Here are 100 books that Riding the Waves of Culture fans have personally recommended if you like
Riding the Waves of Culture.
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I was born in Toronto, yet spent formative years in Atlanta during the height of the civil rights movement. My family shared values dedicated to social justice and actively working against discrimination. Yet at times, I endured antisemitic jokes and name-calling while observing the parents of my “friends” using racist and hateful language toward Black people. We moved to the Seattle area where I later studied political science at the University of Washington, then earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership from the City University of Seattle. For 20+ years, I led global teams at Microsoft and Amazon.
This book expanded my thinking and provided a fresh perspective, reminding me of why I became interested in this important topic years ago and continue to be fascinated by the complexity and nuances of cross-cultural communication.
Now, more than ever, we are all interconnected through advances in technology that bring us closer together. We are working increasingly with a global workforce that inherently comes with very different backgrounds, languages, histories, foods, music, religions, social norms, customs, traditions, and values.
We need to grow our understanding of people from cultures different from our own and Erin's book is a complimentary contribution to this body of knowledge; it is not duplicative but singularly unique and a refreshing read.
Whether you work in a home office or abroad, business success in our ever more globalized and virtual world requires the skills to navigate through cultural differences and decode cultures foreign to your own. Renowned expert Erin Meyer is your guide through this subtle, sometimes treacherous terrain where people from starkly different backgrounds are expected to work harmoniously together.When you have Americans who precede anything negative with three nice comments French, Dutch, Israelis, and Germans who get straight to the point ( your presentation was simply awful") Latin Americans and Asians who are steeped in hierarchy Scandinavians who think the…
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
I was born in Toronto, yet spent formative years in Atlanta during the height of the civil rights movement. My family shared values dedicated to social justice and actively working against discrimination. Yet at times, I endured antisemitic jokes and name-calling while observing the parents of my “friends” using racist and hateful language toward Black people. We moved to the Seattle area where I later studied political science at the University of Washington, then earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership from the City University of Seattle. For 20+ years, I led global teams at Microsoft and Amazon.
This book opened a whole new world to me and tapped into my passion and thirst to understand the diversity of our world. I read this classic book early in my career, and it inspired a learning journey that continues to this very day. I still have my original paperback copy, which I dog-eared, tabbed, and highlighted throughout.
I found Hofstede’s book an easily consumable read that explains the differences in people and cultures from countries around the world in a manner everyone can relate.
The revolutionary study of how the place where wegrew up shapes the way we think, feel, and act--with new dimensions and perspectives
Based on research conducted in more than seventy countries over a forty-year span,Cultures and Organizations examines what drives people apart-when cooperationis so clearly in everyone's interest. With major new contributions from MichaelMinkov's analysis of data from the World Values Survey, as well as an account ofthe evolution of cultures by Gert Jan Hofstede, this revised and expanded edition:
Reveals the "moral circles" from which national societiesare built and the unexamined rules by which people think,feel, and act Explores…
I was born in Toronto, yet spent formative years in Atlanta during the height of the civil rights movement. My family shared values dedicated to social justice and actively working against discrimination. Yet at times, I endured antisemitic jokes and name-calling while observing the parents of my “friends” using racist and hateful language toward Black people. We moved to the Seattle area where I later studied political science at the University of Washington, then earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership from the City University of Seattle. For 20+ years, I led global teams at Microsoft and Amazon.
I love this book because of its very specific tips and useful strategies for working with people from countries different than my own. I was able to better understand the culture of each country through concise descriptions of their history, language, educational system, religions, and demographics.
I appreciate that it’s organized in a methodical and consistent fashion that helped me skip to my areas of interest without having to use the table of contents or index to find what I was looking for. I also found this book a ‘must-have’ for my work in leading cross-cultural teams because it helped me to understand and appreciate different cognitive styles, negotiation strategies, value systems, and business practices. Whether you travel globally on business or for pleasure this is a wonderful resource guide.
The most authoritative and comprehensive text of its kind, Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands, 2nd Edition is your must-have guide to proper international business protocol. With countries such as China and India taking on a more significant role in the global business landscape, you can't afford not to know the practices, customs, and philosophies of other countries.
Now fully revised, updated, and expanded with over sixty country profiles, Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands, 2nd Edition provides invaluable information on how to handle common business interactions with grace, respect, and an appreciation for different cultures.
Separating the true stories from the myths, The Duty of Memory provides a deeper understanding of the diverse motivations that drove ordinary people to join an underground network of French Resistants despite terrible odds and horrifying consequences.
