Books To Develop International Skills

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International Strategy

	Redefining Global Strategy – by Pankaj Ghemawat A book for any business competing across borders. It will help you develop an approach towards global strategy.
	When Cultures Collide: Leading Across Cultures – by Richard Lewis This books shows how to gain competitive advantage with strategies to deal with the cultural differences that crop up in any international business setting. This is a guide to working and communicating across cultures, and explains how your culture and language affect the ways in which you think and respond.

International Websites

The Culturally Customized Web Site – by Nitish Singh and Arun Pereira A must read for anyone with a website selling to more than one country. There are also a few interesting resources on this website, including a short test to evaluate your cultural IQ. Also, note the link for the certification programs. This book was published in 2005.  Some of the examples given may seem out of date.  But do not let this put you off.  This is a fairly short book to read and still gives you valuable insights in how to culturally customize your website.  Having said that, I am impatiently waiting for Nitish Singh’s next book.

Beyond Borders – Website Globalization Strategies – by John Yunker For businesses who want to get their message across to different countries. This was published in 2002, but still answers many questions businesses face today.

Moving Towards An International Mindset

Mega Trends Europe – by Adjiedj Bakas A book to open your mind to possibilities of future ways of life in Europe and their consequences.  This is a great book to read to open your mind to seeing things differently.  With a little luck you could go beyond the scope of this book, which is based on future trends.  It might help you to open your eyes to present business opportunities in other cultures previously hidden to you.

A Whole New Mind – by Dan Pink Another book to open your mind to new ways of thinking. Dan Pink highlights the “right brain” qualities of inventiveness and empathy and how this new predominance helps us understand the contours of our times. Developing a whole brain approach facilitates cross-cultural understanding.

Develop Cross-Cultural Understanding

	Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind by Geert Hofstede A classic for businesses interested in developing cross-cultural skills. The landmark study of cultural differences across 70 nations, Cultures and Organizations helps readers look at how they think—and how they fail to think—as members of groups.
	Exploring Culture: Exercises, Stories, and Synthetic Cultures – by Gert Jan Hofstede A training book, to accompany Hofstede’s book on Cultures & Organizations. This contains over 100 culture awareness exercises, dialogues, stories incidents and simulations that bring to life Geert Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture.
	The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently…and Why – by Richard Nisbett I do not have enough current experience with Asian cultures to recommend any reading. This book came highly recommended by Jack Carney who is currently in his sixth year in China. Richard Nisbett is an eminent psychologist and believes that Asians and Westerners “have maintained very different systems of thought for thousands of years.”

Light Entertainment

If you are developing an international business you need to develop your own cross-cultural and international skills. I personally consider the following books, and similar books, to be comparable to the standard jokes you find in every country that make fun of another culture. You know, the ones where the other culture is always stupid. The culture or nationality changes depending on where you are located. In my opinion these cultural generalizations can stop you from developing your own cultural skills. Cross-cultural skills require personal investment. Many people do not want to make the effort. Cross-cultural miscommunication happens easily when you do not make the personal effort. Don’t use the information in these light entertainment books out of context.

Blunders in International Business – by David Ricks A very light read for a general public. It is always easy to learn from stories. If you are developing an international business you need something with a bit more substance.

Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: How to Do Business in Sixty Countries – by Terri Morrison, Wayne Conaway and James Borden Please only consider this book, and the others in this series, as light reading for a wide general public. These books are based on generalizations. There are certain truths in them. But they do not give you the whole context.  So do not follow such generalizations blindly.  You run the risk of cultural blunders.

More Resources

Key International Resources Resources to help you build your business Resources for international market research Recommended books and websites

Tagged as: a whole new mind, books, cross-cultural skills, discover guide, interesting books & authors, international business development, international skills, mega trends europe, multicultural books, redefining global strategy, resources, the culturally customized web site