The international aspect of social media can lead to some interesting discussions. Jessica Faye Carter over at Technicultr recently brought up the question of whether social sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn should collect information about their user’s ethnicity and she asked me what my thoughts were. You can read more here.

The Big Roadblock To Ethnic Marketing In France

Now I’ve spent many years in international marketing, I live in France and have a French company.  So my first thought was that a French company would not be able to do this.

There is a law prohibiting anyone from keeping any information related to race.  This law is widely regarded as a measure to prevent discrimination, but it also severely limits any form of multicultural marketing in France.

Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about it:

“It is illegal for the French state to collect data on ethnicity and race, a law with its origins in the 1789 revolution and reaffirmed in the constitution of 1958. Some organisations, such as the Representative Council of Black Associations… have argued in favour of the introduction of data collection on minority groups but this has been resisted by other organisations and ruling politicians, often on the grounds that collecting such statistics goes against France’s secular principles and harks back to Vichy-era identity documents. During the 2007 presidential election, however, Nicolas Sarkozy was polled on the issue and stated that he favoured the collection of data on ethnicity. Part of a parliamentary bill which would have permitted the collection of data for the purpose of measuring discrimination was rejected by the Conseil Constitutionnel in November 2007.”

The French Environment Around Ethnicity

When you live in a country with a law like this that’s been around for a long time and regarded by the general public as being something to be proud of, it’s easy to assume that a significant portion of the French population would not react in the same way as people from other cultures to the collection of information on ethnicity.

This is simply because they aren’t used to being asked these types of questions.  Their first response would probably be influenced by this cultural layer.

The French Cultural Environment Is More Complex

But it’s not the only factor at play here.  In parallel to this is the national pride the French have of being the country that wrote the “Droits de l’homme”, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which was a precursor to other international human rights documents.

This heritage creates a very unique environment in how the general population perceives anything remotely related to ethnic information, including collecting it and sharing it.

Different Cultures React Differently

Of course many other countries are active in combating racism, but how they go about doing this largely depends on their own cultural environment.  And what about the cultures where “combating racism” isn’t really perceived in the same way as other countries?

Different cultures approach this difficult issue from a variety of different angles.  So there is a variety of different cultural environments to deal with.

American Political Correctness

This makes me think about the wave of being politically correct in North America and how this has meant that I’ve had to change the way I refer to black people several times.  I grew up in a country which was 75% black when I was born and this percentage is now higher.

When it first became “politically incorrect” to use the word “coloured” which was what was used when I was young, well OK, I changed my vocabulary.

But the debate about what was considered the right word to use continued over the years, and I had to change my vocabulary yet again.  The acceptable word to use when referring to black people has changed too many times in my life time for me to follow any more.

And this got me to think about the meaning people associate with words.

Personal Emotional Baggage

Even though I may be considered “white”, my skin quickly tans to a very respectable deep shade of brown. Yes, brown.  Not beige or tan.  Brown.  And my skin is never “white”.

After following all of the changes in what is considered the right word to refer to black people, I looked at the colour of my skin and wondered if I should get upset about being called “white” because it’s not a very accurate word to describe my skin colour.  Of course I didn’t.  It’s just a word used in communication.  It would only become an issue if I were to take on some emotional baggage and assume that “white” isn’t appropriate, or if someone added their emotional baggage to the word when they used it.

Collective Cultural Baggage

The topic of ethnicity stirs up all sorts of baggage.  In addition to the personal emotional baggage, there’s  the baggage we acquire through the cultural environment we live in.  This is why anything related to ethnicity gets complicated.

It’s very easy to lose control… because you can never control the baggage other people have.

And to complicate things, most people aren’t even aware of the baggage they are carrying around. They don’t realize that they have cultural baggage acquired through the cultural environment they live in. They just assume the world they live in is the “real world”, the one that’s “right” and the one that should exist everywhere else.

So, it takes great wisdom to limit the risk of things getting out of control due to cultural baggage.

Ethnicity In Social Media

Even if there have already been social media platforms where people share information on their ethnic origins, the online social environment is different today.  Social media platforms simply have greater international reach than before.

Facebook has over 500 million people today across the globe, even if it is not used in the same way across all of the different countries.

And as social media develops further, will everyone across the globe be present on the same social media platform with the same mindset?  It’s highly unlikely.

Should Social Sites Ask Their Users To Share Their Ethnic Origins?

As a cross-cultural marketer I would love to have the information. But on a more personal level I believe this is not easy to do on social media sites with such a wide international reach… assuming the social media sites want to continue growing their international markets.

Although I do think it’s possible to incorporate some ethnic information on certain platforms, the challenges are great when looking at this from an international perspective. You must not under-evaluate the risk of things getting out of hand or being used wrongfully at some point down the line.

Now it’s your turn…

• Do you know of any other problems when asking for ethnic information on social media sites?
• What is the top benefit of social media sites asking for information on ethnic origins?
• Do you think social media sites should ask for your ethnic origins?

Please leave your comments below.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Ethnic Origins On Social Media

Culture impacts international business in a wide variety of ways. I’ve been taken by surprise many times by the extent of its impact. It’s difficult to identify all of the ways culture impacts business because culture evolves over time. This means different cultures are evolving at different speeds and in different directions.

The advice given in books written only a decade ago can be counterproductive today. And the cultural insights we picked up on our trips after university may not help us in international business today.

