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1 Practice universalism and particularism.
In universalistic cultures there is an obliga-
tion to the standards which are universally
agreed in that culture. In particularist
cultures there are particular obligations
to people and unique situations. This has
an impact on corporate culture in terms
of how a company is organized through
systems, structure, procedures, and
accountabilities. The most effective
leaders integrate these two value-
propositions. The quality of universalistic
standards can only be determined by
the value they add to meeting your
particular obligations to people.
2 Work with individualism as well as
communitarianism. Think about whether
people regard themselves primarily as individuals, focusing
on their own interests, or primarily as part of a group, focusing
on common goals and objectives. Successful organizations
integrate the individualistic preference for competition with
the group-oriented preference for collaboration. Create teams
where everyone works together while stimulating individual
contribution. Compete for the best collaboration.
3 Consider the neutral versus the affective. Should the nature of
business be rational and detached, or is the role of emotions and
intuition accepted? This has an impact on corporate culture in
terms of how people communicate and in terms of ways of
thinking. Consider that part of emotional intelligence is knowing
the appropriate timing and placement of emotionality.
4 Work with the concepts of achievement and ascription. In
achievement-oriented cultures, employees are treated on the
basis of equality in order to elicit from them the best they have
to give. In ascription-oriented cultures the emphasis is on the
judgment and authority of the hierarchy, which coaches and
evaluates employees. Stimulates performance by developing
the potential of your people.
5 Take the time to think about matters of time. Cultures with a
sequential orientation view time as a consecutive series of events
coming at regular intervals. Sequential people are distressed if
they are thrown off schedule by unexpected events. Synchronie
people do more things at the same time, taking a more dynamic
view of time. To combine the two orientations, aim for just
in-time production. Timelines shorten as we do more things
simultaneously.
6 Develop a feel for internal versus external control. With internal
control you influence or even dominate the environment by
imposing your will on it, using your power to overcome obsta-
cles. With external control you accept the unpredictable and
respond to uncontrollable forces in the environment. Effective
product developers master both so that they know what
technology they want to push and what markets they want
to be pulled by.
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