Chris Smit Why Culture Matters in Doing Business 13 September 2015 Culture & Management Consultants

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

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…?

5 Humor?

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

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

…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

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

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…”

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...

“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

Manager's role varies across cultures Source : André Laurent % Percentage in agreement Great Britain Sweden Netherlands USA Denmark Switzerland Belgium Germany France Italy Indonesia Japan “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

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

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

Symbols Heroes Rituals Values Culture

WI PG HI AA Low High Value differences between countries can be explained by four dimensions of national culture.

All Animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others...

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

NL BELGIUM UK NORWAYFRANCE Which culture scores a) Highest b) Lowest on HIERARCHY?

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

HierarchyWe vs IProcess/Go als Anxiety Avoidence Netherlands38 Flanders61 Wallonie67 Belgium64 France65

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

What makes a good neighbour, and how do you respect your neighbour? Dealing with relationships

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  …

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

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

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

Business Implications Individualistic behavior (focus on me, me, me) Limited teamwork Following one’s own agenda …

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

Reward!

Or punishment???

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

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

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 HierarchyWe vs IProcess/Go als Anxiety Avoidence Netherlands Flanders Wallonie Belgium France657549

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

Bungee Jumping: Certain or not? Dealing with Uncertainty

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

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

Which culture requires a) Most structure and detail b) Least structure and detail? NLGREECE BELGIUMUK GERMANY

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

48 HierarchyWe vs IProcess/Go als Anxiety Avoidence Netherlands Flanders Wallonie Belgium France

Action & Implementation Time Action Germany Dutch American / UK France

Business Implications Conflict avoidance Lots of bureaucracy Limited innovation …

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

Questions?

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Chris Smit was born in Amsterdam on March 3, 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 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.