Culture Clash: Managing the Global High-Performance Team

by Thomas D. Zweifel

Culture Clash is the ultimate guide to working in an international and diverse team environment . You and your international managers learn how to avoid costly mistakes, how to decode national or corporate cultures, and how to navigate cross-cultural projects for best results. An absolute necessity for smart leaders who manage across cultures.
Like it or not, all of us are touched by globalization - even the fruit vendor at the street corner. But  few leaders are prepared for managing across cultures ; and the costs of cultural blind spots can spin out of control. I have packed Culture Clash with fascinating stories, sound research and practical techniques-- the global and intercultural competencies you need  to manage across cultures anywhere in the world.
Learn how

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

About the author

It was a perfectly clear day in September 2001, an Indian-summer morning when the sky was deep blue. Thomas was sitting on the Brooklyn Promenade--alone except for a few runners and dog walkers--and reading Michel Houellebecq's Les Particules Élémentaires (this is not an endorsement of that book) when he looked up at 8:46 a.m. and saw something he had never seen before: A plane hit the World Trade Center. Smoke and millions of tiny metallic glitters were in the air; a light wind swept them toward him. The glitters turned out to be countless papers, documents flying across the East River. One of them was a page from a civil law book, blackened on all four sides. Another was a FedEx envelope with a contract that someone had just signed a few minutes earlier.

That moment changed Thomas' world, and his life, forever. He set out on a journey to himself. And he started to worry about what kind of legacy to leave. One answer: to write books that help leaders of all stripes build successful companies and/or lives.

Dr. Thomas D. Zweifel is a board member, strategy and performance expert, TED speaker and award-winning author of 10 books, including "Strategy-In-Action" (with Edward J. Borey), "Communicate or Die," "The Rabbi and the CEO" (with Aaron L. Raskin) and "Gorilla in the Cockpit" (with Vip Vyas).

Since 1984, living in Europe, India, Japan, and the United States, Thomas has helped clients align on strategy, boost leadership, and build high-performance teams in the action of meeting strategic and/or breakthrough objectives.

From 1997 to 2011, Thomas was the CEO of Swiss Consulting Group, named a "Fast Company" by Fast Company magazine and awarded "Best of Business in New York for Management Consulting" by SBCA.

Strategies based on his books are used by 30+ Fortune 500 companies, the UN Development Programme, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and the U.S. Air Force Academy, to help their teams meet strategic imperatives.

Since 2001, Thomas has taught leadership to 1,500+ students at Columbia University and St. Gallen University to prepare them for executive leadership positions.

He often appears in the media, including ABC News, Bloomberg TV, and CNN. A speaker for ten speaker bureaus, his interdisciplinary and action-packed keynotes inspire business leaders.

Born in Paris, Thomas was educated in Switzerland, Germany and the United States, and holds a Ph.D. in International Political Economy from New York University.

In 1996 he realized his dream of breaking three hours in the New York City Marathon, and in 1997 was recognized as "fastest CEO in the New York City Marathon." He lives in Zurich with his wife and their two daughters (and a dog called Motek, the only other man in the house).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_...

Reviews

[Milenkagalvez]

I enjoyed a lot reading this book and find it pretty useful to work within a multicultural organisation/project. The reality is that most people are becoming global citizens sometimes without noticing it, it gives a good framework to start being aware -or concious about the impact we may have in our daily activities.

[Chester Branch]

This book gives great insight into how companies can build global results.