When Cultures Collide: Leading Across Cultures

Great resource to help you understand the cultures you'll encounter when working abroad. The first half provides an overview of cultures and how they are formed, etc. The second half is full of short 5 page overviews of cultures by country. A great combination of background (1st half) and country specifics (2nd ahlf) that you can reference as necessary depending on where business takes you. Working only in the USA? Well this is a good resource to understand some of the folks you'll manage or work with from other cultures.

This is an excellent book. From its marketing, I thought that "When Cultures Collide: Managing Successfully Across Cultures" pertained specifically to dealing with people of different nationalities in the business place. And indeed, it is a most useful book for that purpose. However, I was struck by how much one could apply Lewis' analyses to other situations, for example, dealing with people of other nationalities on a social level. Indeed, I have many aquaintances, and some close friends, from diverse backgrounds, and this book sometimes occupies us for entire evenings, discussing our experiences with one another. The chapter on Hungarians I found particularly accurate, and entertaining. I believe that Lewis would have enjoyed hearing some of these discussions (and arguments). My point is: don't dismiss this book thinking it is a businessman's tool. It's a good read for anybody who encounters people of other nationalities and cultures, irrespective of the context.

At times this book veers on being discriminatory, shallow, stereotypical and arbitrary. For instance, what has Mr Lewis got against the Finns to focus on them mercilessly? Is it really useful to paint these simple caricatures of whole nations, with all their diversity and increasing multi-ethnicity? Well, in a word, Yes. Yes, if you are suddenly faced with having to do business with people from other nations. I cannot praise highly enough how this book, in both its current and previous editions, enabled me to come to terms with the challenges of working across cultural divides. It has come to my rescue on no end of occasions, helping me adapt my expectations and be open to differences. The style is light without being shallow, and it can be dipped into as easily as it can be read cover to cover. And it was particularly useful when I suddenly found myself responsible for a department in Finland!

Richard D. Lewis, an expert on cross-cultural and language training who has tutored clients from Swedish corporate executives to the Japanese Imperial Family, discusses the need to consider cross-cultural differences in managing any company in today's global world. He suggests a broad model you can use to characterize different national characteristics as linear-active, multi-active, and reactive. These traits shape attitudes toward time, leadership, team building, and affect a range of organizational behaviors. Lewis includes brief national profiles you can refer to when doing business away from home. This in-depth book covers common patterns in different cultures, and offers many examples of how different groups act under different situations. We at getAbstract recommend this book to top executives, managers and anyone who works in a multicultural business environment, as well as to general readers with a yen for informed people watching.

Richard Lewis is a speaker of 12 languages and herein lie some clues to his understanding of intercultural communication.His book avoids the complex academic distinctions seen elsewhere and concentrates on practical understanding of each nation's "collective programming". It has helped me to understand how to deal and work with people of other nations with much increased effectiveness. Lewis explains why there are differences, and how we should approach them, using many simple diagrams and patterns. A must for anyone interacting internationally, or indeed with different ethnic groups within their own country.