The Culture Matters Podcast on International Business & Management Podcast

Culture Matters Podcast (on international business)Build your Cultural Competence, listen to interesting stories, learn about the cultural pitfalls and how to avoid them, and get the Global perspective here at the Culture Matters podcast on International Business.

We help you understand Cultural Diversity better by interviewing real people with real experiences.

Every episode there is an interview with a prominent guest, who will tell his or her story and share international experiences. Helping you develop your cultural competence. Welcome to this culture podcast and management podcast.

To Subscribe to this Management Podcast, Click here.Culture Matters Podcast in iTunes
The Culture Matters Culture Podcast. Available on iTunes and Stitcher RadioCulture Matters Podcast in Stitcher
Click here to get the podcast on Spotifyspotify logo culture matters podcast
Talk to your Amazon Alexa and listen to the PodcastCulture Matters Podcast on Alexa
Listen directly on Amazonamazon logo

If you have a minute, please leave me an honest rating and review on iTunes by clicking here. It will help the visibility and the ranking of this culture podcast on iTunes immensely! A BIG THANK YOU!

Enjoy this FREE culture podcast!

Music: Song title - Bensound.com

Peter van der Lende Podcast

 

Chris Smit Podcast

183 Chinese American Culture with Ken Wilcox

Chinese American culture with Ken Wilcox In this episode, we welcome Ken Wilcox, In this episode, we talk with Ken Wilcox, Chairman and CEO Emeritus of Silicon Valley Bank and author of the upcoming book The China Business Conundrum: Ensure That “Win-Win” Doesn’t Mean...

read more

182 Living in China with Terence Clarke

Living in China with Terence Clarke Terence (Terry) Clarke, a British-Irish expat, has been living in China for many years, gaining deep insights into the cultural nuances of the region. His experiences living in China have shaped his understanding of both Western and...

read more

181 Culture and Real Estate with Julie Condliffe

Culture and Real Estate with Julie Condliffe About This Week's Guest Julie Condliffe Culture and Real Estate; Navigating Cultural Complexity. How Does Cultural Competence Drive Success in International Business? In this episode of the Culture Matters podcast on...

read more

180 Stories and Culture with Craig Maginness

Stories and Culture with Craig Maginness About This Week's Guest Craig Maginness Craig Maginness, managing member of ExIn Global Strategies, is a sought-after speaker, teacher, and adviser for businesses looking to grow into new markets. Craig spent much of his career...

read more

178 Toby Mildon

Toby Mildon About This Week's Guest Toby Mildon The Power of Inclusive Growth: Toby Mildon can Boost Business with Diversity. How can diversity future-proof your business? In this enlightening episode of the Culture Matters podcast, thought leader Toby Mildon explains...

read more

177 Russian Culture Explained with Mark Steinberg

Russian Culture Explained with Mark Steinberg About This Week's Guest Mark Steinberg Mark Steinberg is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In this podcast, we talk about Russian Culture. He is the author of many books and...

read more

176 James Kennedy on Dutch culture

James Kennedy About This Week's Guest James Kennedy James Kennedy is a professor of modern Dutch history at the Universiteit Utrecht. As an American, he particularly focuses on the postwar history and the contours of contemporary Dutch society. "Culture Matters. Also...

read more

175 Children and Cultural Awareness; Erika Bud

Children and Cultural Awareness with Erika Bud About This Week's Guest Erika Bud Erika started traveling overseas when she was 18 years old, working as an Au Pair. Since then, she has traveled to over thirty countries, living in both Spain and Australia. In this...

read more

174 José Martinez on doing business in Mexico

José Martinez About This Week's Guest José Martinez José Martínez is an expert in event management and international negotiations. He has collaborated with leading companies such as Informa Markets, Reed Exhibitions, and The Walt Disney Company. He is an industrial...

read more

171 Rachel Smets on traveling indefinitely

Rachel Smets About This Week's Guest Rachel Smets Rachel Smets is a clarity coach, 2xTEDx speaker, YouTuber, author, and online course creator. Rachel helps unfulfilled mid-career corporates confidently plan their 9-5 escape and turn their passion into income so they...

read more

169 ChatGPT and Cultural Differences

ChatGPT and cultural differences About This Week: ChatGPT and cultural differences In this podcast episode, we will talk about: What is ChatGPT? Who will embrace ChatGPT (and who will not)? What is the future and what will come after ChatGPT? And we'll make some other...