So what can you do in an environment where cross-cultural miscommunication and blunders pop up unexpectedly. Well one of the best tactics to work effectively in an international environment is to develop an open mindset.

Open Mindset

What is an open mindset?  It’s not always easy to grasp and it can have a slightly different meaning to different people.  But I’ll have a try at explaining what an open mindset means to me in international business and the steps you need to get there.

Self-Examination For An Open Mindset

There are several steps in the process of self-examination. I’ve put these steps first, but in reality I believe our path to opening our mindset is an on-going one.

• It’s not really something you can pick up once and then assume you’ll always have an open mindset.
• It’s a learning process and some steps take more time than others to absorb.
• Sometimes we need more time or experience to be ready to be able to learn more.

So you’ll also need to come back and revisit these steps as you grow your mindset.

#1: Recognize Your Own Focus

It’s important to understand where you are, what occupies your mindset and how different your viewpoint can be when compared to other cultures. How you set your own vision will determine what you see and how open your mindset is.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong about having a narrow focus for certain activities. We might even need this.  But when you are meeting with people from other cultures it’s important to realize just how limiting your own focus or vision is. It’s up to you then to open up or alter your reactions and come back when you are more able to meet people on their level.

#2: Identify Your Assumptions And Question Them

Many “mistakes” in international business begin with our own assumptions and culturally specific expectations being out of sync with another culture. Unfortunately it’s not always easy to identify the assumptions we make because we get so used to our own way of doing things and our own habits.

As you encounter a bit of cross-cultural friction, stop a second and question your assumptions.  Take the conversation slower and try to ask the other person the right questions to find out where the friction came from.

#3: Free Yourself Of A Negative Outlook

When we are confronted with different cultures human nature rears it’s head. We tend to view ourselves as being “good” and “right” while others who do things differently to us are quickly labeled as being “bad” or “wrong”.  Negative reactions are commonplace.

As soon as you recognize any elitist behavior recognize this and give others to the time you need for them to show you where they are coming from.

#4: Avoid Negative Judgment

People are usually good at understanding why it’s good to avoid quick judgment, but they have rather short definitions for “quick”.  In my international business experience I’ve learned to compartmentalize professional from personal expectations and to avoid all negative judgment of people from other cultures.  And this has come from making mistakes because there were too many times when I thought I was right passing a negative judgment only to discover my error much later on.

Most negative judgments stem from our incapacity of understanding another culture. Instead of focusing on the negative aspect I see in others, I focus on my own preferences and this usually leads to the right place.

Actions To Open Your Mindset

Once you have looked internally at all of the cultural baggage you bring with your own mindset, then you can work on opening and developing your mindset.

#5: Encourage Interaction

The next step is simply to cultivate interaction and open your mindset further. It’s also about cultivating an open attitude in your actions and making sure your actions are perceived as inviting interaction. So you’ll also hone your cross-cultural skills as you stimulate more interaction from others.

#6: Open Your Communication

When you interact more with people, you’ll probably see ways to open up your own communication a bit more to provide others with a deeper understanding of yourself and your ways of doing things.  This is fine-tuning your own communication to come across as more open to communication.

#7: Get Curious And Eager To Learn

An open mindset is a curious mindset.  It means you are eager to learn about others in order to understand people from different cultures fully and communicate on a truly one-to-one level. People from other cultures seem to do strange things, but often when we get to know the reasons behind their “strange” behavior, it all makes sense. Different ways of doing things appear normal when they are set in context.

How do you get curious?  Questions are important, but adapting your questions to find the right ones to ask people from different cultures is even more important.  You’ll need a broad international experience to fully develop your skills in curiosity.

Nurture Your International Talent

An open mindset is a sign of someone who can identify their own strengths and weakness and open their minds to feedback and question who they are.  And this open mindset can give you the upper edge in international business when dealing with different cultures. It’s not always easy, but it is always rewarding both on a professional level and on a personal level.

Now, over to you…

• What does an open mindset in international business mean to you?
• How do you develop an open mindset for international business?
• Why do you think an open mindset is important for international business?

More on Culture In International Business:

• How Culture Impacts An International Business
• What Is Culture? A Mind Map For More Sales
• Where Do You Want To Work?

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

7 Steps To An Open Mindset For More International Business

It’s easy to tell it’s the end of the school year because I’ve had several requests for international career guidance. As it happens, I recently attended my eldest daughters graduation from University and was lucky to be visiting her through the hiring process while she landed her first “real” job.

This reminds me of how starry-eyed life can be when you’re young and how this contrasts with the sometimes harsh world of international business.  But first let me answer the two latest requests for international career advice here.

Cross-Cultural Career

One reader asked me for advice on how to enter into a “cross-cultural career”. To me this seems like a bit of an odd question because cross-cultural skills are essentially strong people skills and can be used in many different careers. I don’t think there is really a “cross-cultural” industry which includes all “cross-cultural careers”.

As many of our country’s demographics change drastically in the next few decades it seems as if most of our working environments will become cross-cultural if they aren’t already so. And we’ll all need strong cross-cultural skills.

Cross-cultural professions therefore usually have dual competency: one traditional core business competency and a cross-cultural competency or what some people refer to as a “soft skill” or a “people skill”. So, cross-cultural coaches should have a core competency related to personal training. And cross-cultural marketers are marketers who apply cross-cultural competency to their trade for stronger marketing.

