Book SummaryThe Culture Map, by Erin Meyer

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of The Culture Map

Introduction: The Eight Ways to Measure Cultural Differences

In an increasingly globalized world, understanding other cultures is an essential business skill. In The Culture Map, Erin Meyer presents eight axes you can use as a framework to analyze these differences: Communication, Feedback, Thinking, Leadership, Decision-Making, Trust, Disagreement, and Time Perception.

Meyer positions countries on each axis, each of which represents a range of possible behavior between two extremes. Each country's position represents the midpoint of acceptable behaviors in that country, which Meyer contends is enough to account for both individual and regional differences within a country. (Shortform note: Meyer bases these positions on anecdotes and personal experience. Her lack of outside research may be due to the difficulty of empirically measuring cultural differences: Cultural factors would influence any study methodology, so the study would be flawed.)

By understanding both your own and another culture's position on each axis, you can relate to each other better so that you can accomplish your business goals. You are also better able to evaluate others accurately: You learn which misunderstandings are due to cultural differences instead of incompetence. (Shortform note: The idea that you can't evaluate a culture's position on the axis independently is known as cultural relativity. Don't confuse this with cultural relativism—“the ability to understand a culture on its own terms and not to make judgments using the standards of one’s own culture.”)

Meyer visually represents the axes in a “culture map.”

(Shortform note: Some reviewers find Meyer’s culture map overly complicated and confusing. We’ve modified and streamlined the culture map to make it easier to interpret and use. You can find Meyer’s map by reading The Culture Map or purchasing access to her mapping tool on her website.)

In this guide, we’ll explain each axis, how these differences developed, and strategies you can use to mitigate any cultural differences.

Axis #1: High-Context vs Low-Context Communication

Meyer defines the two extremes of communication as high-context and low-context.

Meyer defines low-context cultures as cultures where people communicate and receive messages at face value. The speaker explicitly states all relevant information because it’s her responsibility to communicate her message clearly. In contrast, high-context cultures don’t communicate at face value—rather, you read between the lines. These people share cultural understandings about etiquette, so the speaker doesn’t need to be explicit; the listener is responsible for decoding the underlying meaning. (Shortform note: Meyer uses the terms high- and low-context only to describe how people communicate messages. Their original usage was much broader, encompassing views on relationships, territory, time, and more.)

According to Meyer, language is one factor that shapes a culture’s communication style. Higher-context languages share several features that make ambiguous statements more possible, including a low number of total words and a high number of words that can have multiple meanings. The opposite is true for lower-context cultures: Their languages have a high number of total words and fewer words that can have multiple meanings. English-speaking countries cluster at the low-context end of the axis, countries that speak Romance languages cluster in the middle, and Asian countries cluster toward the high-context end of the axis. (Shortform note: Meyer’s assertion that language shapes culture is supported by the story of Korean Air, who made in-air communications lower-context by switching their language from high-context Korean to low-context English.)

The other defining factor is history: Low-context cultures tend to be younger and ethnically heterogeneous, so there are fewer cultural norms that are universally understood. In contrast, high-context cultures tend to have a long history and be ethnically homogeneous. As such, Meyer posits, they’ve had more time to develop social norms and unspoken rules of communication that are universally shared within the culture. (Shortform note: This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. Meyer considers India a high-context country. India has a long shared history, but it’s also extremely diverse and uses English as a common language.)

Strategies for Communicating Across Cultures

Meyer’s strategies for communicating in lower-context cultures all involve speaking more explicitly than you might be comfortable with. Ask questions when you’re unclear on the meaning and to ensure your message has been properly delivered. (Shortform note: Try, “Do you have any questions?”) Recap what was said at the end of the meeting and follow up with an email. (Shortform note: Email etiquette varies between cultures, but try following the email etiquette of the U.S., the world's lowest-context culture.)