This book takes the reader inside the true story of men and women…
I was born in Toronto, yet spent formative years in Atlanta during the height of the civil rights movement. My family shared values dedicated to social justice and actively working against discrimination. Yet at times, I endured antisemitic jokes and name-calling while observing the parents of my “friends” using racist and hateful language toward Black people. We moved to the Seattle area where I later studied political science at the University of Washington, then earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership from the City University of Seattle. For 20+ years, I led global teams at Microsoft and Amazon.
This book gave me a framework to understand change management at a strategic level, that you don’t have to create an enormous change all at once. Instead, you can take small, intentional actions. Meyerson describes this action as “dropping a pebble,” one that causes a ripple, which in turn motivates someone else to drop a pebble that also causes a ripple, which in turn motivates someone else to drop a pebble, and so on.
It is the aggregation of all those pebbles that leads to waves of systemic change. I also found Meyerson’s “rocking the boat” metaphor incredibly valuable. I learned the importance of having the courage and heart to do what is right and not what is expected. I love the “tempered radical” moniker. You need to rock the boat to effect change, but not so hard that you knock yourself and others out of the boat. You need…
"Very well researched, very readable. Anyone who feels they don't fit in or who manages those who don't fit in will want to take a look." - "Inc. Magazine". In this engaging book, Debra E. Meyerson reveals how adaptive, family-friendly, and socially responsible work places are built not by revolutionaries but by those she calls "tempered radicals," a group of people that balance company conformity with individual rebellion. While their differences often put them at odds with the "mainstream" organizational culture, Meyerson argues that these "everyday leaders" act as crucial sources of new ideas, alternative perspectives, and organizational learning and…
The greatest thrill is seeing something a new way. Remember the end of the movie The Sixth Sense, when you learn he was dead the whole time? It blows your mind and makes you re-think everything you saw. That's how it feels to learn another philosophy or a new distinction in understanding the world. I'm always seeking more of those moments, and these five books (plus mine) do that more than any I've found so far.
Masterpiece of cultural observations. I wish there were more books like this. Insights into different countries' cultures. Some amazing, like the reason for American's lack of manners, or Japanese procedures. I practically underlined the entire book, I loved it so much.
A major new edition of the classic work that revolutionised the way business is conducted across cultures and around the globe. It provides leaders and managers with practical strategies to embrace differences and successfully work across diverse business cultures.
Capturing the rising influence and the seismic changes throughout many regions of the world, cross-cultural expert and international businessman Richard Lewis has significantly broadened the scope of his seminal work on global business and communication. Thoroughly updated to include the latest political events and cultural changes, as well as covering nine new countries to complete Europe, broadening the scope of the…
We are scholars and writers, coaches and company builders, optimists, and (on our best days) accelerators of action. It’s been the privilege of our lives to work as change agents at some of the world’s most influential companies—and with some of the world’s most inspiring business leaders. But at the core of our identities, we are educators, which is why we write books about leadership. We believe that what we’ve learned in the process of changing things can be useful to anyone who seeks to lead, particularly now, when the scale and complexity of our shared challenges can seem overwhelming.
We love to win. In all the flux and churn of the DEI debate, one thing that’s getting lost is that DEI done right helps organizations to win.
But well-intentioned DEI efforts can still sometimes do the opposite, causing more harm than good. How could this happen? The simplest answer is that there are still some managers out there who haven’t read this excellent book.
It’s highly practical, deeply insightful, and a must-read for anyone looking to get more out their workforce with dignity and excellence.
The definitive comprehensive and foundational text for critically analyzing and applying actionable DEI techniques and strategies, written by one of LinkedIn’s most popular experts on DEI.
The importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace cannot be understated. But when half-baked and under-developed strategies are implemented, they often do more harm than good, leading the very constituents they aim to support to dismiss DEI entirely.
DEI Deconstructed analyzes how current methods and “best practices” leave marginalized people feeling frustrated and unconvinced of their leaders’ sincerity, and offers a roadmap that bridges the neatness of theory with the messiness of…
What were America's first prisons like? How did penal reformers, prison administrators, and politicians deal with the challenges of confining human beings in long-term captivity as punishment--what they saw as a humane intervention?
The Deviant Prison centers on one early prison: Eastern State Penitentiary. Built in Philadelphia, one of the…
I strive to help children not only accept but also celebrate their own uniqueness. For a long time, we were told that same-sex relationships and gender non-conformity were not natural because they don’t occur in animals. When I began to research same-sex behavior in animals, I learned this couldn’t be further from the truth. Same-sex behaviors have been found in almost every species that has been extensively studied. I knew I could create a fun, gentle, child-friendly introduction to these concepts that challenges the notion that LGBTQ+ behaviors are unnatural.
I have a Master's in biology with a focus on conservation through storytelling.
