8 keys to success in international business| The Culture Map
This article is part of the Narikin Book Club, an aggregation of key ideas from books, media, and individuals for the upstart hustler.
When I founded my first startup in 2015, I was immersed in the Bay Area business culture. Casual wear, coffee shop VC pitches, and a supportive tech community. The following year, a VC stint in Los Angeles exposed me to a new environment, soon followed by the infamous East Coast New York way of business. Albeit all these regions have their own nuances, they mostly fall under the American style of business. Operating internationally later, I began working with executives and developers in Latin America and Asia, where my American method of business caused several miscommunications and friction in collaboration that cost me both time and deals.
Erin Meyer’s The Culture Map delves into the nuances of business across international cultures to increase understanding and awareness of different business styles and reduce the friction that arises when cultures interact. She does an excellent job using data and stories to illustrate collaborative business strategies between cultures as well as pitfalls that may occur.
In her book, Meyer’s places each country on a spectrum or chart to illustrate their cultural position compared to each other. Below is an example of the communication spectrum with the US being very low-context versus Japan which is high-context.
While we will not cover the minute details of each culture on the spectrum by Meyer in this article, instead we will highlight eight key concepts from The Culture Map that will improve your ability to navigate international business and increase success.
- Communication
- Feedback
- Persuasion
- Leadership and hierarchy
- Decision making
- Trust
- Disagreements
- Scheduling
Key Points
Communication
The baseline of all business comes down to communication. Low-context cultures such as the United States and Australia convey messages explicitly compared to high-context ones like India and Japan where messages are more about reading between the lines.
In a low-context setting you can expect simple clear communication, what is said is exactly what you should expect. Comparably, high-context is more nuanced and layered, where the meaning can be implied but not explicitly stated. For example, if I come from a high-context culture and you ask if I want to eat lunch, I may state that I am not hungry. However, I want to eat lunch but do not say so out of politeness. It is lunch time though and I probably will take your offer to eat if you ask again.
Issues may arise during communication between two high-context cultures. While this is not an issue if two individuals come from the same high-context culture, an implicit message coming from someone of Saudi Arabia may not yield the same expectation from someone of China. Much can be lost when reading the air with different lenses.
A baseline strategy is to operate with low-context processes across multi-cultural teams. While some cultures may see explicit recaps and confirmations to be a sign of lack of trust, respectfully outlining these processes will reduce costly miscommunication, and lead to better collaboration in the future.
To be successful, you need to figure out where your business culture’s context is relative to your partner’s. Then layout processes that everyone can understand and agree to.
Below are some cultures ranked from low to high context:
Low context
United States, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Germany
Med-low context
Finland, Denmark, UK, Poland
Med-high context
Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Italy, Peru, France, Singapore, Russia
High context
Iran, India, Saudia Arabia, Kenya, China, Indonesia, Korea, Japan
Giving feedback
Offering feedback can be a contentious point in business, as there is a line between offending people and “it’s just business”. Therefore, it is important to understand a culture’s view on feedback, and the proper way to offer it without offending your partner.
In direct negative feedback cultures, the criticisms will be blunt and honest, and it is common to berate an individual in front of a group. Absolute descriptors are often used (“that was completely unprofessional”) to get the point across.
Indirect negative feedback on the other hand is more diplomatic and subtle. The usage of some positive tones can assuage the negative message. Qualifying descriptors are common (“that was a bit unprofessional”) to relay messages. However, something to note is that criticism is given in private, rarely in front of peers.
Remember to consider low versus high context communication patterns as well. Low-context direct negative feedback is different from its high-context counterpart.
Consider the culture of someone so you may adjust your feedback delivery to get the message across without burning bridges. Politeness is subject to perspective.
Below are some cultures’ views on negative feedback ranked from direct to indirect:
Direct negative feedback
Israel, Russia, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, France, Norway, Spain, Australia, Italy
Indirect negative feedback
United States, Canada, UK, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, India, Kenya, China, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan
Persuasion
Persuasive ability is core to landing any partnership or large deal. The strategy on how to persuade someone to work with you changes based on their culture. The method of persuasion can be divided into two schools of reasoning: principles-first and applications-first.
In a principles-first approach, theory and evidence are first built before leading up to a statement or opinion. Theory and conceptual principles are valued here, and people may delve into the underlying concepts of a situation. It is essential to outline the underlying frameworks and parameters which explain the background of the statement before reaching the statement and conclusion.
