“Think globally, act regionally.”
Those were words of advice from my former supervisor when I started working internationally in 1997. And that’s essentially the proposition in a wonderful book by Erin Meyer, The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business, where she shares a “step-by-step approach to understanding the most common business communication challenges that arise from cultural differences.” I consider her book another foundational work in our compliance world, where global compliance messages and programs need to be developed, implemented, and understood on a country-by-country basis, which means appreciating the subtle and not-so-subtle ways that our words and behaviors impact how our communications are received. In other words, as compliance leaders, if we want to help influence the behavior of others, as Meyer states, we need to appreciate that “the art of persuasion is one that is profoundly culture-based.”
