Eleven ideas. Eleven short videos. Eleven questions.
Learning does not always begin with a textbook.
Sometimes, a few minutes are enough to challenge an assumption, reveal a blind spot or make us look at a familiar situation differently.
This video collection accompanies the Happy CEO Intercultural Business & International Negotiation programme.
Each section follows a simple sequence:
WATCH → THINK → READ
Watch a short video. Pause before moving on. Then explore the corresponding MBA Lab article.
The objective is not to provide all the answers. It is to help you ask better questions.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
HOW CULTURE SHAPES WHO WE ARE
Culture influences much more than our customs and traditions.
It can shape how we define success, build relationships, make decisions and understand our place within a group.
This short video explores how individualistic and collectivist cultures can influence personality and behaviour.
WATCH THE VIDEO — HOW CULTURE AFFECTS YOUR PERSONALITY
THINK
Which aspects of your personality may have been encouraged by the culture in which you grew up?
Culture influences our behaviour, but it does not completely define who we are. Cultural frameworks describe tendencies, not fixed identities.
Happy CEO
01. YOU
Start with the most difficult person to understand: yourself.
Before trying to understand another culture, explore the filters, emotions and behavioural preferences that influence how you perceive the world.
1. YOU DON’T SEE THE WORLD AS IT IS
Perception, explained in three minutes
Philosopher Alva Noë explores why perception is not simply a passive recording of reality.
THINK
Which part of your interpretation is fact—and which part is perception?
READ — HOW COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE PROCESSES SHAPE OUR EMOTIONS
2. WHAT CAN OTHERS SEE THAT YOU CANNOT?
The Johari Window explained
A visual introduction to the Open, Hidden, Blind and Unknown areas of the Johari Window.
WATCH THE VIDEO — THE JOHARI WINDOW EXPLAINED
THINK
What might other people perceive about you before you recognize it yourself?
READ — NAVIGATING THE JOHARI WINDOW
3. YOUR STYLE IS NOT EVERYONE’S STYLE
Introduction to the four DISC styles
A short introduction to Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness.
WATCH THE VIDEO — EVERYTHING DISC WORKPLACE
THINK
How might your natural communication style be misinterpreted during a negotiation?
READ — MASTERING NEGOTIATION STYLES WITH THE DISC METHOD
02. THEM
Different does not mean wrong.
Culture can influence how people perceive hierarchy, time, trust, risk, disagreement, relationships and decisions.
The objective is not to put people into cultural boxes.
It is to recognize when our assumptions may be wrong.
4. CULTURAL COMPETENCE STARTS WITH CURIOSITY
Cultural competency explained
A short introduction to the ability to understand, respect and adapt to cultural differences.
WATCH THE VIDEO — CULTURAL COMPETENCY EXPLAINED
THINK
When have you mistaken unfamiliar behaviour for irrational behaviour?
5. CULTURE HAS DIMENSIONS
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions explained in three minutes
Attitudes towards hierarchy, individual responsibility, uncertainty, competition and long-term thinking can vary significantly across cultures.
Hofstede’s framework provides a starting point for understanding these broad cultural tendencies.
WATCH THE VIDEO — CULTURAL DIMENSIONS THEORY
THINK
Which cultural dimensions might influence the way people prepare, communicate and make decisions during a negotiation?
READ — 10 WAYS CULTURAL VALUES INFLUENCE NEGOTIATION
Cultural dimensions should be used as a compass for asking better questions—not as labels for predicting individual behaviour.
6. LET’S HAVE SOME FUN ANALYSING THE FRENCH
French business culture
Formality, hierarchy, intellectual debate and detailed questioning can easily be interpreted differently by international counterparts.
WATCH THE VIDEO — FRENCH BUSINESS CULTURE
THINK
Which French business behaviours might foreign negotiators misunderstand?