The other approach is an applications-first one. In this approach, the statement or opinion is declared first, then followed with supporting information. Usually an executive summary or bulleted list is used to drive a practical and concrete discussion. Usage of case studies would be helpful to appeal to an applications-first audience. Get to the point.
An example of these differing thought processes is an applications-first individual would present a case study, stating this scenario occurred, this is the analysis that we can derive from it. A principles-first individual would state that not every situation is the same, and instead would first outline the analysis, then point out scenarios where this occurred.
However, these two approaches are specific approaches, where analysis is isolated to an object or objective away from its environment. A holistic approach looks at the big picture first, analyzing the environment which influence the object . Asian cultures fall under the holistic approach, a thought process of macro to micro.
Adjust your delivery structure for your message based on your audience’s culture. The positioning and type of supportive arguments can either reinforce your message or alienate your audience.
Below are some cultures ranked from principles first to applications first
Principles-first
France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Germany
In the middle
Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Sweden, Denmark
Applications first
Netherlands, UK, Australia, Canada, United States
Holistic approach
Japan, China, Korea
Leadership and Hierarchy
Leaders present themselves in different ways, from John, the startup CEO whose desk is right next to his fellow employee and bikes to work, versus Mr. Smith, the hedge fund manager with the glass corner office and black Lamborghini. While there are many variants and contributing factors to effective leadership, cultures can be broadly divided into egalitarian and hierarchal leadership styles.
Egalitarian leadership has generally low distance between the leader/boss and subordinate, creating flat organizational structures. The ideal leader is one who facilitates amongst all equally, considering all perspectives. Some common practices from egalitarian organizations:
- Outbound communication focus less on matching hierarchical levels
- Execute without clear go-ahead from superiors
- Okay to contact anyone in organization, either above or below
- Disagreeing openly with boss
- When addressing a group, there is no specific order for those to be seated or spoken to
Hierarchical leadership has a more rigid and clearly defined structure. There is high distance between leader/boss and subordinate, leading to multi-layered organizations. Status is important and communication follows the hierarchy. In this leadership, the ideal boss is one who represents the organization strongly. Some common practices from hierarchical organizations:
- Outbound communication focuses on matched hierarchical levels. If you send your boss, they will send theirs
- Need superior’s approval usually before executing
- Communication is hierarchical
- Defer to boss’s decision, rarely disagree in public setting
- When addressing a group, there may be a seating and speaking order based on hierarchical position
When managing others from different cultures, it is important to be flexible and make them comfortable with working with you. Understand in an egalitarian setting, people may make decisions without your direct approval, where in a hierarchical setting, they instead may not execute without your direct approval.
Image is also important in leadership, and it is important to maintain that to the culture’s standards as well. In a hierarchical organization, the boss has an image to maintain, compromising this may embarrass those under you.
Be aware of the leadership organization style of partners and clients. Respect the system, and when in doubt, follow the hierarchy.
Below are some cultures ranked from more egalitarian leadership styles to hierarchical:
Egalitarian
Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Israel, Australia, Canada, Finland
Middle
United States, UK, Germany, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain
Hierarchical
Poland, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Peru, India, China, Japan, Korea, Nigeria
Decision making
A culture’s decision making processes is usually one of two methods: Consensual or Top-down.
In consensual decision making, there is much emphasis in discussion before the decision to act. Everyone’s opinion is to be considered and group consensus is needed to move forward, leading to slow decision times. Once the decision is made, implementation begins and occurs quickly as there is no more deliberation and all stakeholders are bought in. As the discussion timeframe is often long, it is important to be patient and engage in the discussion to demonstrate commitment to the process.
In a top-down decision culture, while there is discussion before a decision, more discussion occurs after the decision has been made. Decisions are made fast as they are usually done by the boss. However, the process is flexible as more discussions are held post decision, resulting in new information or opinions which can alter the original decision. When working with this culture, expect decisions to be made by the boss even without hearing the opinion of all. If you are the boss, make decisions quickly, but remember that you have the flexibility to revise them in the future.
Be flexible and respect the decision making process. Maintain contact with the main stakeholders to understand the current stage of the decision making process. Push things forward if no progress is being made, but be careful of expediting. Take the time required, but be efficient.