My advice is to focus on these two aspects in parallel. Learn a profession and build up your cross-cultural competency. This is how you’ll add on the cross-cultural dimension.

International Sales Career

Another reader asked for advice on how to start an international sales career. Well, it really does come down to… looking… and being a good fit to fill the job.

My advice is to jump in and work hard at it.

Start From The Bottom

And I think this leads to the biggest problem for those who want to immediately land a full blown cross-cultural or international career right out of school. There are no short cuts. You have to start wherever you can and this can mean:

• Taking any job you can get with cross-cultural or international exposure to develop your skills
• Picking up your bags and finding opportunities elsewhere

It may sound daunting when you are settled in a lifestyle you are familiar with, but you can only truly acquire cross-cultural and international skills by leaving your comfort zones. And for most people, it takes time. You can’t pick up these skills by reading a book or following someone else’s recipe for success.

Learn The Personal Skills

The work you need to do and the time it takes will depend on your own personal makeup and baggage. And it really takes work on a very personal level. You’ll be confronted with processing and digesting things about yourself you can’t begin to imagine because doing business with different cultures raises all sorts of personal questions.

It’s only after you’ve truly learned about yourself that you’ll begin to develop strong cross-cultural and international skills.

Give Yourself Time

Look for the opportunities around you to learn more about different people and get the most out of these opportunities as you can. You may need quite a bit of time to be able to see things from another culture’s perspective.  Everyone is different and we all have our personal baggage that gets in the way of understanding others.

It’s easy to recognize strong cross-cultural skills in others. And you’ll probably find other opportunities open up as you gain more and more cultural competency.

Manage your career in parallel to building your personal skills, and you’ll end up with your dream job before you know it.  Have faith that employers will recognize in you the personal qualities and skills they need to get a job done that requires cross-cultural and international skills.

Now it’s your turn…

• What actions are you taking to develop your international career?
• How do you think cross-cultural competency will help your profession?
• What do you like most about your international career?

More on International Sales Professions:

• 12 Reasons Why International Selling Is Harder
• What Is An International Business Development Executive?
• What Is An International Sales Specialist?
• What Makes A Good International Sales Specialist

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

International And Cross-Cultural Career Advice

Cross-Cultural Social Media

Jay Baer recently shared the social media quotes he uses most. Be sure to check out the SlideShare presentation he’s put together. These are some great quotes and I use many of them myself. But I’m based in France and network constantly with a broad international audience for my business.  So these quotes don’t always resonate the same with my international audience.

Here are Jay’s favorite social media quotes with some of my own thoughts on how these work within international social media.

Social Media Tips From An International Perspective

#1: “Focus on how to be social, not on how to do social.”

This is not always easy for people from different countries to understand because their ideas of “being social” are different. And this means people in different countries observing social media in North America can have a hard time picking up what “being social” means in social media.

For example in many countries “social” has to be in person. Here’s an example of how French people have integrated the French notion of being social in social media.

#2: “Social media doesn’t create negativity, it uncovers it.”

I personally have a hard time with this. One of the culture shocks I had, even after living in France for decades, was the negativity in the French blogosphere. Of course there are many great French bloggers, but every time I dive into this French environment I’m shocked by how negative it is and invariably close all my web browsers.

This makes me a bit wary of what negativity means to different cultures and how this can impact social media in different countries.

#3: “Social media is an ingredient, not an entree.”

Right now in European businesses social media often seems more like the unicorn mentioned below. It’s something you’ve heard about, but don’t really believe the business benefits exist.  So it’s hard to create any sort of “social media meal” at all.

But progress is being made and it’ll be interesting to see the differences in how social media is used within different countries.  Just like there are different cuisines throughout the world, there’s sure to be “culinary differences” in successful social media in other countries.

#4: “Everyone says social media is a unicorn, but maybe it’s just a horse?”

Or the Lochness Monster?  That’s the response most appropriate to what I hear here in Europe.

As North American businesses use social media more in 2010 it’ll be easier for businesses in other countries to come up with a metaphor they can relate to and then learn how to adapt it to their own cultural specifications.

#5: “Social media is the ultimate canary in the coal mine.”

Speaking of metaphors, this is one that doesn’t translate well. Hopefully in years to come we’ll see the cultural differences in social media as a flock of different exotic birds.

#6: “The goal of social media is to turn customers into a volunteer marketing army.”

Of course, this is fascinating to observe through a cross-cultural lens to compare cultural differences.

For example, creating a “volunteer marketing army” is different in “highly independent” versus “highly collective” societies.  And there will also be differences when comparing results in cultures with “high context communication” versus “low context communication”.

#7: “It’s not viral unless it is.”

I love this one.  It’s not always easy for non-native English speakers to understand buzz words. They can often take on new meanings when adopted in different cultures. And this quote reminds everyone to not get carried away in selling social media.

#8: “Linkedin is for people you know. Facebook is for people you used to know. Twitter is for people you want to know.”

Outside of North America this appears to be different. There are cultural differences in how people like to connect with others and there are cultural differences in how different generations use social media.

The younger generations around me here in France definitely use Facebook for the people they know. In international circles LinkedIn is not necessarily for people you know. In fact, I often hear people in the UK say they didn’t feel the need to be on LinkedIn. And there are still too many questions about Twitter outside of North America and it may not be the best place to make specific international connections.

