Introduction

Erin Meyer: The Culture Map

Erin Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, teaches us how to influence cross-culturally. Erin is the author of the bestselling book The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business*.

Key Points

• It’s more helpful to know how cultures compare to one another on specific issues than it is to just describe a specific culture.
• Different cultures have signals that mean different things.
• Historically homogenous cultures tend to be less explicit in their communication styles, with much more communication implied.
• Americans tend to be very direct except when giving negative feedback, and many people from other cultures find this confusing.
• Remember to: be curious, be humble, listen before you speak, and learn before you teach.

Resources Mentioned

• The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business* by Erin Meyer
• The Country Mapping Tool by Erin Meyer
• The Personal Profile Tool by Erin Meyer

Related Episodes

• How Culture Affects Coaching (episode 13)
• How We Do Things Around Here for Results, with Kent Rhodes (episode 144)
• How to Work in Different Cultures, with Nathan Czubaj (episode 166)

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