read more

168 Language and Culture; Heather Hansen

The Link Between Language and Culture with Heather Hansen About This Week's Guest Heather Hansen Heather Hansen on how to develop UNMUTED leaders and organizations. In this podcast, Language and Culture How CEOs and C Suite Leaders need to encourage cultures of open...

read more

167 China’s Culture with Allen Morrison

China's Culture with Allen Morrison About This Week's Guest Allen Morrison Allen Morrison was born in Canada and now lives in the USA. He has lived in several countries all over the world with a focus on China's culture. Professor of Global Management and author of...

read more

163 Democracy and Cultural Diversity

Democracy and Cultural Diversity [Podcast] In this 23-minute podcast, we talk about what democracy is and how it is seen differently in different cultures. The Western concept of democracy is very different from the Indian or Russian, just to name a few. "If nothing...

read more

161 Humor and Cultural Differences

Humor and Cultural Differences There is very little culturally neutral. If anything at all. Humor is one of those topics that are not culturally neutral. What is funny in one culture is not considered funny in another culture. In this podcast, we not only explore how...

read more

160 Cultural Superiority in Business

Cultural Superiority in Business Everybody suffers from the "better than average syndrome". In other words, we all suffer from Cultural Superiority in Business. This happens between individuals, but certainly between cultures. And this can hamper international...

read more

159 Organizational Culture Explained

Organizational Culture Explained In this podcast, we focus on the mess that happened within the Amazon Corporate Culture. We take a closer look at Organizational Culture and explain what is/was going on by explaining what Organizational Culture is. Understanding how...

read more

154 International Recruiting with Ivana Lodovici

International Recruiting with Ivana Lodovici About This Week's Guest Ivana Lodovici Ivana Lodovici is the Director of International Recruitment at YER USA. YER USA assists European companies with the selection of North American-based candidates. Ivana was born in...

read more

153 Work After Corona [Podcast]

How will business change after Corona? What will be the cultural implications? What this podcast will be about: The World Will Never be the Same; or Will it? For some, working from home was already part of their daily work-life. For many, it has been a forced decision...

read more

152 Global Talent Sourcing [Podcast]

Global Talent Sourcing Podcast, Culture Shock, and Cultural Competency What this podcast will be about: Why Global Talent Sourcing from Other Countries? Why Is Cultural Onboarding So Important? Dealing with Culture Shock It is NOT about the Legal or Accounting Stuff...

read more

151 How to do business in India Podcast

How to do business in India podcastIn this how-to-do business in India podcast, we don't really go over any cultural dimensions (in our webinar we will).Instead, we go over some common misconceptions and misunderstandings that non-Indians (mostly Westerns) have about...

read more

150 Deanna Singh on Diversity and Inclusion

Deanna Singh About This Week's Guest Deanna Singh Deanna Singh, the author of Purposeful Hustle, wants to live in a world where marginalized communities have power. As an expert social entrepreneur, she is obsessed with making the world a better place and she will...

read more

149: Working With International Virtual Teams

Working with International Virtual Teams Working internationally is one thing. But working with an International Virtual Team adds a couple of challenges. I call it you're missing the "touch" factor; meaning that you're missing those visual queues that you would...

read more

147: Culture Matters in International Business

The Culture Matters in International Business Podcast A new Format for this Podcast Your Hosts: Chris Smit Peter van der Lende "Understanding cultural differences can be the descisive factor in success or failure in International Business" In this short introduction...

read more

145: International Business Development Podcast

What Can You Expect During this Webinar on International Business Development? * How to go about international Business Development and/or expansion. * Why it is important to pay attention to Cultural Differences when working internationally. * How you can save time...

read more

144: Bart De Pau On the Shocking Dutch

Bart De Pau About This Week's Guest Bart De Pau Bart De Pau was born to a Dutch father and a Belgian mother and grew up in Zeeland (the province that is famous for its massive sea defenses). He set up a Summer/Winter School: intensive Dutch courses with accommodation....

read more

142 Rachel Jensen on Life in the Caribbean

Rachel Jensen About This Week's Guest Rachel Jensen Over 8 years ago, Rachel moved from New York to a small Caribbean island off the coast of Belize for a job. Today she still calls Ambergris Caye home and despite the cultural differences and nuances, she has adapted...