#9: “Facebook Fan Pages are email newsletters with smaller pictures.”

This is a great social media quote, but it doesn’t work in cultures where most businesses don’t use email newsletters.

But it can give forward thinking marketers in those countries a great idea to try out in their market. Many business successes originated from adapting and being an early adopter of what works well in one country to another country.

#10: “Social media isn’t inexpensive, it’s different expensive.”

For businesses in countries where social media is still an enigma, it can appear to be very expensive.  This is because it takes so much time simply to understand the value and figure out how they can use this to their advantage.

#11: “Social media creates kinship between companies and customers, and kinship equals purchase intent.”

The cultural differences in how people connect with each other and do business impacts how social media can be used for business.

On the one hand social media should prove to be a great tool for some businesses in connecting with potential customers. And on the other hand, there are cultures where social media’s role in getting sales will not be obvious.

#12: “Social media changes the relationship between companies and customers from master and servant, to peer to peer.”

Although I agree 100% with this social media quote, in some cultures it’s very difficult to create “peer to peer” relationships without meeting people in person.

In some international markets, it may be possible to a certain extent and prove to be helpful, but it won’t be easy. And in these cultures social media localization is a necessity.

#13: “Activate your fans, don’t just collect them like baseball cards.”

As an international marketer this is one of my favorite social media quotes.  Social media makes it easy to connect with an international audience, but are you doing anything with these connections?

I meet many business owners who say they want to develop their international business, but don’t know where to start.  Social media can be a great starting point to learn more about your international markets. But it involves putting in the effort to take those social media connections further.

#14: “Social media is about people, not logos.”

This social media quote can help all businesses. In countries where social media is not used extensively for businesses it’s easy to miss this. And it’s also why social media can be valuable within an international communication campaign.

#15: “Every company is its own TV station, magazine, and newspaper.”

This is another of my favorite social media quotes because it represents opportunities for businesses interested in reaching international audiences.  It’s not easy and there are limitations, but social media gives you platforms to connect with international markets and get feedback. It’s a great international market research tool when used strategically.

All businesses with North American clients or wanting to develop there must use social media… and it’s surprising to see how many of them still not using the fantastic communication tools social media gives them.

#16: “Social media allows big companies to act small again.”

I love international business development tools and this is what social media can be for many companies.

#17: “Passion is the gasoline of social media.”

This quote reminds me of how Clotaire Rapaille refers to the American culture as being adolescent in his book The Culture Code.  The capacity of this nation to use passion as a driver is wonderful to watch in action.  But it also makes me wonder if something else will fuel social media in other cultures.

#18: “You must fight social media fire with social media water.”

This is a great quote and leads to another one: “You must adapt social media to work well in different cultures.”

Now, It’s Your Turn

• How do you adjust your social media for international audiences?
• What cross-cultural challenges have you encountered using social media?
• What’s your favorite social media quote for international markets?

Please leave your comments below.

More on Cross-Cultural Social Media

• How to Connect Globally With Social Media
• Choice Of Social Media For International Markets
• The Cultural Divide In The Social Media Evolution
• Cultural Differences In Social Media Marketing
• How Cultural Differences Impact International Social Media
• 7 Cross-Cultural Skills For Businesses To Master Social Media
• Cross-Cultural Blunder On Latest Facebook Change
• Social Media Marketing Across Cultures
• Guerrilla Marketing With Social Media To Enter New International Markets
• Understanding Social Media For Stronger International Web Marketing

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

18 Great Social Media Quotes With An International Perspective

Social Media Localization

It’s funny how things sometimes happen in a series. Last week all of the North Americans I spoke with asked me the same question:

“Do you need to adapt your social media communication to different cultural audiences?”

It intrigued me that all of these questions came from North Americans and I think I have an answer as to why this happened… more on that later. I want to answer this question first.

By the way, for those of you who are not familiar with the term “localization” this refers to adapting all of your communication to different local cultures. It’s much more than just translation and includes all aspects of communication. Localization means adapting your communication make sure your message gets across in the right way.

Adapt Your Communication For International Audiences

The short answer is: yes.

To create genuine communication you must adapt how your social media communication to the different cultural audiences you want to reach.

Adapting your communication always gives you better results when communicating with different cultures, and sometimes it’s critical to do so. If you don’t adapt your communication you can lose relationships which leads to losing clients and business.

More Cultural Differences Are Visible On Social Media

But there is also a longer answer because the localization of social media communication goes deeper than cross-cultural people skills. Social media communication can be a little bit more challenging than other traditional forms of communication such as print communication or emails.

Here are two characteristics of cross-cultural social media that magnify the cultural differences others see in you.

Your cultural differences are obvious. It’s hard to hide from who you are on social media and this means

You get close when you’re social. Social media gets you closer to people. It is a social environment and people tend to let their guards down when they are behind a computer. It’s easier to say things online that you wouldn’t say in person. It’s easy to forget about trying to respect the other person’s cultural differences.

This is why you should always pay attention to the messages you are conveying to others and how they are perceived on social media.

People Skills To Connect With Different Cultures On Social Media

Good cross-cultural social media skills require both:

• Strong “soft” skills or people skills
• Good cross-cultural skills

Over the years I’ve noticed how most North American business professionals don’t have time for these “soft” skills.  They prefer to focus on the skills that are easy to measure and ones you can learn through courses. This may be why this question seems to crop up more often there than in the other cultures I network with.

