Blog
Why Your Thai Team Doesn’t Meet Deadlines
If you’re a foreigner working with Thais, remember that you are as strange to your colleagues as they are to you. Symbols of this disconnect, like the language barrier, are as obvious as the nose on your face. But far more obtuse are the hidden cultural codes.
Thai Face in Crisis
People with ‘face’ in Thai society feel a deep sense of worth that woos them to expect special treatment. But Covid-19 doesn’t really care who you are. This nasty villain is upending social rules and changing the way we all live, including people with wealth, status, titles, talent, fame, and good looks.
Coronavirus & Globalism: Have We Assumed Too Much?
Larry S. Persons, PhD To live, we make assumptions. We sit on chairs assuming they will hold our weight just fine. We step into elevators assuming they will take us to the precise floor we’ve chosen. But assumptions can be risky because they’re invisible and rarely scrutinized. They lull us into a false sense of […]
How Culture Affects Profit and Loss
Cultural training has taken a bad rap. What do I mean? It’s an optional “soft skill,” something you address if you have surplus in your budget and you’re looking for a feel-good team activity. In other words, it’s inconsequential. It can’t possibly affect P&L. Oh, is that right? If you really believe that, I think […]
Culture is Everything
CULTURE is everything! “Don’t be ridiculous,” you say, but hang on. Let’s think about basic communication. You want to tell me something? Well, what language will you be speaking, and do I understand that language? If it’s a language we both know, will your accent be so different that I only get pieces of the