In contrast, Meyer’s strategies for higher-context communication mostly involve interpreting the message and understanding your own unintentional hidden messages. Ask open-ended questions to clarify your understanding—even in places you wouldn’t normally think to, like scheduling. Pay attention to subtext by listening carefully and looking at body language. (Shortform note: Just be careful. Body language differs among cultures, and active listening may be too explicit for higher-context...

The Culture Map Summary Shortform Introduction

As globalization transforms the business landscape, understanding other cultures is more important than ever before. But how do you develop such an understanding—especially if you’re working with several cultures at a time? In The Culture Map, cultural communication expert Erin Meyer addresses this question by providing a comprehensive framework you can use to analyze cultures across eight different dimensions. She also provides explanations for how and why certain cultural norms developed, and she presents strategies businesspeople around the world can use to address and mitigate the harmful impacts of cultural misunderstandings.

About the Author

Erin Meyer is a professor at INSEAD, one of the world’s top international business schools. The Culture Map was her first book. She is also the co-author of the 2020 New York Times bestseller No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention.

Connect with Erin Meyer:

• Website
• Twitter *...

The Culture Map Summary Introduction: The Eight Ways to Measure Cultural Differences

In an increasingly globalized world, understanding other cultures is an essential business skill. However, there are few systematic methods for analyzing and dealing with specific cultural differences.

In The Culture Map, Erin Meyer defines eight areas in which cultural differences are most likely to lead to misunderstandings in business communications. She also theorizes about why such differences occur and presents strategies for working with people from different cultures. According to Meyer, when you have a thorough understanding of cultural differences and methods to navigate them, you can avoid misunderstandings and be more successful in your business and management dealings.

How Cultural Competence Saves Lives

Understanding other cultures is important not only in business but in healthcare as well—in fact, it’s so important that healthcare workers first created the term “cultural competence.”

Healthcare depends on proper communication between the doctor and patient. But a lack of cultural understanding complicates the message and causes wires to cross. For example, a patient who comes from a culture...

Shortform Exercise: Understand Your Cultural Baseline

How aware are you of cultural differences? (We’ll revisit this situation at the end of the guide, so you can see how much you've learned.)

Pinpoint a specific problem you have (or have had in the past) when working with someone from another culture. Describe one situation in detail.

The Culture Map Summary Chapter 1: Communication Across Cultures

Learning how to communicate effectively is essential for good business. But contrary to popular belief, the techniques for good communication vary depending on the place you’re in.

In this section, we’ll discuss the two extremes of communication styles, how each is perceived by people from outside the culture, and how a culture’s language and history shapes its communication style. Finally, we’ll present strategies for working well with people whose communication styles differ from yours.

Two Types of Communication: High-Context and Low-Context

Meyer places cultures on a communication spectrum and defines the two extremes as high-context and low-context.

Low-Context Cultures

Defining a Low-Context Culture

Meyer defines low-context cultures as cultures where people communicate and receive messages at face value. Both the speaker and listener act under the assumption that all relevant information has been explicitly stated.

In a low-context culture, the onus for communication lies with the speaker. If a misunderstanding occurs, someone from a low-context culture will find fault with the speaker because it was the speaker’s responsibility to...

The Culture Map Summary Chapter 2: Feedback Across Cultures

Although communication and giving feedback are highly interrelated, feedback, which Meyer calls evaluation, warrants its own axis in Meyer’s book.

The ability to deliver feedback on someone’s performance in a way the receiver understands is essential to both your and the feedback-receiver’s success: If you’re too indirect, the receiver might not understand its content. If you’re too direct, you may come across as cruel or incompetent.

In this chapter, we’ll first discuss the two main ways cultures give feedback. Then, we’ll present both general principles and strategies you should keep in mind when delivering feedback.

Two Types of Feedback: Direct Negative Feedback and Indirect Negative Feedback

Meyer places cultures on a feedback spectrum and defines the two extremes as direct negative feedback and indirect negative feedback.

As you read this section, remember that a culture’s position on the communication spectrum is not necessarily indicative of its place on the feedback spectrum. For example, the United States is the lowest-context culture in the world but lies in the middle of the feedback spectrum.

