1. www.culturematters.com Chris Smit Why Culture Matters in Doing Business 13 September 2015 Culture & Management Consultants

2. www.culturematters.com Please Raise Your Hand If…  You think Culture Does NOT Matter  You think Culture DOES Matter  You DON’T know if Culture Matters 2

3. www.culturematters.com Who am I ? Name: Chris Smit Nationality: Dutch “if you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much!” House: Windmill Where: Below sea level Cloths: Wooden shoes and traditional dress So… What's the point…?

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5. 5 Humor?

6. About myself  12 years Airline experience  18 years experience International Consulting  Organisational psychologist  Senior consultant Culture Matters  Writer & researcher  One year in USA  Live & work in Belgium

7. www.culturematters.com The Things That Really Matter…  Teamwork & Trust  Sharing of Information & Technology  Time to Market  Innovation  Getting the Right People Onboard  Projects Running OnTime 7

8. www.culturematters.com …Often Turn Out Different  Little Teamwork & Trust  Limited Sharing of Information & Technology  Delayed Time to Market  Lack of Innovation  High Staff Turnover  Projects Running Over Time 8

9. www.culturematters.com What’s it All About?  Understanding Stereo Types  Transforming Knowledge into Empathy  Embracing Diversity as a Source of Strength  Default Behavior & Your Comfort zone  Who Should Adapt to Who? 9

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11. American ? What would the Captain of an ocean liner say if his ship would have to be abandoned, if he was... British ? German ? Chilean or Greek ? Dutch or Swedish ? Italian or Belgian ? “It’s a Challenge !!!” “It’s the sporting thing to do…” “It’s the right procedure…” “If we don’t jump we’ll lose face…” “Let’s sit down and talk about it…” “It’s forbidden to jump…”

12. www.culturematters.com 18 % 53 % “It is important for a manager to have at hand precise answers to most of the questions that his subordinates may raise about their work” Percentage in agreement United States France Reality...

13. www.culturematters.com “It is important for a manager to have at hand precise answers to most of the questions that his subordinates may raise about their work” Percentage in agreement 18 % 53 % United States France

14. www.culturematters.com Manager's role varies across cultures Source : André Laurent 2030405060107080 % Percentage in agreement Great Britain Sweden Netherlands USA Denmark Switzerland Belgium Germany France Italy Indonesia Japan 17 18 23 27 38 44 46 53 66 73 78 17 18 23 27 38 44 46 53 66 73 78 “It is important for a manager to have at hand precise answers to most of the questions that his subordinates may raise about their work” 10

15. www.culturematters.com In the narrow sense: “Civilisation” (Art, Science, Education) In the broad anthropological sense: “Collective programming of the human mind” 2 MEANINGS OF CULTURE

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17. How do we “Measure” Culture? 1.Using different “Layers” of depth or impact 2.Using Numbers or scores

18. www.culturematters.comOnion

19. Symbols Heroes Rituals Values Culture

20. www.culturematters.com WI PG HI 0 50 100 AA Low High Value differences between countries can be explained by four dimensions of national culture.

21. www.culturematters.com All Animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others...

22. www.culturematters.com Dealing with hierarchy hierarchy low  being independent  hierarchy for convenience  equal rights  superiors accessible  … hierarchy high  being dependent  hierarchy is existential  privileges  superiors inaccessible  …

23. www.culturematters.com NL BELGIUM UK NORWAYFRANCE Which culture scores a) Highest b) Lowest on HIERARCHY?

24. www.culturematters.com Which culture scores a) Highest b) Lowest on HIERARCHY? NL 38 BELGIUM 64 UK 38 NORWAY 33 FRANCE 65

25. www.culturematters.com HierarchyWe vs IProcess/Go als Anxiety Avoidence Netherlands38 Flanders61 Wallonie67 Belgium64 France65

26. www.culturematters.com Business Implications “Defending” one’s own territory Loyalty conflicts Limited delegation or empowerment Time consuming processes …

27. www.culturematters.com What makes a good neighbour, and how do you respect your neighbour? Dealing with relationships

28. www.culturematters.com Dealing with relationships "We" cultures  the group: “We”  opinion of the group  implicit communication  loss of ‘face’, shame  relationship oriented  … "I" cultures  the individual: “Self”  individual opinions  explicit communication  loss of self-respect, guilt  task oriented  …

29. www.culturematters.com Which culture is a) the most “I” oriented b) the most “WE” oriented ? U.S.A.GREECE PORTUGAL BELGIUM NL

30. www.culturematters.com Which culture is a) the most “I” oriented b) the most “WE” oriented ? U.S.A. 90 GREECE 38 PORTUGAL 29 BELGIUM 77 NL 81

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32. 32 HierarchyWe vs IProcess/Go als Anxiety Avoidence Netherlands3881 Flanders6178 Wallonie6772 Belgium6477 France6575

33. www.culturematters.com Business Implications Individualistic behavior (focus on me, me, me) Limited teamwork Following one’s own agenda …

34. www.culturematters.com “Employee of the Month!!!” reward or punishment ? Dealing with one's role in society Consensus & Process Driven Or Decisive &Goal Driven ?

