CultureRays

US Government officials reflects, ". . . we have serious problems of going into a country and not understanding the culture and the makeup of that country."

If there was ever any doubt, CQ REALLY matters.

A Watchdog Group Had Been Sounding The Warning About Afghanistan's Meltdown For Years NPR speaks with John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, about how the U.S. military and Afghan government arrived at this point.

Wolfowitz was the best thing that ever happened to US-Indonesian relations when he was US Ambassador to Indonesia. I may not completely agree with his every decision since that time, but on this matter he is right. It would be an excellent time for the US to help the world's two most democratic Muslim-majority nations out of their especially rough time in this crisis.

Op-ed: America can help itself by assisting these Covid-racked nations Tunisia and Indonesia deserve special attention because of the extremity of their nightmares and their political importance, write Paul Wolfowitz and Bill Drexel.

This sharp professional debriefed me on my latest Cultural Intelligence assessment. A great story of a uniquely positioned intercultural trainer.

As A Child, She Fled The Afghan War. As An Officer, She Returned — And Found Herself Every day of Lyla Kohistany's life, her native country was at war. But the first time she really saw the place, she was a 25-year-old U.S. Navy intelligence officer.

Worthwhile short video. Ethnolinguistic gravity is a thing. We need to be good listeners--let them who have ears--hear!

The subtle ways your accent defines you - BBC Reel We all attribute social meaning to language in subtle ways. Psychologist Katherine Kinzler explains that this means we often judge others, simply for how they speak. Produced by Melissa Hogenboom & Pomona Pictures

Great, insightful piece on how virtual interaction is messing with our ability to communicate. How much does your face-to-face personal culture use "cooperative overlap"?

How the Zoom era has ruined conversation Interruptions in conversation used to be natural. Try it on a video call.

Fascinating little video from the BBC

Why US English is a history lesson for the British - BBC Reel Long before Jamestown or the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Massachusetts in 1620, the US English style of spelling words such as 'honor', 'color', and 'center' were alive and well in British English. Etymologist and broadcaster Susie Dent opens an 'aluminum' can of worms and teaches Brits a thing or two...

After this chaotic year for our colleagues and clients, we hope that you will have opportunity to find peace and encouragement in something planned that actually played out according to plan--the visitation that gives us hope and a reason for joy despite all that can happen.

A great story that you'll be glad you read--and will tell a friend about today. Whether you decide that Maradona's "Hand of God" goal was that, or merely a "hand of Maradona" goal, whether you see it as cheating or just Latin exuberance, you'll gain an appreciation for intercultural dynamics in the real world.

Diego Maradona's legend shaped by his 'Hand of God' goal against England BUENOS AIRES: Diego Maradona scored more than 300 goals, many touched with genius, but the two most famous came within four minutes of each other ...

A helpful piece on confidentiality in coaching in the workplace. Worth a quick read and careful consideration.

Are My Coaching Sessions Confidential, Even if My Employer Pays for Them? It feels like yesterday when a client asked me the question “How will confidentiality be maintained between us, given the fact that my organization is paying for my coaching?” That was over a decade ago, during an introductory call with my very first executive

Perceptive piece by David Livermore. Worth a read.

The Group Excluded from Diversity Programs – Cultural Intelligence Center Whatever you think about the outcome of the US election, it’s clear. The US is a divided nation. The Left believes bigotry and racism are tearing the country apart. The Right believes identity politics and political correctness are tearing us apart. I think both are right. And I’m increasingly c...

Here's an older BBC piece that's worth pondering. This kind of blunder made by the British in India is why I'm especially wary of "essentialism" when analyzing another group's faith and worldview.

The British in several ways misunderstood Hinduism (a label that has elsewhere been declared to be about as useful as "Europeanism"), and outsiders tend to get their summaries wrong when trying to describe any worldview.

It's also the reason I love the thought provoking title of John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed's book, "Who Speaks for Islam?" How often have you felt at ease with some outsider's description of your own faith or worldview?

Have a read. Tell me, what do you think?

Viewpoint: How the British reshaped India's caste system A complex system of beliefs and social identities was oversimplified by colonisers, writes Sanjoy Chakravorty.

You've gotta love this piece by Dave Livermore.

He's so brutally honest, "The very fact that I think of myself as being 'not very typical American' is a very American thing to do."!

Coronavirus Insight: “I’m More American Than I Thought!” – Cultural Intelligence Center My parents were Canadian. And I’ve spent a great deal of the last thirty years living and traveling across the globe. I’m a US citizen, but I don’t think of myself as a very typical American. And people outside the US often guess that I’m European, Australian, or even Middle Eastern before t...