(Shortform note: Why are Americans direct in their general...

Shortform Exercise: Provide Better Feedback

Now that we’ve learned about cultural differences in both communication and feedback, let’s apply what we’ve learned to our own lives.

Describe a situation where you provided feedback to someone from a different culture. How does this person’s culture assess and communicate? How does yours?

The Culture Map Summary Chapter 3: Thinking Across Cultures

The ability to persuade others effectively is an essential business skill. It allows you to sell your products effectively and convince your colleagues of your ideas.

But according to Meyer, different kinds of arguments persuade people from different cultures. In other words, what persuades you might not persuade someone from a different culture.

This is because each culture tends towards specific ways of thinking and reasoning about the world, even though most people are capable of all of them.

In this section, we’ll first discuss how Meyer divides Asian and Western thinking into two broad categories of thought. Then we’ll discuss the variations you see in Western methods of reasoning. Finally, we’ll present strategies you can use to effectively persuade people from different cultures.

Dialectical vs Analytical Thinking: How Asians and Westerners See the World DIfferently

First, Meyer divides how the world reasons into two broad categories: holistic and specific. We’ll refer to these categories as they’re more commonly known: dialectical and analytical.

Dialectical Thinking

Defining Dialectical Thinking

**In cultures that think dialectically,...

The Culture Map Summary Chapter 4: Leadership Across Cultures

According to Meyer, leadership styles differ drastically across cultures. Understanding these leadership styles is critical for a number of reasons. If you’re a manager, Meyer argues that it’s your responsibility to adapt your leadership style to what your subordinates are used to. But even if you’re not, knowing how leadership works in different cultures can help ensure you give a good impression and don’t offend anyone.

In this section, we’ll first discuss how Meyer divides cultural leadership styles into two extremes: egalitarian and hierarchical, and how those leadership styles develop. We’ll then present strategies for working and leading in different kinds of cultures.

Two Styles of Leadership: Egalitarian vs Hierarchical

According to Meyer, countries tend to follow either an egalitarian or hierarchical leadership style.

The leadership style preferred in a country reflects the amount of “power distance” expected in that country. Power distance, a concept introduced by pioneering cultural theorist Geert Hofstede, measures how hierarchical a country is and how its citizens value authority.

The citizenry’s...

The Culture Map Summary Chapter 5: Decision-Making Across Cultures

According to Meyer, different cultures make decisions in very different ways.

The different styles of decision-making can be a major source of conflict because each culture expects their own decision-making style to be followed, so they don’t know how to react when decisions are made in a different way. Understanding both your own and others’ decision-making is essential to business success.

In this section, we’ll discuss how Meyer divides decision-making styles into two extremes: consensual and top-down, which we’ll call consensus and individual. We’ll also note how these decision-making styles interact with a culture’s leadership style. Finally, we’ll discuss strategies to use when decision-making across cultures.

Two Styles of Decision-Making: Consensus and Individual

How Deciding by Consensus Works

In countries that decide by consensus, the group takes everyone’s opinion into account. All the relevant parties consider all the information, and they make a decision only when everybody agrees. (Shortform note: Meyer appears to suggest that consensus decisions must be unanimous. But [consensus is generally defined as almost unanimous with some dissenting...

The Culture Map Summary Chapter 6: Building Trust Across Cultures

Trust is an essential part of successful business relationships.

However, different cultures build trust in different ways. Without a clear understanding of how a particular culture builds trust, you are prone to misunderstanding the nature of your relationship with your business partners. In other words, you might think that you have a more or less significant relationship than you actually do.

In this section, we’ll first discuss the two ways in which different cultures build trust, and why those different methods develop. We’ll then discuss one of the reasons it can be so difficult to determine the depth of your relationship with someone. Finally, we will present several strategies you can use to build trust in different cultures.

