Cultures have their own logic. The meaning of concepts like ‘leadership’, ‘ownership’, ‘consensus’, ‘decision-making’, ‘efficiency’, ‘priority’ used in international cooperation and communication is not universal. Successful cross-cultural and cross-system collaboration requires a common framework, a common vocabulary, and practical tools.

The Cultural Quantum® Five Step Method developed by Dr. Jeanne Boden is published in Cultural Quantum. A Practical Method for Efficient Cross-Cultural Cooperation.

Five Steps: 1. Awareness (e.g. egalitarian/hierarchic dynamics; individual/group); 2. Context: dealing with systemic differences (political, legal, social, cultural); 3. Cultural Quantum Self Assessment; 4. Defining and negotiating a common framework; 5. Developing strategies, managing mutual expectations.

Jeanne Boden also coined the term ‘Cultural Waste‘ or ‘Cultural Loss’. While many methods like Kaizen and Lean aim at high efficiency by reducing and preventing all sorts of losses (e.g. waiting time during a production process, overproduction), one aspect is being overlooked: the inefficiency caused by misunderstandings in the collaboration between people with a different cultural logic. How can you manage an international or intercultural team if you have no insight in their expectations towards leadership and ownership? How can you create a value proposition if you don’t know your customer’s preferences? How can you build customer relations or key partnerships if you don’t know what people expect? The forgotten human dimension behind system-driven methods in management and manufacturing often results in misunderstandings and inefficiency causing Cultural Waste or Cultural Loss. Cultural Waste can be detected, reduced, and prevented through the Cultural Quantum Five Step Method. (book forthcoming)