I’ve completed Cross-Cultural Dialogues: 74 Brief Encounters With Cultural Difference. This book on cultural differences was a quick read, amenable to being read in short bursts, and I think GSD teams may find it useful. It’s not by any means a comprehensive guide to help you get out, and stay out, of trouble: I expect one of the other books on my shortlist to fill that purpose. I think it can serve as a good introductory book for raising awareness among experienced people who may question whether these cultural misunderstandings actually occur, or to help anyone realize just how much more common they are than they might have realized. I’m probably more attuned to these incidents than the average software person, and I still found myself saying, “Oh yeah, I never did understand what was going on there” more than a few times. Get a copy for each of your global sites, and have your teams pass it around – I’ll bet it starts a few conversations.
Next up: Cultural Intelligence: A Guide to Working with People from Other Cultures (and, nowadays, who isn’t?).