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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