read more

140: Melissa Lamson on Inclusion and Diversity

Melissa LamsonAbout This Week's Guest Melissa LamsonMelissa Lamson, CEO of Lamson Consulting, works with successful leaders to refine their professional skills and create inclusive workplaces.She knows that when leaders present the best version of themselves,...

read more

139: The Arab Business Code with Judith Hornok

Judith Hornok About This Week's Guest Judith Hornok Judith Hornok is THE DECODER. She studies the “special codes” of individuals and groups worldwide. Over fifteen years she has researched the social-emotional mindset of the Arab people in the Gulf. During her...

read more

138: Beer and Culture with Allan Heida

AllanHeida About This Week's Guest Allan Heida Allan Heida is a Craft Beer nerd and guide. He loves to educate people on Craft Beer and the culture that surrounds it. He has been into craft beer on the amateur and professional level, having worked behind the bar and...

read more

137: Coronavirus in China; Laurance Draken

Coronavirus in China with Lawrence Draken About This Week's Guest Lawrence Draken Lawrence Draken published "The Year of the Rabid Dragon" in November 2018, a medical mystery set in Beijing, China. The story wound around political intrigue, cover-ups, and secret...

read more

135: Lisa Fain on Inclusion and Diversity

Lisa Fain About This Week's Guest Lisa Fain Lisa Fain is the CEO of Center for Mentoring Excellence, and an expert in the intersection of cultural competency and mentoring. Her passion for diversity and inclusion work fuels her strong conviction that leveraging...

read more

134: Mathieu Gram on Physiotherapy and Culture

Mathieu Gram About This Week's Guest Mathieu Gram Mathieu GRAM injects, through his Olympic level coaching, a fusion of cutting edge science insights on physical, mental, nutritional, medical and neurologic key performance indicators into high powered executive's...

read more

133: Latin American Culture; Michael Cobb

Latin American Culture with Michael Cobb About This Week's Guest Michael Cobb After success in the computer industry, Michael formed ECI Development in 1996. This residential resort development company owns projects in Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama...

read more

132: Anke Hermann On How to Get From IT to Coach

Anke Hermann About This Week's Guest Anke Hermann Originally from Germany, she lived in Australia and the UK before. In 2004 she decided to quit her IT job in London to move to Spain and start a sewing business - with nothing but a love for sewing and plenty of...

read more

126: Rebecca D. Costa on the Future of the Future

Rebecca D. Costa is an American sociobiologist and futurist. She is the preeminent global expert on the subject of “fast adaptation” and recipient of the prestigious Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Technology Award. Her career spans four decades of working with founders, key executives and venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. Costa’s first book, The Watchman’s Rattle: A Radical New Theory of Collapse, was an international bestseller. Her follow‐on book, titled On the Verge was introduced in 2017 to critical acclaim, shooting to the top of Amazon’s #1 New Business Releases. Costa’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, SF Chronicle, The Guardian, and other leading publications.

read more

111: Tigit Motorbikes in Vietnam ; Jon Pepper

Jon Pepper from Tigit Motorbikes in Vietnam. He’s an up and coming entrepreneur. From a game server business at 15 years old. Hostel business in Vietnam at 22 years old and now Tigit Motorbikes at 29 years old. Tigit Motorbikes has 3 main offices across Vietnam. Self-funded from $200 and the purchase of 1 motorbike to what is now a million dollar business with over 350 motorbikes.

read more

109: Back to Human with Dan Schawbel

Dan Schawbel is a New York Times bestselling author, Partner and Research Director at Future Workplace, and the Founder of both Millennial Branding and WorkplaceTrends.com. He is the host of “5 Questions with Dan Schawbel”, a podcast where he interviews a variety of world-class human by asking them 5 questions in less than 10 minutes. Dan’s new book is called Back to Human: How Great Leaders Create Connection in the Age of Isolation.

read more

108: John Amaechi on Sports, Business and Culture

John Amaechi is a psychologist, New York Times bestselling author and former NBA basketball player. All this united in one person? Yes! and with 6′ 4″ he not only physically stands tall but also when it comes to his view on sports, business and other international matters.

read more

106: Cultural Differences in Fitness with Mounir Azegra

Mounir Azegra is the founder of iWannaBurnFat.com. iWannaBurnFat provides evidence-based training and nutrition information to the fitness community. With the use of scientific research and logic, he has helped thousands of people improve the way they look and feel. He’s also a second generation Morrocan living in the Netherlands. Having a multi-cultural upbringing gives him a unique ability to coach individuals from different cultures.

read more

105: Culture Shock with Dylan Bollen (part 2)

Dylan Bollen is a Ph.D. student in astronomy and astrophysics at KU Leuven University and Macquarie University, Sydney.