I enjoyed the mix of humans and animals to demonstrate “there are lots of different ways to be a family.”
Child-like drawings of humans highlight diversity by straying away from realistic representations of skin color and instead using a range of bright colors like pink, orange, purple, and yellow.
The animal families add humor to the story, making it more playful and enjoyable for the child reader. By treating human and animal families the same, it also subtly reminds us that we are part of the larger animal family, extending the concepts of empathy and compassion towards all beings, human and animal.
Some families have two moms or two dads. Some families have one parent instead of two. Some families live in a house by themselves. Some families share a house with other families. All families can help each other be strong!
The Family Book celebrates families and all the different varieties they come in. Whether they're big or small, look alike or different, have a single parent or two, Todd Parr assures readers that every family is special in its own unique way.
I’ve always wondered why meetings are so terrible. And, why we spend so much awful time in them. So, in my graduate studies, I decided to try to figure that out. What makes meetings good and what makes meetings bad? Then, over the course of a couple decades, I wrote what constituted about 25% of all the science on the topic of workplace meetings. It may be self-proclaimed, but I am the Meeting Doctor. Just like you go to a physician for an illness, I’m who people go to when their meetings are sick and need a cure!
Unfortunately, many of the organizations where people work and serve have allowed biases and stereotypes about people to creep in. I recommend this book because it provides leaders with the knowledge and tools to change that about your organization. To bring about inclusion among all employees in every role throughout the entire organization. As the meeting doctor, I can’t imagine a more pivotal place for inclusion than the workplace meeting, and this book gave me the information and ideas I needed to make that a reality in my organization.
In this groundbreaking new book, organizational psychologist and executive coach Gena Cox shows you how to lead an inclusive organization, from the top down, and to seek solutions to the racially based discontent that pervades many employees' experiences. Drawing on psychological science, corporate leaders, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), and her own experience in corporate America, Cox explains how to reframe the conversation, so you can more effectively guide the rest of the leaders in your organization. She helps you understand the key questions you should ask, the constituents you must address, and the difficult actions you must take to…
22 years ago, I called my local LGBTQ+ organization and asked if I could volunteer. I knew nothing about the LGBTQ+ communities but felt strongly about LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion. I ended up working at that agency for 15 years and learning a ton about how to be an effective ally, but in the beginning, I really could have used a good guidebook. I ended up writing a guidebook for LGBTQ+ allies. Now, I’m seeking guidebooks with actionable tips for allies to other communities. The books listed here are the best ones I’ve found so far. Be the change!
I don’t need to be convinced that a fair and inclusive workplace is a good thing. I already know that. What I want to read is a book that offers lots of actionable tips on how to do that. This book delivers.
Karen Catlin is a master at sharing easy everyday ally actions that help everyone feel safe and included in the workplace regardless of gender, race, ability, or sexual orientation.
The highly-acclaimed, practical guide for how to be an ally in the workplace, now in its 2nd edition.
Are you looking to build a workplace culture with a certain buzz about it? Where employees are thriving and engagement survey scores are through the roof? Where people from different backgrounds, races, genders, sexual orientations and identities, ages, and abilities are hired and set up for success?
One secret to creating this kind of vibrant and supportive workplace is practicing active allyship. With the Better Allies® approach, it's something anyone can do.
Since originally publishing Better Allies in 2019, Karen Catlin has…
Pioneer Paddles of the Colonial South
by
William D. Auman,
Award-winning novelist William Auman, author of If Trees Could Testify..., takes the reader on a time-traveling odyssey featuring 345 bodies of water in six states within the historical context through which they unfold.
Journey into remaining Colonial-era wilderness with stories of pirate treasure, epic frontiersmen, Indigenous Peoples, and Revolutionary…
I spent 20 years leading global teams in Silicon Valley, and I had few role models for empathetic, human, and inclusive leadership. I was committed to being the leader I wished I’d had all those years. I had a lot of success, a big VP-level job, and I loved my work. Then, I got a new manager who bullied, undermined, and silenced me. I decided I wanted to help leaders do better. I became an author, speaker, and consultant focused on inspiring leaders to create an environment where everyone is heard, seen, and respected.
As I listened to the audiobook version of this book, I felt optimistic and hopeful, which is not a common feeling when I read business, leadership, or DEI books. I found the whole book to be an invitation to do better as a leader, a community member, and a human being.
I felt a strong call to action without the usual shaming or blaming that I’ve found in too many recent books. I wanted to sit down and have a conversation with Denise, even though I had never met her. After finishing the book, I felt inspired, uplifted, and committed to taking ownership of my role in making our world more inclusive and indivisible.