Cross-cultural skills are not so easy to pick up or develop, they:

• Require some personal work
• Usually require international experience

Localization Of Social Media

Some of the people I spoke with needed some more insights

Here are the personal observations I shared with them regarding cross-cultural differences on two popular social media platforms.

Different Networking Practices On Twitter

Prior to my cross-cultural twitter interviews I chat with my guests and try to learn more about how they use Twitter in their country.  For some people it may come as a surprise to learn that English speakers in different countries do not have the same habits on Twitter.

Some cultures are more at ease in striking up instant friendships, and some cultures need a bit more time.  This impacts the relationships you form on Twitter.  And if you use Twitter for international networking it also means you need to use cross-cultural communication skills even on Twitter.

Different Job Hunting Practices On LinkedIn

One of the people I spoke to yesterday needed to advise his clients on business networking on LinkedIn.  Communication on LinkedIn is just the same as any other communication.

Every time I navigate on LinkedIn I’m struck by it’s the strong North American atmosphere. In cross-cultural terms most of the people I run into on LinkedIn have very strong traits of “individualism”.  Obviously LinkedIn is mainly a job hunting platform which brings out these North American traits even more.

Even if you come across people from different cultures on LinkedIn there is a very strong probability they use it differently than a North American on LinkedIn.

Different Perceptions Of The New Like Button On Facebook

It’s easy to see how different people use Facebook and thanks to the newly improved Insights box on Facebook Business Pages you can monitor some international metrics.  But the fun thing I’m noticing lately is the differences in appreciation of the new “Like” button.  So many of the North Americans in my network seem to identify more personal endorsement just because the button is now called “Like” and not “Become A Fan”.

The reaction to this small little word reminds me of the need to localize social media buttons in some Eastern countries.

• In most Western cultures having a real photo creates credibility and in some Eastern cultures it creates discomfort. Cartoon gravatars work much better.
• In Western cultures it’s easy to use the notion of being a “friend” on social media and in some Eastern cultures the use of the term “friend” creates uncomfortable situations for fear of offending others by not being their friend.

Those are extreme reactions to small things in social media.  And when you dig deeper and analyze communication on Facebook, you’re sure to encounter subtle differences in perception which can have significant impact on your Facebook marketing.

No Standard Social Media Localization Plan

Even with the knowledge of some of these differences you still cannot expect to come up with a standard international social media localization plan or generalizations for all international markets.  It’s hard to do. Social media marketing for international audiences is still evolving due to a number of reasons:

• Some countries are still catching up to social media and at different speeds.
• The cultural differences between generations within different countries makes it difficult to provide a cookie cutter solution for using social media.
• We should see growth in online communication from several countries thanks to recent changes by ICANN to allow URLs with different alphabets.
• The demographics in many countries are undergoing dramatic changes and this will eventually impact cross-cultural communication with these countries. Cross-cultural generalizations established in the last century are rapidly becoming obsolete.

Social media marketing in different cultures follows the same basics as in your own country: you need to get to know your audience well before you can create an effective communication plan. The good news is that you can use social media to help you get to know your audience if you take the time to go slowly and do the person-to-person networking you need to learn how to adapt your communication.

Now, Over To You

• Have you adapted any of your communication on social media to different international audiences?
• What are your favorite social media platforms for your international audiences?
• What cultural differences do you notice on the different social media platforms?

It would be great to hear from you. Please share your comments below.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Do You Need Social Media Localization?

Twitter Interviews – #CKinterview

Today’s Cross-Cultural Interview is with Leo Salazar. Leo is the person behind the Twitter handle @srleosalazar . Leo is a consultant and trainer helping people who work in international environments. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and has lived and worked in Europe for over 20 years.

He tells more about himself in below and he’ll share some cross-cultural and international business tips during a live Twitter interview in a few hours. The transcript of this live Twitter interview will be published below.

This is a 2 part interview:

• Part 1 – The Blog Interview
• Part 2 – The Twitter Interview for 10 Cross-Cultural & International Questions today at 4pm GMT

Leo Salazar – Part 1

Hi Leo, for those who don’t know you, can you please tell us something about yourself?

Leo Salazar : Hello Cindy. First of all, thank you very much for inviting me to be a guest for this interview. I’m honored, and humbled, to be included in the company of the experts I’ve seen on your site. I hope I can fulfill your expectations.

I was born and raised in Southern California in the US, in 1957. In fact, I was born 4 days after the Russians launched Sputnik – a true child of the Space Age. Near my birthplace in San Bernardino was Norton Air Force Base, which was one of the Strategic Air Command bases of the US Air Force. So if you consider that I was literally born in the shadow of the Cold War, with hot nuclear warhead loaded B-52 Stratofortress bombers circling above our heads day and night, I was aware from a very early age of the influence of other cultures on our daily existence.

In addition, as I grew older I came to learn the history of our family and the Hispanic influence that played a very large role. I say often that our father gave us our Spanish blood and lineage, but our mother gave us the culture. Even though born and raised in a white, middle-class environment, she studied at the University of Mexico City after her father up and moved the entire family to live in Cuernavaca, Mexcio, when she was a teenager. She is fluent in Spanish, and has a clear affinity for Latino cultures. After a career as a bilingual teacher in Riverside, California, for grade school children, she continues today at age 73 to play a strong bridging role between Latino and Anglo cultures in California.