35. www.culturematters.com Reward!

36. www.culturematters.com Or punishment???

37. www.culturematters.com Process versus Goals (PG) Process (PG-)  Sticking your head out is not appreciated (socially, nor materially)  equal  consensus  sympathy for the loser Goals (PG+)  Winning is good, and gets you rewarded  Standing  competition  admiration for winner

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39. Which culture is: a)the most “Consensus & Process Driven” seeking b)the most “Decisive & Goal Driven” ? NLSWEDENGERMANYUKBELGIUM

40. www.culturematters.com NL 17 SWEDEN 7 GERMANY 67 UK 65 BELGIUM 56 Which culture is: a)the most “Consensus & Process Driven” seeking b)the most “Decisive & Goal Driven” ?

41. www.culturematters.com 41 HierarchyWe vs IProcess/Go als Anxiety Avoidence Netherlands388117 Flanders617843 Wallonie677260 Belgium647756 France657549

42. www.culturematters.com Business Implications Possibly too much consensus seeking (e.g. meetings; changing deadlines/agreements) Less focus on quality, more on end result …

43. www.culturematters.com Bungee Jumping: Certain or not? Dealing with Uncertainty

44. www.culturematters.com Anxiety Avoidance  In Germany everything is forbidden, unless it is allowed  In the UK everything is allowed, unless it is forbidden  In France everything is allowed, even if it is forbidden  In the Netherlands everything is tolerated even if it is forbidden

45. www.culturematters.com high avoidance (AA+)  Structure, rules, expertise  Security (avoiding the unfamiliar)  Hectic  Emotions/passion  … low avoidance (AA-)  Few rules, little structure  Entrepreneurial  Stress-free  Cool, calm & collected  … Anxiety Avoidance

46. www.culturematters.com Which culture requires a) Most structure and detail b) Least structure and detail? NLGREECE BELGIUMUK GERMANY

47. www.culturematters.com NL 50 GREECE 95 BELGIUM 89 UK 36 GERMANY 68 Which culture requires a) Most structure and detail b) Least structure and detail?

48. www.culturematters.com 48 HierarchyWe vs IProcess/Go als Anxiety Avoidence Netherlands38811750 Flanders61784387 Wallonie67726093 Belgium64775689 France65754988

49. www.culturematters.com Action & Implementation Time Action Germany Dutch American / UK France

50. www.culturematters.com Business Implications Conflict avoidance Lots of bureaucracy Limited innovation …

51. www.culturematters.com “Everything that irritates us about others… can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” Carl Jung

52. www.culturematters.com Questions?

53. www.culturematters.com Want to join the debate? Please visit: www.culturematters.com www.culturematters.com Email: Chris.Smit@culturematters.com Twitter: @ChrisSmit Get the Book: http://culturematters.com/ebook

54. www.culturematters.com Chris Smit was born in Amsterdam on March 3, 1963. Midway while attending high school, his family and he moved to the USA for one year, where he attended 8 th grade high school in Boiceville, New York. After returning to the Netherlands he finished school and went to the Free University in Amsterdam to study Industrial and Organisational Psychology. He graduated in 1993. While studying Chris joined KLM where he worked for 10 years as a Commercial Sales & Marketing coach and consultant. During that time he spent a lot of time abroad with a particular focus on Europe, South America, the Middle East and Asia. He joined ITIM|Result in 1999 and developed his international experience as an international business consultant. He is an experienced consultant and coach in intercultural business, and has implemented and consulted projects and run many intercultural and communication seminars throughout the world. Comfortable working at senior levels in organisations, he is known for his dynamic, enthusiastic and participative style as a public speaker, coach and business consultant. In 2008 Chris founded the company Culture Matters. Working synergistically with a group of professional consultants, he is the Director of Culture Matters. Chris has extensive experience in managing and motivating a team of professionals, to make them perform and exceed expectations. His specialities are India, Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the USA. He is currently living with his Belgian Partner in Belgium. Chris Smit has several international publications in his name, and a frequent speaker at international business events.