an episode of Alchemizing HR — a webinar series hosted by HRCI, the premier …

Should You Change Your Corporate Culture?

Chances are, if you’re asking yourself this question, the answer may very well be yes. On the popular and well respected Decision Vision Podcast, hosted by Michael Blake for Brady Ware & Company, Christian Höferle is sharing some insights on corporate culture, creating cohesion with employees scattered around the world, and the importance of developing ICE-Q for global business success. In the …

What it Takes to Lead in a Multicultural, Multinational Environment

Despite the continuing trend towards more nationalistic and protectionist policies we have been seeing in many countries around the word, the interconnectedness and the interdependence of the global economy remains a reality. Cross-border business is likely to go on, no matter what the regulatory restrictions are. As a result, the need to develop leaders with a global mindset is unchanged. …

Making a Home Across the Atlantic and Back

Music industry executive Patrick Joest shares his experience of being a German-Argentinian Jew in different cultures For years he had been traveling back and forth for work between Germany and the United States. Dozens of times Patrick Joest had visited Los Angeles. When his company sent him and his family on an expatriate assignment to California, Patrick quickly realized there’s …

Why the Level of Your Global Success Depends on Your Cultural Intelligence

Are you “culture-wise”? How much effort does it take you to adjust your work style during business interactions which involve people outside of your home culture? There are many similar terms for this power skill: culture-wise, culture-savvy, intercultural readiness, […many more…] and cultural intelligence. You can, of course, work successfully at an international scale and never develop it, but you …

Toastmasters Webinar series

The “Communicating Across Cultures” Series

On the back of their cover story in the July 2020 issue of Toastmaster Magazine, the Toastmasters International organization hosted a series of panel discussions around the topic of efficient cross-cultural communication. The webinar series was a tremendous success which attracted a combined international audience of more than 5,200 attendees (with an additional 9,300 people registered to get access to …

Toastmaster bridging the gap

How Levels of Directness in Feedback Vary by Culture and Why That Matters

One of the trickiest communication challenges for global professionals is giving appropriate feedback across cultures. High versus low context messaging style and varying distribution of power and influence in a culture are among the determining factors for adjusting your feedback to different situations. TCM founder Christian Höferle recently had the opportunity to share some insights around the topic of cross-cultural …

12 minute convos

A 12 Minute Convo about Culture

In the fall of 2017 a Caribbean podcaster reached out to Christian to ask if he wanted to be a guest on his program. More than two years later, Engel Jones featured him on his podcast a second time. Born and raised on the twin island of Trinidad and Tobago, Engel loves great conversation. And he likes those chats short …

managing crisis function culture

Managing a Crisis May Very Well be a Function of Culture

The current coronavirus pandemic has caught many of us by surprise. It has caused a lot of stress, fear, confusion, and uncertainty for the future in people and businesses alike, all over the world. To face the coming challenges in the workplace and the world at large, it is critical that employees know how to respond to the psychological, social, …

Crisis Management across Cultures

Crisis Management across Cultures

By now almost every country around the world has confirmed cases of Covid-19 and chances are you are currently working from home or in spatial distance from coworkers and customers. Political, community and corporate leaders are being called upon to respond. At times like these, contrasts in styles come into full view. Which is why we think it is a …

language courses

Get Culture AND Language!

All of our culture programs now come with a complimentary language course! We have been offering online language learning courses for business professionals for more than a year now. Enabled via our partnership with Gymglish our clients have been able to choose French and English as available course work. As one of our service improvements for this year we are now happy to announce that we added Spanish and German …

Velocity Radio Business Christian Hoeferle J.R. McNair

TCM on Velocity Small Business Radio

In December of 2019 our team had the pleasure of participating in the Atlanta Entrepreneur Summit, hosted by the Millionaire Mastermind Academy. The event offered corporations, organizations, and governmental entities an opportunity to reach more than 500 business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. The Summit brought together hundreds of influential – mainly female – entrepreneurs, business leaders, and start-ups to provide …

Mexico United States Cultural Differences

What You should Know about Cultural Differences Between the U.S. and Mexico

As part of our Fall/Winter Webinar series we recently offered a joint session on the main cultural roadblocks between the United States and Mexico, together with our partners at Gea Cultura. During this webinar Salvador Rodríguez Gil Batista and Christian Höferle identified ways to establish robust and reliable bridges across the Rio Grande/Bravo. Watch the webinar recording here and learn …

Uinfluence podcast Christian Höferle

Sharing the business influence of TCM on the Uinfluence Podcast

In the field of podcasting it is not uncommon that podcast hosts become guests on other people’s podcasts. Sometimes storytellers inspire other storytellers. And ideally the topics they discuss on their programs aren’t circling around the same theme. This is the case with staff training and organizational development expert Raphael Mavi and Christian Höferle. When Mavi, who produces the Uinfluence …

Our Fall/Winter Webinar Series

Over the course of the next few weeks we are hosting a round of online learning opportunities. Our Fall/Winter Webinar Series will cover many cross-cultural and communication topics. Here is the Q4 overview. Check back in with this site, as times and dates may change. Once you are registered for one or more sessions, you’ll receive updates and reminders via …

expat insider 1 InterNations

The World Through Expat Eyes – The Good, The Bad, and The Challenges

Working outside of your comfort zone can be a challenge. Relocating to a new country for work can be taxing. Life as an expat typically means working in a different environment, with new colleagues, settling into a new area and making a new city home, and needing to establish a new social life. The insights from the latest InterNations expatriate …

A Look at Global Employee Relocation in 2019

The peak season for relocation — June through August — is nearly over. One of the most common reasons why people move is that they are changing jobs or starting a new job. For some of these relocating employees, getting to their new homes will involve a lot more than just loading their stuff into a moving van. That’s because …

Fuel your Transatlantic Growth – Close the Culture Gap to Germany!

Learn how to avoid major cross-cultural mishaps when doing business in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in our upcoming webinar. 🇺🇸🇩🇪🇦🇹🇨🇦🇨🇭 Do you want to accelerate your business success in German-speaking Europe? Are you interested in protecting your transatlantic investment in talent and assets? This webinar will walk you through the triggers and tripwires of German business culture and showcase strategies …

The Culture Moment 32+33+34

The Culture Moments 32+33+34

A lot of our clients work in a global context between English-speaking North America and German-speaking Europe. That’s why we compiled nine tips on how to improve your transatlantic communication with people from the United States and Canada, if you are a foreigner from the heart of Europe. Would you like these 9 tips explored in more detail and combined …

The Culture Moment 31

The Culture Moment 31

Let’s say you want people to better unterstand the culture of the country or region with which you identify most (could be your home country or adopted home). How do you create commonality with people from other cultures and countries? Here are some tips for questions and conversational topics you can use. The chat evolving from these will highlight your …