Lost In Translation: The Hidden Drivers of Culture Clash

Have you heard this one? The bus stops and two Italian men get on. They sit down and engage in an animated conversation.

The lady sitting in front of them ignores them at first, but her attention is galvanized when she hears one of the men say the following: 

"Emma come first. Den I come. Den two asses come together. I come once-a-more. Two asses, they come together again. I come again and pee twice. Then I come one lasta time."

"You foul-mouthed swine, " snaps the lady indignantly. "In this country we don't talk about our sex lives in public!"

"Hey, coola down lady," says the man. "Whosa talkin' abouta sex?

I'm justa tellin' my friend how to spella 'Mississippi'!"

Welcome to the world of culture clash, where things easily get lost in translation. This joke, which I received from my friend Lark van Hugo, shows what can go wrong in cross-cultural interactions.

What is going on exactly? Here's what few people know: We all have a filter through which we hear everything that's being said.

The lady in the bus knew what the two Italians were talking about. Of course they were talking about dirty sex!

The woman never once stopped to check her own assumptions before lashing out.

Culture clashes like this can be hilarious, but they are no laughing matter when cross-cultural misunderstandings lead to strategic failures and billion-dollar fiascos.

In the video you will see what happened to Microsoft in China, or to Electrolux in the United States. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

But back to you and me. Think about both your work/life for a moment.

• In your business and/or personal life, do you regularly deal with team members, customers, and/or stakeholders from other cultures who may not share your values? YES / NO
• Are you competing against or negotiating with another firm and need better strategic intelligence? YES / NO
• Is your company interested in opening a new market? YES / NO
• Could you use better intercultural skills to collaborate with others and get the job done? YES / NO

If you answered “Yes” to at least one of these questions, welcome to the club! 

This is a community of big thinkers, global citizens, and world travelers who are not confined by national borders, who like to play a game larger than themselves, and who know that solving complex problems demands the capacity to traffic in multiple perspectives.

(This is actually a great way to keep your brain from aging, for example by adopting different viewpoints about what you're seeing or reading.)

In a word, we are 21st-century leaders. 

Now, to business. Last month I had the honor of giving a keynote at the Lac Leman Communication Forum in Geneva. My friend and colleague Philippe Baeriswyl was there.

Philippe has shot a series of leadership videos with me, and I’d like to send these over to you. They distill in a powerful way the tools secrets that have made me and my clients successful over time. 

No matter where you are in your own leadership journey, this first 12-minute video will show you three new tools and stories that people can find nowhere in my books. Tools that will make you effective with, and in, any target culture. 

You’ll learn:

1. An innovative method of mapping cultures across the globe along four fundamental cultural dimensions.
2. Why knowing how to bow in Japan or whether to bring wine in Singapore has never lost a cross-border deal, but knowing the eight hidden dimensions of culture is the secret ingredient for success.
3. How I prepared for working with the prime minister and cabinet of Kazakhstan (yes, that's right, Kazakhstan of Borat fame) and knew next to nothing about what made them tick. 

You have to take action though. Watch these free videos, post a comment, and boost your leadership. Join us.

All the best,

Thomas

P.S. I know you are very busy these days. That's why I have made the video short and sweet. Do yourself a favor and invest the 12 minutes to watch the video. At least one of these tools is guaranteed to boost your productivity.