READ — UNDERSTANDING FRENCH CULTURE AND NEGOTIATION STYLES
03. TOGETHER
Understanding difference is useless if we cannot work together.
Communication is not simply what you say.
It is what the other person understands.
7. NO WORDS. PLENTY OF COMMUNICATION.
For the Birds
This short Pixar film tells an entire story through sounds, facial expressions, movement, distance and posture.
WATCH THE VIDEO — FOR THE BIRDS
THINK
What was communicated without being explicitly said?
READ — THE ART OF NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
8. DISTANCE DOES NOT REMOVE CULTURE
Communicating across cultures in remote teams
Digital tools allow people to meet across continents.
They do not eliminate different expectations about silence, response time, participation, clarity or disagreement.
WATCH THE VIDEO — COMMUNICATING ACROSS CULTURES: REMOTE TEAM TIPS
THINK
What information disappears when communication moves from a room to a screen?
READ — CROSS-CULTURAL AND REMOTE COMMUNICATION
9. DOES WRITING BUILD TRUST?
Getting to Yes Across Cultures
Erin Meyer explores how disagreement, emotion, trust and written agreements can be perceived differently across cultures.
WATCH THE VIDEO — ERIN MEYER: GETTING TO YES ACROSS CULTURES
THINK
When does putting an agreement in writing strengthen trust—and when might it damage it?
READ — HOW CONTRACTS VARY ACROSS CULTURES
04. BUSINESS
Enough theory. Let’s make a deal.
Good negotiation starts long before anyone sits at the table.
Preparation creates freedom.
Questions create understanding.
Alternatives create power.
And a signed agreement is not always a successful agreement.
10. PREPARE YOUR MIND BEFORE YOUR ARGUMENTS
The right mindset for negotiation
Harvard Business School professor Deepak Malhotra introduces a more productive way to approach negotiation.
WATCH THE VIDEO — THE RIGHT MINDSET FOR NEGOTIATION
THINK
What will you do if no agreement is reached?
READ — HOW TO EFFECTIVELY PREPARE AND NEGOTIATE A SUCCESSFUL DEAL
11. GETTING TO YES IS NOT THE REAL OBJECTIVE
Are you too focused on getting to yes?
A short reminder from Deepak Malhotra: reaching an agreement and making a good decision are not the same thing.
WATCH THE VIDEO — ARE YOU TOO FOCUSED ON GETTING TO YES?
THINK
When might walking away be the best possible outcome?
READ — NEGOTIATION TRAPS: MISTAKES THAT CAN COST YOU THE DEAL
3 THINGS WORTH REMEMBERING
1. QUESTION YOUR FIRST INTERPRETATION
What feels obvious to you may be the result of your own experience, culture, emotions and behavioural preferences.
2. UNDERSTAND BEFORE YOU TRY TO CONVINCE
Curiosity creates information.
Information creates options.
Options create better decisions.
3. NEVER NEGOTIATE WITHOUT FREEDOM
Know your alternatives, understand your limits and remain prepared to walk away.
The objective is not simply to close a deal.
It is to make a good decision.
ONE LAST THOUGHT AND A SMILE
ONE LANGUAGE. TWO CULTURES.
British and American English share the same foundations, but they do not always describe the world in the same way.
Michael McIntyre humorously compares everyday words and expressions to demonstrate how language evolves according to culture, habits and local logic.
WATCH THE VIDEO — MICHAEL McINTYRE: SIMPLIFYING ENGLISH FOR THE AMERICANS
THINK
When people speak the same language, do we become less attentive to possible misunderstandings?
A shared language does not necessarily create a shared interpretation.
HAPPY CEO
Understand yourself. Understand others. Build better deals.
BRING THE MBA LAB INTO YOUR ORGANISATION
The MBA Lab is also available as a live Executive Simulation Lab for management teams.
One day. Real decisions. Negotiation simulations. Behavioural debriefs.
Happy CEO | Leadership, Strategy & International Growth 