Tesco
Fish Can’t See Water
Book

Fish Can’t See Water

How National Culture Can Make or Break Your Corporate Strategy

Kai Hammerich and Richard D. Lewis
Wiley, 2013

Read or listen offline

  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

Cultural dynamics can “enable or derail” companies, so firms wishing to expand beyond their national borders must understand and adapt to different cultures. International headhunter Kai Hammerich and communications expert Richard D. Lewis discuss and dissect the cultural blindness in which most organizations operate. The authors provide case studies of global companies to illustrate how national traits affect organizational lifecycle stages. Though academic in tone, this study provides crucial insights into different regional and national cultures, while covering France, Japan, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Great Britain and the United States in greater detail. getAbstract recommends this astute guide to executives and managers within global organizations, as well as to international business travelers.

Take-Aways

  • A country’s history, climate and values contribute to its culture – the “water people don’t see,” just as fish are unaware of the environment in which they swim.
  • Like yin and yang, corporate strategy and national culture are inseparable.
  • Companies go through three lifecycle phases: “innovation, growth” and “maturity.” National culture has a varying impact on firms at different stages in their lifecycles.

About the Authors

Kai Hammerich is a managing director for Russell Reynolds Associates, a global search firm. British linguist Richard D. Lewis is the author of When Cultures Collide.

Comment on this summary or Iniciar a Discussão