Reading Between The Lines

I managed teams in India for years. Then I got APAC. Nothing worked. Same frameworks. Same playbooks. Same communication style. Different results. Mostly bad ones. I was running meetings the way I ran them in India. Direct. Fast. Agenda-driven. In some countries, it landed well. In others, I could feel the room go cold. Back then, someone gave me advice I didn't fully appreciate at the time: "Slow down. Understand how people here think. Business will follow." So I started paying attention. Asking questions. Watching what worked and what didn't. Today, I manage a team across 7 offices. We speak 11 languages. We serve customers in 12+ countries. Here's what I've learned about working across APAC: - In Japan, silence often means agreement. Precision matters more than speed. Never surprise anyone in a meeting. - In Korea, context is everything. Explain the "why" before the "what." Hierarchy shapes how feedback flows. - In Vietnam, people are direct. Candid. They'll tell you what's broken if you ask. - In Indonesia, harmony matters. Pushback is subtle. You have to read between the lines. - In Singapore, time is currency. Get to the point. Skip the preamble. - In India, silence in a meeting often means disagreement. Or confusion. Rarely agreement. Same region. Wildly different operating systems. The mistake I made early on? Assuming one style fits all. It doesn't. Cultural fluency isn't about being "sensitive." It's about being effective. What's one cultural nuance that took you time to understand?

Growing up in Indonesia, we rarely heard feedback that direct. Most criticism came wrapped in diplomatic language and context 😅. So when I had my first performance review with an American manager, I wasn't prepared for what came next. He said: "Your presentation was confusing and you didn't answer the main question. It could have been much better. This needs to improve immediately." I went home that night replaying every word, wondering if I was about to get fired. Recently, I discovered Erin Meyer's "Culture Map" and her concept of The Disagreement Scale. Most people know her for identifying low-context vs high-context cultures, but this framework about confrontation changed how I think about leadership. On one end are cultures that welcome direct confrontation when in disagreement - Netherlands, Germany, France, Russia and the United States. On the other end are cultures that avoid confrontation - Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, and Korea. In confrontational cultures, you hear phrases like: - "That's wrong" - "I disagree completely" - "You performed poorly on this" In non-confrontational cultures, we use softer language: - "Maybe next time you could try..." - "I'm not sure, but perhaps..." - "That's interesting, however..." As a leader running a company with people from many cultures, this nuance matters more than you think. 💯 If you give direct feedback to someone from an indirect culture, and they shut down or become disengaged, that's on you as the leader. You're not getting the most out of them because you haven't adapted your style. Sure, you can demand everyone conform to your management approach. But then you must be very selective about who you hire. You'll miss out on incredible talent simply because of communication preferences. I've learned to code-switch. With my prospects and clients, I'm direct about problems. With my Indonesian and Vietnamese team members, I layer in more context and softer language. Same message, different delivery. The goal isn't to change who people are, it's to communicate in a way they can actually hear and act on. What's your experience with this? Have you ever given feedback that landed completely wrong because of cultural differences? Or received criticism that felt way harsher than intended? #Leadership #Management #GlobalTeams #CultureMap #Indonesia

Empathy Isn’t Missing — It’s Misframed I’ve watched this video countless times. Every time, I don’t see generosity. I see design. I used to believe people ignore the truth because they don’t care. Now I realize it’s because they don’t see what I see. Empathy isn’t a lack of compassion — it’s a lack of perspective. And perspective can be designed. The words didn’t change the man’s story — they changed our frame of perception. When language shifts from description to contrast, it activates awareness. That’s the mechanism behind empathy — it’s not emotional contagion, it’s cognitive reframing. → We respond to difference, not repetition. → We act when a message bridges our world with someone else’s. → We feel when language turns distance into proximity. Here’s how I try to apply that lesson in my own work: ✅ Reveal contrast, not condition. Don’t describe pain — expose the gap between what is and what could be. ✅ Design for awareness before emotion. Help people notice first; feeling follows naturally. ✅ Make others participants, not observers. Use framing that transfers perspective, not pity. ✅ Use silence strategically. Leave room for the reader to complete the meaning. Because empathy doesn’t start with emotion — it starts with architecture. The right words don’t tell people what to feel. They help them feel what was already true. 💭 The Question 👉 When you communicate — are you trying to make people care, or helping them notice what they’ve been blind to all along? #LeadershipDesign #FramingEffect #CommunicationStrategy #CognitiveEmpathy #BehavioralPsychology #PerceptionDesign Video credits: Dr. Marcell Vollmer