Below are some cultures ranked from consensual to top-down decision styles:
Consensual
Japan, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany
Middle
UK, United States, Brazil
Top-down
France, Italy, Russia, India, China, Nigeria
Trust
Relationships are core at any business, but different cultures treat work relationships differently, ranging from “it’s just business” to a more personal aspect. Regardless of their nature, these work relationships are built on trust, which can be built through tasks or relationships.
For cultures in which trust is task-based, trust is built through business. In this sense, the more two people work together, the more trust is built between them. Good work breeds reliability. But these relationships are built and ended quickly, depending on the situation. Remember, it’s just business.
For relationship-based cultures, trust is built on a personal level and slowly over time. It is cultivated over shared meals, drinking at the bar, and activities outside of work. These relationships extend past work, and because one understands the other at a personal level, there is trust for business. Take the time for social conversation, a shared hour-long lunch, or make a call over an email, these personal interactions all contribute to trust and therefore business building.
It is important to remember that in some environments, it is difficult to enforce contracts and interactions. Hence, developing proper trust, and the fragility of it, is crucial to those that operate in that part of the world.
Trust is foundational to business. Learn how to build it with your partners and future ones. Understand when to keep it professional and when to open up. It can be a time consuming process, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Below are cultures ranked from how trust is built from task-based to relationship based:
Tasked-based
United States, Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, Germany, Finland, UK, Austria, Poland
Relationship-based
France, Spain, Italy, Japan, Russia, Mexico, Turkey, Thailand, Brazil, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria
Disagreements
In some cultures, a debate may seem like a loud and spirited affair, comparable to a yelling match. In others cultures, it could be quite the opposite, a more quiet, civic affair. Regardless, both are productive in their context, and it is important to understand these cultures’ stance on confrontation.
In confrontational cultures, disagreements are considered positive for the organization. It is appropriate to engage openly, as this will not affect the relationship negatively. Word choice may be strong, such as “completely” or “absolutely”. However, when engaging with confrontational cultures, especially those more confrontational than your own, be careful of coming off as aggressive.
In cultures that avoid confrontation, disagreements are negative for the organization as it disrupts the harmony. Do not engage in open confrontation as this can affect the relationship negatively. Word choice may play down the message such as “slightly” or “kind of”, be sure to read between the lines in these situations. To encourage debate, ask for opinions privately through 1 on 1’s, or use methods to anonymize idea sharing. Explicitly state your processes to make it clear that you are encouraging debate.
In Asian cultures, the concept of “saving face” or reputation is a constituent of life. It is important to recognize the situation when protecting another’s “face” is more valuable than proving that you are right.
Disagreements are common in business, but more important is to be productive and preserve the relationship. Make sure to understand how to solicit discussion, and where the fine line is between debate and hostility, as this line changes per culture.
Below are cultures ranked based on level of confrontation during a disagreement:
Confrontational
Israel, France, Germany, Russia, Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Australia
The middle
United States, UK
Avoids confrontation
Brazil, Singapore, Sweden, Singapore, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, India, Peru, China, Ghana, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan
Scheduling
I was taught to be 15 minutes early to be considered on time, yet in business encountered those that thought it was acceptable to be over an hour late. While time is a discrete physical phenomena, there is a spectrum of business cultures on the flexibility of scheduling.
Linear-time cultures focus on punctuality and organization. Task are sequential in that one step should be completed before the next. Deadlines are important and do not deviate from the schedule.
You will never go wrong being on time.
Below are cultures ranked from linear to flexible scheduling styles:
Linear-time
Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, United States, UK
In the middle
Czech Republic, Poland, France
Flexible-time
Spain, Italy, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, China India, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria
Final Takeaways
The major key to success when working with different business cultures is to understand and clarify processes. While an interaction at face-value may seem off-putting, consider its context as it could instead be common practice for another culture. Make sure to outline any communication styles and processes early as this will reduce the cost of mistakes in the future.
The concepts in this article and The Culture Map are not black and white, much like any business situation. Try to incorporate and adjust the ideas learned here to your business acumen and situation, as these will be fine-tuned over time. Try not to pigeon-hole people into specific styles, as it is difficult to gauge what culture they embody or if they are trying to adapt to you. Cultures evolve over time, and the more you engage with them, the better grasp you will have on successful collaboration.
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