More recently, however, I married into a culturally adventurous life. My first wife was a helicopter pilot in the US Army, and we moved frequently between Europe and various locations in the US. I lived and worked for American Express Community Bank in Mannheim Germany starting in 1984, and came to the Netherlands in 1992. I first studied, then worked as a member of staff for TSM Business School at the University of Twente, and most recently for De Baak, which is the premier management training institute of the Netherlands. My wife is Dutch and we live in a medium-sized town in the east of the country, but I work primarily in Amsterdam. My three children all live in California, literally down the street from my mother and brothers.

How did you pick up your cross-cultural skills?

Leo Salazar : My cross-cultural skills were developed primarily through experience, later by study. First as a child, hearing Spanish around me on a frequent basis. Later through my experiences in living in Germany and the Netherlands. Additionally, living in different parts of the US is about as cross-cultural as one can get. I remember visiting my children who were living with their mother in Hawaii at the time. My daughter said to me, sotto voce “Dad!!! Slow down! Take it easy. You’re scaring the locals.” I realized that for all my “cross-cultural expertise,” I still had a lot to learn about the application of the skills I was teaching.

I worked for a time at the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam, which was established by the Dutch in 1910 as the “Colonial Institute.” It was set up to establish a repository for cultural artifacts from the colonies (primarily Indonesia) as well as to build knowledge of cultures. I worked there as a trainer in helping outgoing expats to prepare for their new assignment countries. This experience acquainted me with the standard, off-the-shelf “cultural dimension” approach of cultural training.

Concurrently, I was running my own business development company in which I was helping American businesses to gain a foothold in European markets. It was very instructive in helping US businessmen who had, in most cases, never even been out of the US before to navigate the business landscape in Europe.

These various experiences (living situation, outgoing cultural skills, incoming commercial skills) gave me a unique and well-rounded perspective on how to apply cultural learning techniques to business.

How do you use your cross-cultural skills in your job?

Leo Salazar : For me the value of giving attention to “cross-cultural” attributes is in the interface between people. It’s about recognizing and respecting value, giving credence to a different perspective, and working together to create new and unique value. My motto is, “Learning & Development in an Intercultural context. Learning from each other, doing better business.”

Even though I deal with issues on a daily basis that could be described with any number of labels (diversity, inclusiveness, multicultural skills), I try to avoid these labels for a simple reason: they lead to pre-conceptions and stereotypes. I want my clients to focus on the value that is created in the interface, to view the interface from their own perspective, and to strive towards building on that interaction to create new value.

Can you tell us about your blog?

Leo Salazar : I first started “blogging” in 1978, when I first moved away from home. I was living in Virginia, on the east coast of the US in the “South,” and sitting behind a student typewriter I wrote a weekly missive home to my family on the west coast, whom I missed terribly. I would include interesting anecdotes, local newspaper clippings, and other pieces of curiosa that would hopefully shed light on my life there in the “foreign culture” of that part of the country. These letters gave way to weekly emails and printed letters from my first PC, purchased in 1989 – basically the same medium, but modestly facilitated by IT. The first step towards a real blog, as it is known today, was in 2000, through Xanga. I went through a pretty much predictable pattern after that, always following the most popular social medium: Xanga, My Space, Facebook, Blogger, WordPress – all with the same goal in mind: to stay in touch with my children and family.

It wasn’t until just a few months ago that I finally discovered a new use for these social media: to learn and brand myself in my profession. The real stimulus for this change was re-discovering Twitter. I first picked up on Twitter about a year and a half ago, but I was very much in the “turkey sandwich” mode (as in “OMG – I’m eating a turkey sandwich!!!!” – for a funny perspective on this and other Twitter uses, check out Oatmeal’s contribution “How Addicted to Twitter Are You?”). But more recently I had an epiphany through the discovery of #lrnchat, which is a community of learning professionals that meets on Twitter every Thursday to discuss learning topics. This led to my current routine, which is to plant the seed of the idea through Twitter, and cultivate the growth of that idea through my blog. I try to focus on topics that are relevant to my specialty, effectiveness in doing intercultural business. I realize that each tweet, and each blog entry, is a value proposition for current and potential future clients. I feel I have an obligation to reward their attention with something of value: a new insight, a unique perspective, a learning point.

Since re-discovering Twitter and being active on my blog, I’ve been amazed at the world that’s opened up for me. Even though I’ve been long active in online communities (first discovering them through my Compuserve account in 1991), I hadn’t really taken a proactive stance. Most of my online presence was as a lurker. This new use of a familiar tool has led to learning insights that I hadn’t experienced in quite awhile.

I have a couple of lists I’m building here on this blog, and wonder if you have anything you would like to share.

Have you come across any cultural stereotypes that bother you, or you find inappropriate?

Leo Salazar : Every culture is open to misunderstanding from those outside it. Of course there are many stereotypes and practices, even in my own culture, that I find anathematic. See an early blog post of mine (on a blog now dormant, in which I was far more critical of cultural practices than I am now).

But I also realize that the only way to change is from the inside, by members of the culture itself. And if change occurs, it does so slowly, usually by using positive reinforcement and motivators that are defined by those who are inside the change process. The best we can do, as outsiders, is to facilitate this process, if so allowed.