If you’re not aware of cultural differences, you’re not leading—you’re guessing. John Cleary, an engineer from the U.S., believed there was no specific American business culture. He had lived in Madison, Wisconsin, worked with teams across the country, and saw all the regional and individual differences around him so vividly. When international colleagues made sweeping comments about “Americans,” he bristled: “There is no American culture,” he’d say. “We’re all different.” Then he moved to New Delhi. Leading an Indian team—and watching his Indian colleagues collaborate with his old American colleagues—he began to see things differently. Of course each American (and each Indian) are different, but what was considered the right way, the best way, the most efficient way was (now) so clearly different in these two dramatically different business environments. “After 16 months in India, I’ve learned a tremendous amount…about my own culture. For the first time, I can see a uniformity to how Americans are working that was invisible to me while in the US." Here’s the thing: When you’re in a culture and of a culture, it’s often impossible to see the culture. Regional differences, generational differences, organizational differences. The diversity around you is screaming. It’s like asking a fish to describe water. And when you lead global teams without recognizing those invisible norms driving your expectations and judgements, you're not really leading. You're guessing. Cultural fluency doesn’t just help you understand other cultures. It helps you finally to see your own. #TheCultureMap #ErinMeyer #CrossCulturalCommunication #GlobalLeadership #LeadershipAcrossBorders #CulturalFluency #SelfAwareness #EQatWork #InternationalTeams #WorkAcrossCultures #InvisibleCulture #CulturalIntelligence

I was invited to a Chinese friend's wedding in Singapore. The invitation didn't mention what to bring as a gift, so I figured I'd just ask her directly instead of guessing. "I'm thinking of gifting you a clock," I told her casually. In India, that's the safe default gift. Reliable. Practical. Shows you put thought into it without overthinking. Her smile disappeared immediately. For a moment, I thought I'd said something offensive without realizing it. Then she asked gently, "You do know it's not considered auspicious to gift a clock, right?" I had no idea. Turns out, in Chinese culture, clocks symbolise time running out. Gifting one at a wedding is essentially wishing the couple's time together will end soon. About as tactful as showing up with a breakup playlist. I'd been living in Singapore for a while by then, working closely with people from different cultures, and somehow this never came up. Nobody warned me about the clock thing in cultural orientation. That moment stuck with me because it's a perfect example of how easy it is to make mistakes when you're operating across cultures, even with the best intentions. You think you're being thoughtful, taking the safe route, doing what makes sense in your own context. But context is everything, and what's safe in one culture can be wildly inappropriate in another. This applies directly to brand building and marketing. When you're expanding into new markets or targeting diverse audiences, you can't just export what works at home and expect it to land the same way. Cultural symbols, colours, gestures, numbers, and even gift-giving norms carry different meanings. Red means celebration in China and danger in Western contexts. The number four is unlucky in East Asia because it sounds like death. A thumbs-up is positive in most places, but offensive in parts of the Middle East. Most brand disasters in international markets occur not because companies are careless, but because they assume their home-market logic applies universally. It doesn't. Ask before you assume. Test before you launch. And when someone from that culture tells you something doesn't work, believe them. Also, don't gift clocks to Chinese friends. Just don't. #marketing #business #life #culture #work