It’s the second time he is on the show and this time we talk about how he adapted to Australian culture and dealt with his (mild) culture shock.

read more

104: Conflict in Different Cultures; the Next Element with Nate Regier

Nate Regier, Ph.D., is CEO and co-founding owner of Next Element, a global leadership training and certification firm specializing in communication and conflict skills. He’s an expert in social-emotional intelligence and leadership, positive conflict, neuropsychology, and group dynamics. Regier is a co-developer of Next Element’s Leading Out of Drama® training and coaching system, an LOD® master trainer, and Process Communication Model® certifying master trainer. He is the co-author of Beyond Drama: Transcending Energy Vampires, and his just-released second book, Conflict Without Casualties: A Field Guide for Leading with Compassionate Accountability. He’s an enthusiastic dad and husband

read more

103: Ferry den Hoed on Textile and Culture

Ferry is a non-food retailer from the Netherlands. In his position as president for the Foreign Trade Association (now called Amfori) he was part of the success of the growing community of BSCI . BSCI is the leading platform for social compliance in the world. He decided to start helping retailers and brands with the implementation of social compliance systems and founded the consulting company CoComply in Brussels.

read more

102: Exchange Programs and Cultural Education; Kea Hoppe

Kea is currently the director of the European umbrella organization of Youth For Understanding and responsible for positioning YFU as an expert in intercultural education, creating partnerships and advancing the organization strategically. Youth For Understanding (YFU) is a volunteer-based global non-profit community driven by the passion of people, consisting of 55+ member organizations across six continents. As a leader in intercultural exchange and educational programs for more than 60 years, YFU has impacted more than 270.000 students – and their host families, schools and networks – and more than 70.000 volunteers.

read more

101: Sales Award Winner to World Traveler; Matt Javit

Matt Javit was a five-time sales award winner with the international Technology Consulting company that he spent 9 incredible years with but then he left it all behind in February of 2017, along with his vast work network, volunteer efforts, and friends & family, to follow his love of travel with his wife.

read more

100: A Culture With Purpose with Alexandria Agresta

Alexandria believes in creating purposeful communities where people feel a sense of belonging and are empowered to create a real human connection.

Alexandria’s why led her to become an advocate for incorporating the human element back into modern business practices.

Her leadership and teachings on these principles have earned her recognition by top leaders within Central Florida, and now she’s expanding to the West Coast.

read more

099: Virtual Assistant from the Philippines

Nathan Hirsch is a 28-year-old serial entrepreneur who is an expert in hiring online and building eCommerce businesses.
 
He co-founded his first eCommerce company out of his dorm room in 2009 drop shipping products on Amazon.com and built it to sell over $25 million worth of product over 5 years.
While scaling, Nathan discovered the power of outsourcing and ended up building a remote army of freelancers.

read more

097: Abandoned Places with Henk van Rensbergen

Henk bought his first camera when he was 16 years old with which he started taking pictures of empty factories and forgotten castles.

Now he flies around the world as Captain on a Boeing 787.

While his crew is relaxing at the local swimming pool, he ventures out to desolated city palaces, overgrown industrial factories or rusted war vessels.

read more

096: Claiming Back Your Cultural Identity with Dr. Alain Krapl

Dr. Alain Krapl is an Associate Professor of Finance and Director of the International Business Program at the Haile/US Bank College of Business.

He earned a B.A. and M.S. in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Connecticut.

His teaching interests include international finance, financial management, and derivatives securities.

read more

095: Full Circle Sailing Across the World with Monique and Paul

Full Circle Sailing with Monique and Paul van der Linden

Monique and Paul have been cruizing the globe in their Full Circle Sailing boat since 2011.

They have been around the world and are planning to keep on doing this for at least two years (at the time of this writing).