For example, when I first moved to the Netherlands, I was shocked at what I interpreted at the time as being blatantly racist attitudes. I was judging the Dutch people from an entirely American perspective. But since living in this culture for nearly 20 years now and being open to learning why the people think the way they do, I have come to understand their attitudes. Note that I don’t say I accept them, but it’s not for me to openly criticize or to demand change. The best I can do is to focus on similarities, build on the positive aspects of the society, and hope that others are able to have their own similar learning and growing experience by being open to new perspectives. 

Do you have a favorite movie that could help people understand cultural issues?

Leo Salazar : There are a few films that spring to mind when you say “cultural issues.” One is “Babel, from which I felt a wrenching tension as the values by colliding cultures, each from their own perspective, were brought into conflict. Another is “American History X,” with an outstanding and moving performance by Edward Norton. But I’m loath to recommend these as movies for people to watch to better understand culture and its implications. Why not? Because everyone interprets artistic stimulus in different ways, based on their own experience, norms, values, etc. Certainly I experienced both of these films from my own frame of reference as films with dramatic cultural implications. And my interpretation of the films reflects this. But I’m not sure that anyone else would do the same, and both of these are outstanding creations even ignoring cultural issues. I would much rather that I recommend these as outstanding films and allow people to draw their own interpretations and conclusions.

Do you have a book you could recommend to help others improve their cultural insights?

Leo Salazar : Ach! It’s been so long since I’ve read and enjoyed fiction, I wouldn’t know where to begin. And the vast majority of non-fiction business books with “culture” as their topic I find utter hogwash.

What I do enjoy, however, very much are popular works that explore the historical development of a society. Books that give historical insight into why things are the way they are. Russel Shorto’s “The Island at the Center of the World,” for example, which explores the original Dutch founding of the island of Manhattan. Dr. Jared Diamond’s books as well, “Guns, Germs & Steel,” for example, or “Collapse,” which look at the reasons why societies rise and fall. And looking more specifically at Dutch society, I find Simon Schama’s The Embarrassment of Riches an outstanding read. In fact, it was this last book that I credit with my evolved understanding of my Dutch colleagues at work and family at home.

And finally…

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Leo Salazar : It’s been a pleasure using this forum to reflect on my own development. Thank you for the opportunity.

Leo, thank you for sharing so much with us in this portion of the interview already. I’m looking forward to hearing your answers to the 10 Cross-Cultural Questions on Twitter with you later today.

Leo Salazar – Part 2 – The Twitter Interview

More Twitter Interviews

This is an interview series of the people I recommend you follow on Twitter for the cross-cultural and international business insights in their tweets.

• Cate Brubaker – @CateBrubaker
• David Comp – @DavidComp
• Sean Oliver – @SeanJamesOliver
• Martin Lindeskog – @lyceum
• Rajeev Edmonds – @mintblogger
• Rossitza Ohridska-Olson – @culturalrealms
• Charmayne Paul – @psitutor
• Lucy Chatburn – @pocketcultures
• Doreen Iannuzzi – @DoreenatDMS
• Donna Jackson – @wisequeen
• Chris Cotter – @CotterHUE
• Jack Yan – @jackyan
• Silvia Cambié – @XCulture
• Bill Ward – @DR4WARD
• Thierry De Baillon – @t_de_baillon
• Seshu – @PicSeshu
• Neil Urquhart – @culturematters
• Klaus & Flavia Westerwelle – @transdomo
• Donagh Kiernan – @dkiernan
• Christian Hoeferle – @hoeferleconsult
• Caroline – @ohh_la_la
• Deborah Swallow – @DeborahSwallow
• Steve Roesler – @steveroesler
• Matthew Bennett – @matthewbennett

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Twitter Interview With Leo Salazar

Cross-Cultural Twitter Interviews

If you are interested in international business and network on Twitter then you probably follow a number of people with international profiles. Some international people on Twitter share some great insights in their Twitter feed. I ask the cross-cultural people on my Twitter interviews to share the international people they like to follow on Twitter. Here are some of their replies.