Use Ambiguity Clearly. Clarity and completeness — a commitment to the accurate and clear transmission of all relevant information — drive most communication. But, striving for clarity and completeness is not always appropriate. For example, it might inadvertently signal finality and inflexibility when the situation calls for exploration and openness. Or, it might lead to bluntness and offense in dealing with sensitive, nuanced subjects. Purposeful ambiguity can serve as a useful tool in many sticky communication situations (Think: politeness, flirtation, negotiation, etc). In my latest Fast Company online article co-written with Martin Reeves, we explore both the value of strategic ambiguity and ways of using it. Strategic ambiguity allows you to… -Encourage engagement, dialogue, and participation. -Collaboratively uncover opportunities and spur innovation. -Build and preserve relationships and save face. Specific strategic ambiguity techniques include: 1  Metaphors, Similes, & Analogies 2  Selective Detailing 3  Reframing 4  Word Choice & Phrasing 5  Open-Ended Questions Strategic ambiguity offers a valuable dimension to communication. It can foster flexibility, nurture creativity, and manage relational dynamics, sometimes achieving what unerring clarity and comprehensiveness cannot. By embracing ambiguity judiciously, we create better paths to beneficial outcomes. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/g3sbpfVr Learn more communication tips, techniques, and tools at Think Fast Talk Smart: The Podcast: https://lnkd.in/gWCGmYQh

Find new unmet customer needs by four ways of looking … Identifying unmet customer needs, pains or dreams are crucial. To increase your chances of accurately detecting customers’ problems and dreams, you must diversify how and where you look. That’s why I introduce in my new book ‘Breaking Innovation Barriers’ the ‘Four Ways of Looking’, a new model, originally developed by Louis Barsoux, Michael Wade, and Cyril Bouquet. It involves two main approaches: improve your vision of mainstream users and challenge your vision by looking at unconventional users. 1. The Microscope Strategy. By zooming in on the experiences of your mainstream users you can identify unsurfaced needs through regular focus groups, interviews, or questionnaires. You step into a role of an anthropologist to understand the passions, frustrations, needs, and wants of your users. 2. The Panorama Strategy. By this way of looking, you can find unmet needs of mainstream users by looking at aggregated data, such as errors, complaints, and accidents, that amplify weak signals. Digital tools make it much easier to observe the behaviour of large numbers of individuals. The ‘big data’ needed can be collected from multiple sources like apps and smartphones and can be analysed for trends. 3. The Telescope Strategy. With this strategy you study fringe users, extreme users, nonusers, or even misusers. Demands from small niches are often dismissed as irrelevant. But when you zoom in on users at the periphery, you might uncover pain points that are relevant to the masses too, especially when they are lead users. 4. The Kaleidoscope Strategy. You can also look at distant groups together and find similarities that show unmet needs. It’s like spotting patterns in a kaleidoscope. The challenge, especially for managers in established companies, is to think beyond the usual groups like suppliers, distributors, and competitors. Make use of digital tools and AI to quickly analyse masses of data and identify patterns. Use this new model to diversify you way of finding new unmet customer needs. #customerneeds #jobstobedone #innovation #customerinsights

Requirement Elicitation Vs Requirement Gathering/Collecting. Difference: REQUIREMENT ELICITATION: Requirement elicitation entails drawing out, locating and determining criteria that are implicitly articulated but not immediately clear. Elicitation requires active engagement with stakeholders, subject matter experts and users through a variety of mothods,including observations workshops, surveys and interviews. By proactively looking or seekig for the parts of the puzzle that are still missing. One can discover Requirement, expectations and other insights and develop a profound understanding of the business problem domains.(issue areas). A successful elicitation requires collaboration, open communication and innovative thinking which reveals the uncovering unexpressed needs, constraints and desires. REQUIREMENT GATHERING/COLLECTING: Requirement Gathering/Collecting is a process of retrieving existing, readily availability or easily accessible requirements. It requires Collecting and compiling datas from preset sources(predetermined) such as User manual, documentation, or relics from earlier projects ( previous project artifacts). In essence, it involves Collecting requirements that are readily accessible. Requirement Elicitation and Requirement Gathering/Collecting has different approaches, techniques, objectives and mindset. Requirement Elicitation should be done often mostly for projects aiming to deliver unique and innovative solutions. It makes us actively seek out and extract requirements from diverse sources, in particular from the business context. On the basis of our expertise and understanding of potential solutions, we can also propose new requirements. Let not expect that the requirements will lie down ready for us to locate and record them down. By doing this, we can ensure that our solutions are precisely directed or tailored to the need of our stakeholders and support the achievement of the business objectives(goals).