Two Styles of Trust: Cognitive and Personal

Meyer separates how cultures build trust into two types: task-based, which we’ll call cognitive, and relationship-based, which we’ll call personal.

(Shortform note: Be careful not to confuse these with task-oriented and relationship-oriented leadership styles. Task-oriented leadership focuses on helping people...

Shortform Exercise: Improve Your Business Relationships

You now know how people trust differently in different cultures. Use this knowledge to improve your own business practices.

Think about a specific intercultural business relationship that’s important to you. How does this person’s culture build trust? How does your culture build trust?

The Culture Map Summary Chapter 7: Disagreement Across Cultures

Disagreement is a necessary reality in the business world.

But the rules for appropriate disagreement vary across cultures. If you get these rules wrong, you risk seriously damaging your relationship with your business partners. As such, understanding how different cultures disagree is essential.

In this chapter, we’ll first discuss how Meyer divides disagreement styles into two extremes: “confrontational,” which we’ll call open disagreement, and “avoids confrontation,” which we’ll call disagreement-avoidant. We’ll then discuss why it can be so hard to determine where a culture falls on the disagreement spectrum. Finally, we’ll present strategies you can use to ensure that disagreements don’t harm your business relationships.

Two Styles of Disagreement: Open Disagreement vs Disagreement-Avoidant

Open Disagreement

Defining Open Disagreement

According to Meyer, cultures that disagree openly view disagreement as good for the group. A free exchange of ideas allows for greater innovations, and disagreements are a necessary part of that process. `

So in these cultures, people disagree with you frankly and publicly. It’s not unusual for a strong debate...

The Culture Map Summary Chapter 8: Time Perception Across Cultures

At first glance, scheduling might not seem like it would invite cross-cultural conflict. After all, we all experience time—whether we want to or not.

But time isn’t a fixed item. Time is a concept, and each culture thinks about it differently.

Understanding how other cultures perceive time is crucial for maintaining beneficial business relationships. Otherwise, you might be furious that you’ve been kept waiting—then become even angrier when your partner arrives and not only doesn’t apologize but is also confused as to why you’re so upset.

Meyer divides the methods of perceiving time into two overarching types: linear-time and flexible-time. But we’ll use the terms coined by Hall, who invented these concepts: monochronic, or M-Time, and polychronic, or P-Time.

In this section, we’ll first discuss these two methods of time perception, which Meyer calls scheduling, and how they develop across cultures. Then, we’ll present strategies you can use when working with people who perceive time differently than you do.

Two Styles of Time Perception: Monochronic vs Polychronic

Monochronic Cultures

Defining Monochronic Cultures

In monochronic cultures, time is a...

The Culture Map Summary Epilogue: What to Keep in Mind to Work Effectively Across Cultures

In the epilogue, Meyer presents several strategies to use when working across global teams.

In this section, we’ll combine those strategies with some of the other, more general strategies she suggests in previous chapters. First, we’ll explain how to combine the axes so you can effectively determine how two cultures differ. Then, we’ll present general principles to keep in mind when working globally. Finally, we’ll present strategies you can use when managing cross-cultural teams.

Understanding How Two Cultures Differ: How to Use the Axes Together

The axes described in this book offer a useful tool you can use to compare two cultures.

To do so, Meyer recommends looking at all eight axes simultaneously. Evaluate where each culture lies on each axis. Then, ask yourself: On what axes are these cultures similar? Where are they furthest apart?

In order to mitigate the frustration caused by cultural differences, focus your attention on the axes that lie furthest apart. By following the strategies presented in this book, you can prevent misunderstandings from forming and/or address the issues that...

Shortform Exercise: Understanding Our Own Cultural Biases

You’ve learned a lot about what caused the problems in the situation you described at the beginning of the guide. Return to that situation and see if you view it from a new perspective.

Review the situation you described in the beginning of the book. What axis did the cultural difference end up lying on? (There may be more than one.) The eight axes are Communication, Feedback, Thinking, Leadership, Decision-Making, Trust, Disagreement, and Time Perception.