Paul is an ex-marketeer and has been sailing longer than Monique.

Monique is an ex-stewardess who was looking for someone to go sailing with.

They found each other and off they went.

With their Full Circle Sailing business, they sometimes take guests for a stretch.

read more

094: Learning a Language and Cultural Differences with Jesse Abing

Jesse is the Chief Learning Officer at Lingo Live and oversees the development of the company’s learning program and coaching community.

Focused on situated approaches to learner development, his learning program design leverages meaningful relationships, real-world contexts and behavior change models for optimal impact.

His primary mission aims to empower people with the confidence and knowledgeable skills to participate fully and authentically in a target community.

read more

093: Mastering American Business Culture with Andy Molinsky

Andy Molinsky is the author of two books – Global Dexterity and Reach – and is a professor of international management and organizational behavior at Brandeis University in the US. He writes regularly for Harvard Business Review, Inc.com, and Psychology Today and is the creator of the new online course Mastering American Business Culture.

read more

091: Exceptional Leadership with Ron Carucci

Ron Carucci is co-founder and managing partner at Navalent, working with CEOs and executives pursuing transformational change for their organizations, leaders, and industries.

In addition to being a regular contributor to HBR and Forbes, and has been featured in Fortune, CEO Magazine, BusinessInsider, MSNBC, Inc, Business Week, Smart Business, and thought leaders.

He is the best selling author of 8 books, including the Amazon #1 Rising to Power, the Journey of Exceptional Executive.

read more

090: Stay as Young as Possible in Different Cultures; Andrea Maier

Prof. Dr. Dr. Andrea Maier, Professor of General Medicine and Aged Care also connected to The University of Melbourne, Australia, where she is Divisional Director of Medicine and Community Care.

Then there is The Royal Melbourne Hospital where she is Professor of Ageing.

And if that wasn’t enough she also has a chair at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

read more

089: Learning a Culture and Learning a Language; Tyler Muse

Tyler Muse is the Founder and CEO of Lingo Live, a language learning company he started in 2012 after learning Spanish with a woman in Guatemala, over Skype. Today, Lingo Live helps thousands of working professionals throughout the globe express their authentic voice and communicate more effectively in their jobs through highly-personal one-on-one English communication training. Lingo Live’s mission is to encourage meaningful human connections through learning.

read more

088: Reality Based Leadership with Cy Wakeman

Cy Wakeman is a dynamic international keynote speaker, business consultant, New York Times bestselling author, and global thought leader with over 25 years experience cultivating a revolutionary new approach to leadership. Her newest and most anticipated book, No Ego.

read more

087: Sports Rivalry, and Culture with Joe Cobbs

Joe Cobbs is Associate Professor of Sports Business at Northern Kentucky University, and co-founder of KnowRivalry.com.

Research, teaching, and industry engagement in the Department of Marketing, Sports Business, and Construction Management.

Specialties include team rivalry, international sponsorship, and the business of Formula One racing.

read more

085: Protocol, Etiquette, and Cultural Diversity by Jean Paul Wyers

Jean Paul Wyers is the founder and director of Protocolbureau, an organization based in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Most people associate protocol with etiquette and Royalty, but the official definition of protocol is “how meetings with officials should be organized”.

In a modern translation, the method of protocol is also used by Protocolbureau to manage meetings and events with VIP’s, large clients and other important stakeholders.

Protocolbureau supports organizations at official occasions and in less formal situations such as networking events, fashion shows, and even dance events.

read more

084: Peter Alexander Kerkhof on Language and Culture

Peter Alexander Kerkhof’s academic position is research fellow at the Linguistics Department of Ghent University, Belgium. Peter Alexander is a historical linguist and philologist of the Old Germanic, Old Romance and Old Celtic languages.

“History is the product of our invented past.”

read more

Culture Matters Summer 2017

It’s that time of the year again: Summer + Holidays.
That means that for the months July and August there will be no posts on the Culture Matters website.
I wish you a fantastic Summer and look forward to seeing you back in September!

read more

083: Wedding Planners and Culture; Deborah Moody Explains

Deborah Moody is Executive Director of the Association of Certified Professional Wedding Consultants or ACPWC.

The ACPWC offers training and certification courses for wedding and event planners.

They also have a membership association which provides continuing education and support for wedding professionals.

