Garten Frank - Managing through a mirror: successful business communication where cultures meet

Why a book on how to manage, communicate and cooperate across cultures?

These days we all face international connections in our everyday lives. Whether we buy raw materials from a supplier in Australia, sell end products to a client in Brazil or form a joint venture with a company in the United Arabic Emirates, we have to connect with people from other cultures. Privately and professionally we deal frequently with people who think and act differently from the way we do. And most of the time we rely on our intuition and experience to handle our interactions with others. Often this is successful but, just as often, we feel a degree of tension: unclear communication, misunderstandings, and lack of trust. All too frequently I see that cultural barriers and poor communication stand in the way of achieving great results.

This can be avoided, and I believe that this book will help clarify and resolve many of these problems.

In Borealis, I see the importance of strong cross-cultural cooperation. We are an international company where people maintain daily contact between European innovation centers and manufacturing facilities in Austria, Finland, Sweden and Belgium. Our Borouge facility is a joint venture with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in the Emirates, and we run compounding units in Brazil, the USA and Italy. We recently acquired a French company, and our 6,000+ employees represent many different nationalities. Our global operations are strong: we operate in more than 120 countries.

We take pride in the things we realize with so many different people. This reflects one of our core values: Respect. We are one company, building on diversity.

I remember one of the first times I went to the Emirates. I had to learn that, whereas we believe that time is running and time is money, they believe time is coming so the sense of urgency is completely different. You need to understand this if you want to be effective.

Frank Garten knows our company, and has been a facilitator in one of the leadership programs for our multinational talents. Some of the topics we deal with in the context of that program resound in this book: open and honest communication, conflict resolution, motivation and evaluation of people, and change management are all daily activities for many Borealis managers. And doing all of that against a backdrop of a variety of cultures is a challenge. It is a challenge we are delighted to accept.

I like this book, for the reason that it reveals the critical communication steps that are essential in building up successful international cooperation:

The book convinces the reader that, in order to work successfully across cultures, you need to understand the other culture and invest time in decoding a different way of working. But knowledge is not enough. A solid basis of communication skills helps to navigate cultural barriers smoothly. The first part of the book deals with this topic. The book ends with 4 chapters dedicated to what managers in my company face on a daily basis: managing teams, managing performance, managing change and negotiating across cultures.

The title of the book is well chosen: its very human to blame external factors for the things that are not going well in our lives. And when cultural difficulties come up, our own superiority drives us into the mode of Im right, so the other person must be wrong. Managing others effectively across cultures requires a manager to look in the mirror, and find the tools in himself to deal with the problems that emerge.

Although well researched, the book is mainly practical: 100 concrete tips help the reader to apply effective measures in his or her daily work. These tips actualize the options: they are reflective, yet practical.

I recognize that this book has been written by someone who understands the international business context, and who has worked in the field himself. It is my pleasure to recommend Managing through a Mirror, and I wish the reader every success in applying the useful tips in his or her own international ventures.

Mark Garrett
CEO Borealis