Book Review: Riding The Waves of Culture by Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner

"Those who are married know that it is impossible to ever completely understand even people of your own culture. The Dutch author became interested in this subject before it grew popular, because his father is Dutch and his mother is French. This background gave him an understanding of the fact that if something works in one culture, there is little chance that it will work in another. No Dutch 'management' technique his father tried to use ever worked very effectively in his French family."

--- Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner, authors of Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business," page 1, published by McGraw-Hill in 2012.

You don't have to experience marriage to know that love does not conquer all. Cultural factors play a significant role in life and increasingly, within global business. This book will teach you how to navigate our global village of diverse cultures and how people from different value systems interpret them.

Organized Format

There are sixteen chapters along with two detailed appendices and an index. The co-author's writing style is informative, instructional, educational and replete with real-life examples. I liked that the co-authors addressed readers from diverse backgrounds by using a wide-variety of detailed workplace examples.

Generous Case Studies

One of the most salient features of this book was the sheer number of case studies that were cited. The co-authors used a database of over 1,500 cross-cultural training programs to present the reader with a variety of viewpoints. For example, how people from different cultures would help or hinder a friend who injured someone in a car accident. Or if you would help a boss paint his or her house? These scenarios will make you think. In many cases, the co-authors ask "What would you do?" There are also many detailed graphs which reinforce the learning aspects of the case studies.

Notable Quotes

"Culture is the way in which a group of people solves problems and reconciles dilemmas." Page 8

"A fish discovers its need for water only when it is no longer in it. Our own culture is like water to a fish. It sustains us. We live and breathe through it. What one culture may regard as essential, a certain level of material wealth, for example, may not be so vital to other cultures." Page 27

"The word culture comes from the same root as the verb cultivate, meaning 'to till the soil': the way people act on nature." Page 31

"English speakers also face an enormous disadvantage, which is that it is difficult to ever speak another language; its nationals will allow you only so much accent before switching to English themselves. To express yourself in another language is a necessary, if not a sufficient, condition for understanding another culture." Page 95

"They do not understand the concept of losing face, which is what happens when something that people perceive as being private is made public. The importance of avoiding loss of face is why in diffuse cultures so much more time is taken to get to the point; it is necessary to avoid private confrontation because it is impossible for participants not to take things personally." Page 107

"Sony's Akio Morita explained that he conceived of the notion of the Walkman while he was searching for a way to enjoy music without disturbing others. This impetus is in sharp contrast to the normal motivation for using a Walkman in northwestern Europe and North America, where most users do not want to be disturbed by other people." Page 178

"The principal implication for business strategy is a healthy respect for the 'founding beliefs' of foreign cultures and the images they have chosen to create coherence. A 'strange' culture usually has values neglected in ours, and to discover these values is to find lost parts of our own cultural heritage. Hence, family-style cultures can remind us that work is not necessarily alienating, impersonal, and self-seeking." Page 235

"He picked up one of the (business) cards, absentmindedly rolled it into a cylinder, unrolled it again, and began to clean his nails with the edge. Suddenly he felt the horrified eyes of the entire Japanese delegation on him! There was a long pause, and then the Japanese president stood up and withdrew from the room. 'We would like to call an intermission,' the Japanese interpreter said. The American looked at the battered meishi in his hand. It was the one the Japanese president gave to him. This example aptly demonstrates the devastating effects that insufficient awareness of cultural differences may have." Page 242

"We have found that ethnic differences within societies such as South Africa and, to a lesser degree, the US can be as big as international differences." Page 341

How-To Guide for International Relations

This book will become a trusted guide and reference source for anyone with an interest and/or the responsibility to manage and work in multi-cultural environments. There is little that you will not learn about cross-cultural situations in this fascinating book.

My Rating

Five Stars

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Please Note

I received a complementary review copy from the publisher, McGraw-Hill. I was not obligated to write a favorable review and was encouraged to provide an objective analysis.