Her tips to become more culturally competent are:

Take the time to do (some) research. So when you come to a new destination or meet new people you know something about that culture. Not all, but something.
Be open to new experiences. Realize that new cultures can enrich you.
If you can, Travel. Even if it is only within your own country. Set out to make a friend where you go.

read more

082: Laura Lindsay; Lonely Planet & in Different Cultures

Laura Lindsay is Director of Global Communications at Lonely Planet; an avid traveler she has worked in the travel industry for almost a decade interspersed with visiting over 40 countries.

Currently looking after Lonely Planet’s brand communications; Laura is responsible for Lonely Planet’s reputation in the media, profiles of the company’s spokespeople and internal company communication.

Most recently, driving the company’s story of transformation from guidebook publisher to multimedia brand.

Laura also manages the company’s largest brand campaign, Best in Travel.

Be curious. Being curious about your new surroundings, the people, the food is the best way to experience different cultures.
Engage with the local people. Go to that man around the corner. Talk to the waiter. Share stories and expertise.
Don’t always focus on the negative. The food you didn’t like, the way you were treated. Although bad experience stories seem to be interesting to tell at birthdays, remembering the good things is really more enjoyable.

read more

081: Cultural Differences in Aviation; The Pilot Patrick Smith

Ask the Pilot: Patrick Smith

Patrick Smith is an airline pilot and the host of www.askthepilot.com. His book is COCKPIT CONFIDENTIAL: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel. He lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.

His tips to become more culturally aware are:

Be patient. Patience is a virtue. And this is even truer when you’re dealing with different cultures.
Be open minded. Ask yourself “what if…” (they were right).
Be humble towards the other culture. Let the experience and what is happening around you come to you. Rather than imposing your own thoughts on them.

read more

080: The Textile Industry and Culture; Imran Rath

The Textile Industry and Culture with Imran Rath

Imran Rath is from Pakistan. He has been living in Belgium since 2005 and is Running a Global Sourcing company in Belgium Since 2005, before that he was living in New York.

His tips to become more culturally aware are:

When you go and visit a country that you’ve never visited before make sure to read-up on where you’re going. Read something about the history, the differences between North and South, East and West.
Take out a map. Make sure that you somewhat understand, from a geographical standpoint, where you will be going.

read more

079: Make Your Organization GREAT; Shane Green

How to make your organization GREAT, with Shane Green

Shane Green, A world-renowned keynote speaker, author of Culture Hacker, and television personality, Shane Green is a business magnate who consults global Fortune 500 leaders on customer experience and organizational culture.

Shane draws upon his foundation at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and works in multiple industries to transform your employees’ mindset, experience, and habits to improve customer experience, employee retention, and organizational performance.

As a catalyst for the modern service economy, Shane Green and his team inspire companies and their people to move beyond the mundane and out of status quo so they want to exceed the expectations of their internal and external customers.

His tips to become more culturally aware are:

If your organization has values (and yes, it has values), make sure those values carry meaning to the people working in your organization. And you know what? Fresh them up while you’re at it. You’ll be surprised how much that will mean to them.
Select the right people for your organization. Both for your sake and for their sake. It will take more time, but in the end, it will get you the right people on board and will save you a ton of money avoiding hiring the wrong type of people.
What does the first day of work look like for someone new in your organization? Make it an experience rather than a procedure they need to go through. Make them 🙂 at the end of the day.
Interview Links

Links that are mentioned in this episode:

Email: shane@shgreen.com
Get the book Culture Hacker here

read more

078: America Deconstructed with Chai Sohan

In light of recent times and all the debate about immigrants and refugees around the world, Shaima joined forces with Chaithanya to put forth the stories of immigrants from different backgrounds that have called America home. Her purpose in doing so is to paint a different picture of immigrants and refugees by displaying their side of the stories and the struggles of starting from nothing.

read more

077: Traveling Through the Americas with the “Dream-Life” Family

Stefan and his “Dream-Life” family

Full-time daddy who travels with the family for many years around the world.

Author, blogger, and part of a family that live their dream!

Worked 13 years for an international bank in the IT department and headed several multi-cultural teams and projects.