While you're worried about losing your job to AI, You're at risk of losing your best people. No one announces their departure in advance. But their behavior always leaves clues. Learn to recognize these subtle signals... Before it's too late: Schedule Shifts 🚩 Mysterious "last-minute" appointments ↳ Meeting flexibility disappears ↳ Because they're interviewing elsewhere Meeting Behavior 🚩 Previously vocal contributors go quiet ↳ Engagement drops noticeably ↳ Because they're mentally checking out Future Focus 🚩 Long-term projects lose priority ↳ Strategic thinking fades ↳ Because they're planning their exit strategy Knowledge Shifts 🚩 Sudden documentation obsession ↳ Processes get overly detailed ↳ Because they're setting up a quick handoff Network Activity 🚩 LinkedIn presence explodes ↳ Industry connections multiply ↳ Because they're building their escape route Performance Wanes 🚩 Excellence levels off at "acceptable" ↳ Quality standards slip ↳ Because they're conserving energy for something else Social Distancing  🚩 Team events become optional ↳ Relationships fade ↳ Because they're proactively disconnecting Your Action Plan: • Have honest conversations • Build genuine connection • Create clear growth paths • Demonstrate their value Your complete playbook is in the carousel below. Remember: Retention efforts often accelerate resignations. People don't want to be "kept." They want to be valued. Bottomline: Engaging great talent costs less than replacing it. What signals are you missing right now? ♻️ Share to help other leaders keep their best 🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more leadership insights

Cultural awareness isn’t a ‘soft skill’—it’s the difference between a win and a loss in negotiations. I’ve seen top leaders close multimillion-dollar deals and lose them, all because they misunderstood cultural dynamics. I learned this lesson early in my career. Early in my negotiations, I assumed the rules of business were universal. But that assumption cost me time, deals, and valuable relationships. Here’s the thing: Culture impacts everything in a negotiation: - decision-making, - trust-building, and - even timing. Let me give you a few examples from my own experience: 1. Know the "silent signals": In one negotiation with a Japanese client, I learned that silence doesn’t mean disagreement. In fact, it’s a sign of deep thought. It was easy to misread, but recognizing this cultural trait helped me avoid rushing and respect their decision-making pace. 2. Understand authority dynamics: Working with a Middle Eastern team, I found that decisions often come from the top, but they require the approval of key family members or advisors. I adjusted my strategy, engaging with the right people at the right time, which changed the outcome of the deal. 3. Punctuality & respect: I once showed up five minutes early for a meeting with a South American partner. I quickly learned that arriving early was considered aggressive. In that culture, relationships are built on patience. I recalibrated, arriving at the exact time, and it made all the difference. These are the kinds of cultural insights you can only gain through experience. And they can’t be ignored if you want to negotiate at the highest level. When you understand the subtle, but significant, differences in how people from different cultures approach business, you’re no longer reacting to situations. You’re strategizing based on deep cultural awareness. This is what I teach my clients: How to integrate cultural awareness directly into their negotiation tactics to turn every encounter into a successful one. Want to elevate your negotiation strategy? Let’s talk and stop your next deal from falling apart. --------------------------------------- Hi, I’m Scott Harrison and I help executive and leaders master negotiation & communication in high-pressure, high-stakes situations.  - ICF Coach and EQ-i Practitioner - 24 yrs | 19 countries | 150+ clients   - Negotiation | Conflict resolution | Closing deals 📩 DM me or book a discovery call (link in the Featured section)