One time I was speaking at a symposium in Prague to a group of emerging leaders from Eastern Europe. After a couple days at the conference, my U.S. colleague based in Czech said to me, “Okay Dave. Tell me who…
Read MoreTHE CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE DIFFERENCE just released and is now available. The book provides a quick summary of the latest research on cultural intelligence (CQ) and is packed with strategies for improving CQ. It also includes success stories of organisations who…
Read MoreMost people involved in international work are faced with the dilemma of what to do when “extra payment” is expected. A police officer pulls you over and offers you the option of "paying in cash now". An immigration official suggests…
Read MoreI’m in Thailand this week. The other day, my American friend and I were boarding a plane here. My friend said, “Most Asians seem so polite and reserved until you see them boarding a bus or plane. They never defer…
Read MoreAs I watch the news reports pouring in about the Idaho missionary group arrested for child abduction in Haiti, I keep asking What were they thinking?! I don’t have enough first hand information to make dogmatic judgments about their intentions…
Read MoreThis morning’s Singapore Straits Times has an interesting article about an Asia-Europe Interfaith dialogue that just took place in Korea. My life has me moving back and forth between the religious world and the business context and I often grieve…
Read MoreYesterday I observed the powerful role communication plays in earning trust in a particular sub-culture. Our university has a new provost. In a gathering of our university faculty, he introduced himself by saying, “I’m an academic.” In most of the…
Read MoreBiographies, memoirs and novels are one of the most powerful ways to enhance cultural intelligence. Even if the culture in the book is very different from one you encounter regularly, the very act of stepping into another world as we’re…
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