The Culture Map

Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business

By: Erin Meyer

An international business expert helps you understand and navigate cultural differences in this "brilliant guide to what all business leaders need to know right now" (Marshall Goldsmith, author of the New York Times and global bestseller What Got You Here Won't Get You There)

When it comes to communication styles, Americans precede anything negative with three nice comments; French, Dutch, Israelis, and Germans get straight to the point; Latin Americans and Asians are steeped in hierarchy; Scandinavians think the best boss is just one of the crowd. It's no surprise that when they try and talk to each other, chaos breaks out.

In The Culture Map, INSEAD professor Erin Meyer is your guide through this subtle, sometimes treacherous terrain in which people from starkly different backgrounds are expected to work harmoniously together. She provides a field-tested model for decoding how cultural differences impact international business, and combines a smart analytical framework with practical, actionable advice.

Critic reviews

"The book abounds with well-chosen anecdotes to illustrate the misunderstandings that can arise from clashing cultural assumptions, making this enlightening book a pleasure to read."—Foreign Affairs

"Amusing."—Financial Times

"Erin Meyer provides us with a brilliant guide to what all business leaders need to know right now: How to succeed in managing across the diverse cultural contexts of today's workplace!"—Marshall Goldsmith, author of the New York Times and global bestseller What Got You Here Won't Get You There

"Whether you are sitting at a desk in Boston or eating at a restaurant in Beijing, communicating across cultures is the great challenge of the global economy. Getting it right will be the difference between success and failure. Erin Meyer has written a very important book. Managers everywhere should read it." —Des Dearlove and Stuart Crainer, founders of the Thinkers50

"Whether you're a corporate or traditional diplomat, global traveler, government official, or passionate world citizen, this is the one book you should not miss. Chock-full of real-world examples and a simple framework that can be utilized in any cross-cultural context, Meyer's work is characterized by a fresh and relevant voice, distilling down the essentials of communicating, persuading and working effectively around the globe. It is rare that I pick up a cross-cultural book and can't put it down."—Cari Guittard, Huffington Post

"With business becoming ever global, there are a raft of books available on dealing with cultural differences. If you only read one, make it INSEAD professor Erin Meyer's...Skillfully blend[s] real-life examples...with an analytical framework... What brings this book to life are the numerous examples Meyer has encountered, both in her own life as an American living in Paris, and in her experience as running the Managing Virtual Teams module at INSEAD."—HR Magazine, 5 star review

"This readable book explains how to dramatically increase organisational success by improving our ability to understand the behaviour of colleagues, clients, and suppliers from different countries."—Professional Manager (UK)

"A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures...Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business."—Kirkus Reviews

"In a relaxed, entertaining, but always knowledgeable style, Meyer draws on numerous examples from her experiences to explain how to detect the invisible barriers in the global business world--and how to get past them."—Siemens Industry Journal

Incredibly helpful!

I work in a multicultural team and this book explained so much for me! So many valuable insights. I wish I read it before.

Great insights for global teams

Reframes the way we think about communicating with international teams. Good mix of personal stories and insights

Very Eye Opening

Erin does a great job laying out useful information around working with different cultures. I highly recommend this book for anyone who works on or leads a global team.

Gets enlightening towards the middle to end.

Per title. It is good and I would recommend it. Understand yourself and other cultures. Be a better international manager.

SOOOO HELPFUL

This book was incredible. I was enlightened in so many ways. I’ve lived over seas and this reminded me of the struggles but gave positive language and insight to explain things I never could.