His tips to become more culturally aware are:

Be very aware of your intention when you deal with other cultures. Don’t be shy. If you approach other people with a smile you’ll be OK.
Go to a Cultural Awareness workshop or course. Period.
We’re all human beings; don’t think in terms of “high-cost employees” and “low-cost employees”. This creates a wrong kind of inequality thinking

read more

073: Perception and Deception by Joe Lurie

Joe Lurie, Author of the Award Winning, Perception, And Deception, A Mind-Opening Journey Across Cultures, is Executive Director Emeritus of UC Berkeley’s International House where he served for two decades. Currently a cross-cultural communications, speaker and university lecturer, he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya and directed academic programs abroad in Ghana, France, and Kenya for the School for International Training.

read more

072: History and Culture Through the Eyes of Joseph Amato

Joe Amato began teaching at Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) in Marshall, Minnesota where he was a founder and chair of the History Department. He taught a range of courses in European intellectual and cultural history with a particular interest in the Middle Ages, Renaissance, German, Italian, and French histories and European rural life, as well as taught ethics and introductory social science courses. Joe has given countless lectures and talks on a variety of subjects in the region, throughout the state, Midwest, and at national conferences. Reading and speaking a variety of European languages—Italian, French, Russian, Spanish, and German (and some Biblical Greek)
He is widely traveled in Western Europe from the British Isles and the Netherlands to southern Italy, Greece, and Sicily.

read more

071: Working With Virtual Teams with Jelle Mattelaer

Jelle is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for people, cultures, technology, design, and food. With his company Zeropoint he works with virtual teams from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Together with his colleague Bart van Loon, he has been dealing with virtual teams for the last 7 years.

read more

2016 Year-End Podcast and Videocast

2016 Year-End Podcast and Videocast Thank You! With this podcast, I want to thank everyone that came to my website. All the listeners of the podcast and the watchers of the recently added videocast. Also a big thank you to the readers of my books. And last but...

read more

069: A Danish Perspective of the French; Mathilde Bruun Larsen

Mathilde is a 24-year old Master’s student at Copenhagen Business School within the field of business, language, and culture. She is currently doing an internship in Paris for a company that provides business assistance to Danish companies in France and helps Danish companies overcome the cultural barriers that exist between the two countries.

read more

067: Doing Business in Russia II; With Natasha Aks

Natasha Aks is specializing on doing business in Russia and communicating effectively with Russians. She has been exposed to different cultures, studies, and work-wise, for the last 16 years, having lived and worked across the world, in Russia, the US, Germany, and in the UK. Natasha gained her practical business experience, having worked in media industries for over 11 years. Natasha’s work included acting as a mediator between Russian, Kazakh, Ukrainian, and English teams, bridging any possible gaps, identifying and resolving issues and problems, and, ultimately, making projects happen. Now she consults on doing business in Russia from the communications perspective and is a published author of a series of articles about doing business in Russia.

read more

065: Inclusive Talent Management with Stephen Frost

Stephen Frost is Head of Diversity and Inclusion for KPMG UK. He served as Head of Diversity and Inclusion for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games from 2007-2012. He was educated as a Hertford College Scholar at Oxford University and a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard University. He also teaches inclusive leadership at Harvard Business School and an extended class at Sciences Po in Paris. He advises several organizations and governments worldwide and is the author of the book The Inclusion Imperative.

read more

064: An Expat in a New Country with Audrey Mezas

Audrey Mezas is the Dutch owner of Expat in Amsterdam. She is an Expat/Executive Personal Assistant to athletes, professors, families, international entrepreneurs and business executives. The difference between Audrey and say a relocation company is that she delivers “tailor-made personal” service for each of her clients and accompanying them almost everywhere they need to be. Audrey also trains teams in Executive Excellence and has moved 17 times and lived on four continents. Audrey is the “Expat in Amsterdam.”

read more

Summer 2016

Hi all, It's that time of the year again: Summer + Holidays. That means that for the months July and August there will be no posts on the Culture Matters website. I wish you a fantastic Summer and look forward to seeing you back in September!

read more

045: What Comes First? Culture or Personality?

