Fish Can't See Water by Kai Hammerich & Richard D. Lewis - Book review

Fish Can't See Water

How national culture can make or break your corporate strategy

By: Kai Hammerich, Richard D. Lewis

Published: September 3, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 312 pages
ISBN-10: 1118608569
ISBN-13: 978-1118608562
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons,Inc.










The idea we present in this book is simple: national culture, through its influence on corporate culture, has a powerful but often invisible impact on the success of global companies. What's more, the very same national traits that accelerated growth in one stage of the corporate lifecycle may derail growth at a different stage or when an inevitable crisis hits", write international headhunter with Russell Reynolds Associates, Kai Hammerich; and renowned British linguist and founder of Richard Lewis Communications, Richard D. Lewis, in their pioneering and practical idea packed book Fish Can't See Water: How national culture can make or break your corporate strategy.

The authors describe how people living in different countries do things in very different ways, as a result of their national cultural traits, and share how business leaders can identify and act upon these national cultural differences.

Kai Hammerich (photo left) and Richard D. Lewis understand that different cultures act in very different ways from one another. As the authors point out, strong corporate results may arise in very different ways from those dissimilar cultures, but one culture is not superior to another.

At the same time, differing national cultures may create rapid growth in one stage of a company's overall lifecycle, but that same culture could be a detriment in another development stage. The ability to learn and recognize these often subtle and hidden differences between national cultures, that are reflected in their national corporate cultures, is critical for success in a globalized economic marketplace.

Richard D. Lewis (photo left) and Kai Hammerich recognize that the national cultures of every country provide both advantages and disadvantages. The authors studied the national traits of seven countries - the United States, Sweden, Italy, Germany, France ,, Japan, and Great Britain - to determine how and why their national traits provided advantages in one area, but also worked against the company in others. The authors examined a series of case studies to find out what worked, what went wrong, what lessons were learned, and where a failure to recognize and learn to overcome different cultural challenges led to losses.

Kai Hammerich and Richard D. Lewis present the often unnoticed, but very visible with a little careful examination, cultural differences that taken together, can propel forward or completely derail a company's international ventures. To discover and analyze the national cultural differences in an objective way, the authors offer Kai Hammerich's Cultural Dynamic Model®. This system provides a framework to examine cultural traits in an analytical format, and through fresh and open eyes.

Overall, the book is divided into three major parts, with each one considering an important component in understanding the underlying components of the national cultural dynamic, as follows:

* Developing the Cultural Dynamic Model®
* Cases: The company lifecycle, from innovation to consolidation
* The model in action: Lessons for managers and investors

For me, the power of the book is how Kai Hammerich and Richard D. Lewis combine a comprehensive analysis of the seven highlighted national cultures, with the workable and objective framework of the Cultural Dynamic Model® to assess the impact of those national characteristics. The authors provide an important, and very hands on approach, to the nascent but growing field of cultural intelligence. Along with the consideration of the national culture, the authors assess the impact of those national traits on corporate cultures.

The authors found small cultural factors that had deep and lasting effects on companies. Different national traits would often come into conflict with the characteristics of people from other nations. To provide background and deeper understanding of the role of national traits on company culture, growth, and success, the authors present a group of case studies to illustrate the concepts in the real world. The authors demonstrate clearly how cultural considerations must be recognized and taken into consideration by leaders and strategists of any company operating on an international scale.

I highly recommend the important and cultural intelligence building book Fish Can't See Water: How national culture can make or break your corporate strategy by Kai Hammerich and Richard D. Lewis, to any business leaders, managers, strategists, and marketers seeking a clear and concise examination and assessment of the importance and impact of national cultural traits on international companies. This book will open many eyes as to why understanding national traits can lead to greater successes or avoid an unexpected disaster for unwary business executives.