I’ve been researching places to retire overseas and part of that research is to understand the culture and compatibility we (wife and I) may have with different countries. To that end, I picked up a copy of Erin Meyer’s “The Culture Map” to understand what we may encounter in different parts of the world.
It’s usually a bad thing to stereotype people but there is something to know about cultural norms that manifest themselves in different way around the world.
The Culture Map has a perspective of breaking groups down into contextual frame sets. To understand compatibility you need to understand your own culture, understand the culture you are interested in and then understand how the two interact. In the Culture Map there are Low Context, High Context and Indirect Feedback and Direct Feedback frame sets.
Indirect Feedback refers to individuals that provide negative feedback in subtle, soft and and diplomatic often sprinkled with positive feedback in between. The phrase “praise in public / admonish in private” comes to mind.
Direct Feedback refers to individuals that provide negative feedback directly. Things like “that’s unprofessional” or “you suck” come to mind.
Low context refers to precise, simple, clear communication.
High context refers to nuanced, layered or complicated communication.
Low Context / Explicit + Indirect Negative Feedback: US, Canada, UK
In general, Americans have low context/explicit and indirect negative feedback. I concur with this assessment, I always want things done as quickly, efficiently and directly as possible. When I provide negative feedback I try to be constructive about it with positive attributes.
The book dives deep into these areas covering cultures from South America, Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. There are also additional deep dives into the art of persuasion, respect, decision making and emotional intelligence.
Overall I enjoyed the book, I wished it dived deeper into some topics but it’s a great book to get oriented in the multi-cultural world and norms across the globe. If you’re starting a career with international/global aspiration then this is a must read book for you. If you’re looking for a deeper dive into specific cultures of countries, there may be better options out there.
The book largely focuses on the career aspect of culture often around work and business dealings and does not cover topics of religion, philosophy and other belief systems in any deep way. Hopefully there will be a follow up book with these topics.