The Culture Map

Culture Map by Erin Meyer captivated me with its profound exploration of how culture shapes communication, leadership, and relationships in a globally interconnected world. Meyer's talent for distilling complex cross-cultural dynamics into actionable strategies is invaluable—not just for understanding organizational behavior but also for informing the work I do as a psychologist and neuroscientist, where cultural context is integral to shaping human interactions and mental health outcomes. Her framework emphasizes how culture deeply influences our perceptions, behaviors, and responses, echoing the approach I take in trauma-informed care. By illuminating the nuances of communication across cultures, Meyer fosters a more empathetic… show more.

This book expanded my thinking and provided a fresh perspective, reminding me of why I became interested in this important topic years ago and continue to be fascinated by the complexity and nuances of cross-cultural communication.

Now, more than ever, we are all interconnected through advances in technology that bring us closer together. We are working increasingly with a global workforce that inherently comes with very different backgrounds, languages, histories, foods, music, religions, social norms, customs, traditions, and values.

We need to grow our understanding of people from cultures different from our own and Erin's book is a complimentary contribution… show more.

So much of culture is unspoken and unseen. That’s why I love Erin Meyer’s classic book on doing business across borders.

As someone who oversees a global marketing team with people in various countries, I really relate to the compelling anecdotes she provides throughout. My favorite examples are ones where she showcases the misunderstandings that often go unseen and breaks down what is really happening behind the scenes when people from different cultures struggle to communicate in business settings.

Understanding high-context and low-context cultures is so important in global business. Having worked with employees in Japan, a high-context culture, I… show more.

I discovered this book several years ago when I was leading a global team across North America, Europe, and Asia and desperately trying to navigate cultural differences and communication styles. The book was eye-opening for me as the author shared real-world examples of misunderstandings and differences in how people from different cultures interact in the workplace.

I especially appreciated Erin’s guidance for leading people in highly hierarchical cultures as I was trying to figure out how to get my large team of leaders in China to speak up about what was really going on (and I was going about it… show more.

As a senior cultural advisor to governments, UN agencies, and companies, I find Erin Meyer's exploration of cultural nuances and their impact on communication and relationships both enlightening and practical.

This book offers a nuanced understanding of how culturally informed subtleties shape our interactions, providing invaluable insights for individuals, couples, and groups navigating multicultural relationships.

What stands out is Meyer's ability to distill complex cultural dynamics into organized frameworks and actionable strategies for building understanding and connection. Through her engaging anecdotes and thorough research, she equips readers with the tools to bridge cultural divides and cultivate harmony in their relationships.… show more.

This book is one of the most skillful and actionable executions of an incredibly complex topic: how do we successfully work with people from different cultures?

The book covers techniques for unpicking cultural differences and better understanding our own so that people from dramatically different backgrounds can work better together: a topic that is close to the heart of all of us in an increasingly globalized and interconnected world.

The most fun part of this book is an exercise that you can do with your team to highlight and understand cultural differences. Despite sounding like a potential minefield, you’ll come… show more.

I loved this book so much. I read it some time ago while preparing to start writing my first book.

It is about culture and how to conduct yourself within our globalized world—however, more into the business world context. Many of the mentioned recommendations from this book can also be applied to daily life. This book is a must-read if you work with a very international group and want to know how to deal with cultural differences.