How Culture and Personality are Intertwined Culture and personality. Where do they fit? How are they mixed together? Is there overlap? Which one dominates? In this short podcast, I'll give you my, non-academic, view on this very interesting topic. I'm curious to hear...

read more

043: How to Explain Culture to Kids

How to Explain Culture to Kids Kids are no adults. With this, I'm not telling you anything new. So how do you explain culture to kids? Most of the work I do is with adults. All of the work I do is with adults. Except for this one time I had the opportunity to work...

read more

038: Cultural Differences and the EU; Madi Sharma

Cultural Differences and the EU About This Week's Guest Madi Sharma Cultural Differences and the EU Madi Sharma is an entrepreneur and a social capitalist. She's a member of the European Economic and Social Committee, and living her life with one strict motto No...

read more

037: Why Company Culture Matters [Podcast]

Why Company Culture Matters [Podcast] Why does company culture matter? because it can make or break your organization and your success. When I talk about "company culture", for me it is the same as corporate or organizational culture, so I'll use them interchangeably....

read more

Culture Matters Summer 2015

Summer 2015 Hi there, It's summer, and it's warm at the time of this writing. Hopefully you are enjoying the weather as wherever you are in the world, and maybe you're even enjoying your holiday. I hope you are. This podcast is only a short...

read more

Uncertainty Avoidance in International Business

Uncertainty Avoidance in International Business The Hidden Cultural Dimension You Need to Understand When Doing Business Overseas This podcast is something different from the regular Interview podcasts that I do. I wanted to pay more attention to Hofstede's fourth and...

read more

029: Timothy J. Bridgman with a Focus on Poland

About This Weeks Guest Timothy J. Bridgman Timothy was born in UK, lived in Poland on/off since 1999, went to Poland to try to become Poland's first world fusion music DJ, then over the same period became lecturer at University of Lodz. Left employment at University...

read more

028: Your Cultural Concierge with Amanda Workman

Cultural Concierge About This Week's Guest Amanda Workman Amanda grew up in Eastern Africa, lived and worked in Hong Kong, and has traveled and worked throughout Eastern and Southern Africa, India, China, and Western Europe.  This lifetime of experiences has given her...

read more

027: Teresa Knapp on Hosting Exchange Students

About This Week's Guest Teresa Knapp Teresa Knapp is the Director of Program Development for International Student Exchange. She has been in the field of foreign student exchange for 25 years. Teresa Knapp gives her 3 tips for becoming more culturally competent: Get...

read more

Holiday Season Message

I wanted to take this opportunity to say Thank You for your support in 2014. I hope 2015 will even be better!   Well, it’s nothing very special: Try to be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book now and then, get some walking in, and try to live in...

read more

011: The Importance of Culture in Corporate Travel; Paul Wait

In this episode I Interview Paul Wait.

Paul wait is CEO of the Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC) which represents 80% of business travel in the United Kingdom alone

Paul talks about his time in Scotland, his time at American Express (27 years!), and his time heading the sales teams at Virgin Atlantic. He is one of the rare top managers that really understands the strategic importance of managing and understanding cultural differences.

read more

008: Tom Andriola, an American Working in China

Summary In this episode, I Interview Tom Andriola. Tom Andriola is currently the General Manager of Healthcare Informatics at Philips Healthcare Greater China, a business dedicated to technology innovation, improving patient care, and saving lives. He also is...

read more

005: Dutch Directness in Singapore with Bob Grol

Dutch Directness and Beyond In this episode, I Interview Bob Grol on Dutch Directness Bob is a born and raised Dutchman. He currently runs his own organization called FYPS (For Your Professional Solution). Learn from Bob in what way, and how and why the Dutch are as...

read more

004: Richard Hill on Why the French are Autistic

Summary In this episode, I Interview Richard Hill. Richard is the author of "We Europeans" (1992), "Euro managers & Martians", "The Art of being Belgian", "Great Britain Little England", and a number of other books. Learn how Richard explains why (he thinks) the...

read more

002: Antoin Deul on Culture and Sustainability

Summary In this episode, I Interview Antoin Deul. Antoin (a Dutch National) is a global project manager and staff scientist who has lived in the US for 12 years and has worked and is working on sustainability projects in many countries. Find out from Antoin why it is...

read more

000: Culture Matters Podcast, an Introduction

Culture Matters Podcast Welcome to the Culture Matters Podcast Introduction Episode. Build Your Cultural Competence On the Culture Matters podcast, we interview real people with real stories. Every other week there is a guest with broad international experience and...

read more

To see a complete list-overview of all the Culture Matters podcasts, go here.

Watch the YouTube Video Now!