Alone Together
I witnessed three rather extraordinary events, or should I say, modern phenomena, recently. 1. While leaving my gym, I watched two cars approach a street from the opposite directions of an alley. Both drivers were looking to turn southward onto the street. Both drivers glanced only in the northward direction. Both drivers were on their [...]
A Mythic and Heroic International Assignment
I just read this Reuters article about how nearly half the workers around the world (varying a bit by country) would consider living and working abroad. The article in itself was fairly interesting, but for some reason – I don’t know, maybe my kid was watching Star Wars recently — I couldn’t help but see [...]
Germans, Brits & Pygmies
As someone who writes and blogs about culture, how it affects our lives and the way we do business, I found this recent BBC news piece both funny and illuminating. It seems the Germans and Brits are at odds – again. Many Brits working with Germans find themselves offended by the abruptness of the German [...]
Take a break, you work hard enough already
How’s this BBC piece for bucking the trend? Volkswagen has agreed to stop its Blackberry servers sending emails to some of its employees when they are off-shift. The car maker confirmed it made the move earlier this year following complaints that staff’s work and home lives were becoming blurred. Could you imagine your employer doing [...]
When to Ignore The Rules
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson Here’s a story in the Huffington Post I think many of you will relate to in one way or another (Emerson certainly did). Recently, in Honolulu, a former Air Force sergeant, her husband and their two year-old daughter stop at the local supermarket, [...]
A Long and Prosperous Life
At first glance, this fascinating TED lecture about outlier communities where life spans are demonstratively longer and healthier than the norm has seemingly little to do with the world of international business and cross-cultural relations. After all, what does an isolated mountain town in Sardinia, an island village in Okinawa and a community of Seventh [...]
Reconsidering Motivation and Time
It’s amazing how much a skilled teacher, a good marker and a grease board can bring to life. Here are two ten-minute animations that are definitely worth your time. The first video deals with a statistical analysis of what motivates people, across various cultures, to work harder and achieve more. Hint: it’s not money. www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc [...]
Axioms of Language and Humor
A colleague recently forwarded me a pair of articles dealing with the subtle cultural differences between Brits and Americans when it comes to rhetorical styling and humor. Both articles basically came to the conclusion that Americans are much more comfortable with a direct approach, where hopes, fears, aspirations, successes and ambitions can be clearly stated, [...]
The “Divided Brain” and Culture
This Iian McGilchrist explanation of the brain and how it impacts our culture is so cool and so applicable to the often complex and challenging relationships we have with ourselves, the work we do and companies we work for that you’ve just got to watch it. Eleven minutes and forty-eight seconds (alright, I watched it [...]
Play for Productivity
You know that sourpuss boss or co-worker, the one who seems so serious and thinks that you should be also. That work should be hard and so should one’s demeanor while at work. Well, guess what, that laugh or smile that you so often suppress when they pass by, the “busy-ness” you feign as you [...]