21 International People to Follow on Twitter

1. @CCTheLowdown it’s a publishing company that Tweets all sorts of interesting things – sometimes international - @deborahswallow
2. @PennOlson I like those guys take on marketing but there are many others! – @ohh_la_la
3. Try @AmiExpat for her blog – @HoeferleConsult
4. I follow and read people like @RichardBranson interesting perspectives on business and the universal great thinker @SethGodin – @dkiernan
5. Christina Geyer @AmiExpat an American, expatriate, half-Asian living in Germany, and tweeting about cross-cultural differences & German cuisine – @transdomo
6. I’d say @StephenFry because he does so much travelling – @culturematters
7. @RickCogley, an American business consultant living in Japan. @vgr an Indian innovator living in the US – @tdebaillon
8. I like your list of international people to follow on Twitter. – @DR4Ward
9. My absolute favorite @queenrania – @XCulture
10. Hmmm … @johnniemoore is someone I have followed since the first year I was on Twitter (2007). – @jackyan
11. I really enjoy tweets from @ShellTerrell @kalinagoenglish @MissShonah @familyonbikes @KirstenWinkler – @CotterHUE
12. Adrian Monck ( @amonck ) an ex journo & current prof & head of comm. at World Economic Forum in Geneva … I answered as such because Adrian is international to me… and a Canadian perspective may be international to you, for example, and others; so for those interested in Canadian perspective, I would recommend Irshad Manji ( @reformingislam), @whoweareca, and @mathewi (Canadian journalist heavily involved in social media) – @DoreenatDMS
13. @globetrotteri is a friendly and international Tweeter: Canadian writer / photographer / teacher living in Taiwan – @pocketcultures
14. @volunteerabroad b/c I would like to travel by sharing my skills and competencies whilst learning – @psitutor
15. @glcuccureddu, @GotSagaLatino, @Marilyn_Res, @PatriciaVance, @hungaryguy, @PierrePaperon, @maxbehar, @mikebutcher – @culturalrealms
16. Couldn’t resist myself to give these 3 names – @guykawasaki @wchingya and @shellykramer (Possess great networking skills) – @mintblogger
17. @dragosroua Quote: “Think happiness is a process, not a goal.” Inspired by Aristotle? He is on your int’l s.m. list. – @lyceum
18. I would follow @talk2brazil. He tweets about Brazil’s economy, BizDev, etc. Brazil is going to be huge market in the future. – @SeanJamesOliver
19. If you have interest in international educational exchange/mobility research & literature then I recommend following @IDPDRIE – @DavidComp
20. I like @HoeferleConsult because his tweets make me feel connected to Germany, where I used to live – @CateBrubaker
21. One of my favorite international business profiles on Twitter is @finikiotis – @CindyKing

Who are your favorite international people on Twitter?

• Do you have a favorite international person on Twitter?
• Where do you get the best international insights on Twitter?
• What do you like most about the international people you follow?

As usual, please share your comments below.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

21 International People to Follow on Twitter

Cross-Cultural Twitter Interviews

You may have already seen the list of cross-cultural and international people I recommend following on Twitter, if not be sure to have a look.  Many people share great cross-cultural insights in their Twitter feeds.

Below are the recommendations made by 21 people during my cross-cultural Twitter interviews.

Cross-Cultural People to Follow on Twitter

1. If you’re interested in China: @leslieforman – Anne Fox is an interesting lady so I’ve suggested she starts Tweeting about what she knows about this field etc @foxdenuk – @deborahswallow
2. @culturalworld Peter Fordos is a cross cultural trainer and I will be keeping an eye on his tweets – @ohh_la_la
3. Again, don’t really like picking favorites eg @TransDomo @intercultureNet @AAAtranslation @ExpatCoachMegan are good tweeps- @HoeferleConsult
4. You introduced to the discussion topic, so @CindyKing and friends like @HoeferleConsult – @dkiernan
5. Out of many a great person to follow is Olivier Blanchard @thebrandbuilder, a Business & Brand strategist living in Greenville, SC, born in France & tweeting about social media marketing & more – @transdomo
6. The person I’d recommend for cross-cultural tweets is @DeborahSwallow – @culturematters
7. Besides you? Difficult task… @RevezNexus is a Spano-French in London w shows how culture is crucial in 2.0 world – @tdebaillon
8. One cross-cultural person to follow is @CultureShocks Elliot Polak shares great cultural insights & case studies – @DR4Ward
9. I like @ChinaBlogTweets; @ExpMyCulture; @christinelu and of course my co-author Yang-MayOoi @fusionview – @XCulture
10. I don’t think I could name only one. But @classyadele is very smart. – @jackyan
11. That’s another tough question. I talk with so many people living here and there around the globe. But… @mayafrost She moved the family down to Buenos Aires, and has written a book about her experiences. Great insight/info. – @CotterHUE
12. I like Carmen ( @newdemographic ); she’s always interesting; and I recently discovered @CultureShocks via your list – so tx – @DoreenatDMS
13. I like @collazoprojects – US / Latam focus and international outlook – @pocketcultures
14. The Dalai Lama @OHHDKInfo ~he reminds us that we are all responsible for each other; to be kind for humankind – @psitutor
15. @culturalxroads , @vesnpalmer , @maelguillemot , @Travelwriticus , @GotSaga , @pplambert , @ralphtalmont , @Klearchos + all in the list: @culturalrealms/multicultural – @culturalrealms
16. One of my favorites is @suzannewhitby She possess exceptional cross-cultural skills. – @mintblogger
17. @chrisgarrett Bio: “Web geek and co-author of ProBloggerBook.com” He did a great podcast interview w/ @hdbbstephen. – @lyceum
18. I would recommend @HoeferleConsult. He works w/Volkswagen in Cleveland, Tennessee. Demonstrates the changing South(ern USA). – @SeanJamesOliver
19. I like following @bghansel & her blog “Intercultural Eyes” – @DavidComp
20. Oh, there are so many great people to follow! Here are a few I really like: @langwitches, @mscofino, @hcrompton — wonderful educators who are living the cross-cultural life. @MBAintheUSA – she writes for incoming int’l students, @chrisguillebeau – traveling to every country in the world – @CateBrubaker
21. In addition to the cross-cultural people I recommend here, I also like reading @openculture – @CindyKing

Who do you recommend following on Twitter for cross-cultural topics?

• Do you have any favorites in the people listed above?
• Who else do you follow for cross-cultural insights?

Please share your comments below.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

21 Cross-Cultural People to Follow on Twitter