Erin Meyer, “The Culture Map“ (★★★★☆)
As a software engineer, in the last 25 years, I have worked with many other engineers worldwide, from India or Japan to EEUU or Brazil, including all around Europe. You know that people’s behaviour is affected by their culture and personality, but you are never sure what is showing in every moment. Somehow that is what this book is about.
It analyzes the different cultures and parametrizes them to allow readers to know what to expect in every type of culture. It gives you tools to handle and provide feedback from and to different cultures better.
It did help me to comprehend some experiences that I had in the past and understand and interact better with my current team. Currently, I work in a multicultural team with six different cultures; learning to communicate more effectively with them is a good skill that I want to learn and practice. I was surprised how fast I could apply what I learned in the book, identify my teammates’ cultural traits, and see their personalities more clearly.
Recommend read for everyone; really, it is that useful.