I thought I might try a new series. I read a lot of books, between pleasure and teaching, and I have a backlog of gems. So once a week I’m going to point you at one. I’m not going to write a long review, just tell you why I liked it.
This week’s is The Culture Map by Erin Meyer
First, she’s a lovely writer. Many business books are so busy telling you how important they are, they forget to make their writing pleasant to read. Erin is a joy to read.
Second, her insights are more important every day. The teams I worked with in the valley were multicultural (Russian, French, Indian, Chinese, and more), and the classes I teach are multicultural (Chinese, Mexican, Brazilian, Italian and more) and everyone is always freaking each other out. Our default assumption clash. I write a lot about teams, and one thing that breaks teams apart is conflicting assumptions. Understanding cultural norms helps you recontextualize surprising interactions, and move toward compassion and collaboration.
You can try out this article Navigating the Cultural Minefield, and take her What’s Your Cultural Profile? test, but I promise you, the book is even better. Go get it!