Jesus, at times, was misunderstood; so was the Apostle Paul. All of us have been, perhaps especially when it comes to sharing our Christian faith with others. It is an inescapable aspect of human communication that the message one is trying to transmit is oftentimes distorted and misunderstood. In the book, \u201cThe Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business,\u201d Erin Meyer wants to teach individuals and corporations who engage in international, cross-cultural communication to better understand and navigate the differences of other cultures. Communication is critical in business and Meyer\u2019s justification for writing this book is found on page 12: \u201cWe are all part of a global network (real or virtual, physical or electronic) where success requires navigating through wildly different cultural realities.\u201d The book does not neatly fall into one classification only: it is part Self-Improvement, part International Studies, and part Interpersonal Relations.<\/p>\n
It is a timely offering because global business and indeed the human experience continues to grow ever more interdependent and international. Interactions between different cultures, even when using the same language, working in the same industry, can quickly go wrong and potentially ruin a business initiative. The book does a thorough job of showing where the potential landmines can be found in international business and how not to step on them.<\/p>\n
She succeeds in giving practical advice on how to work with others from different cultural backgrounds. At the same time, the book provides substantive historical background factors that have developed different cultures. On pages 97-101 she explains the different historical circumstances that have shaped certain societies. Starting in the sixteenth century, thinkers like Francis Bacon modeled inductive thinking in Great Britain. In the seventeenth century, philosophers like Rene Descartes shaped mainland Europe in a different way with his emphasis on evidence to prove or disprove theories. The book would lose some credibility is she didn\u2019t include this depth of analysis. There are profoundly significant differences to understand with other cultures and a look back into history is necessary. The business person (or in our case, the minister or Christian worker) who does not take the time to understand this will eventually misstep and offend the very people with whom they wish to interact. Being \u201cnice\u201d or \u201cpatient\u201d with others is helpful and necessary, but it is not going to be enough when interacting with other cultures for any length of time.<\/p>\n
Meyer\u2019s book correctly aims to provide actionable steps and practical advice on how to bridge the differences between people. It walks the line between theory and practice admirably. Ultimately the book is a great \u201cHow To\u201d manual on working with others different than yourself.<\/p>\n
An earlier book cohort eleven read, Kathryn Schulz\u2019s, \u201cBeing Wrong\u201d compliments what Meyer teaches the reader. Frequently we are wrong without even knowing it, or we lack self-awareness about our own actions and words. Sometimes our situational awareness is incomplete. For all these failings, both books provide a helpful remedy. Meyer\u2019s book builds on Schulz\u2019s human cognition discoveries and applies them to international business and interpersonal, cross-cultural relations.<\/p>\n
Another book that speaks to Meyer\u2019s insights is Robert Kegan\u2019s \u201cAn Everyone Culture.\u201d In Kegan\u2019s work, he argues that organizations do best when they build an environment that encourages constant personal development among their employees. This goal can and should be a part of teams that work internationally. Meyers takes Kegan\u2019s premise and describes the many ways that communication can go wrong in pursuit of that goal when working cross-culturally.<\/p>\n
A good example is when Meyer states on page 39, \u201cThe United States is the lowest-context culture in the world and Japan is the highest-context culture in the world.\u201d She goes to great length on what this means and her insights are helpful for individuals who will be working among different cultures. This takes courage and in this respect Edwin Friedman\u2019s \u201cA Failure of Nerve\u201d is applicable. I can imagine Friedman saying, \u201cBe brave, don\u2019t be shy about your ability to lead, but do so wisely, with the focus on serving others.\u201d<\/p>\n
The book is organized into eight chapters and the material unfolds strategically with each chapter building on the previous. Chapter three is about persuasion and sales and to me this was the most interesting chapter. I\u2019ve been in sales for many years in the business world and how to persuade someone to your way of thinking is a challenge even with someone who is part of your own culture. How to persuade someone who is part of another culture adds a layer of complexity and challenge. Any international salesperson would do well to read and reread this chapter. The idiosyncrasies of different cultures reveal themselves in the most surprising ways. Innocent assumptions can quickly become acts of disrespect.<\/p>\n
Chapter six was also a highlight as it is about trust: how to build it and how it can diminish. The most interesting part of this chapter was the diagram on page 171 where two different types of trust are depicted. Task orientated trust is emphasized in the United States and Germany, among others. Relationship-based trust is more indicative in countries like Saudi Arabia, China and Nigeria. Both take time to build and both can be broken quickly.<\/p>\n
She wrote the book in 2014 but a lot has changed since then. The Covid pandemic expediated online business and online education; indeed, online everything. An updated book could include a chapter on, \u201cHow to get the most out of international zoom meetings\u201d or similar. Online meetings that are cross-cultural are going to grow in popularity in the years ahead. Meyer\u2019s insights could easily be applied to the zoom meetings. It is a new way of communicating and just like all new mediums (telegraph, radio, telephone, television, email) the medium itself alters the message. Online meetings, like all new communication mediums, provide opportunities for humans to come together or be pushed apart. Meyer\u2019s book helps to ensure it is the former.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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