Navigating foreign cultures. Marco Polo's bridge-building meets Stanley's determined exploration.
Marco PolovsHenry M. Stanley
I don't speak Japanese, and I just accepted a 2 year assignment in Okinawa. I'm excited and terrified. Everything I read says the work culture is completely different—long hours, strict hierarchy, reading social cues I don't understand. Some expats I've talked to say "just be yourself and they'll adapt to you." Others say I need to fully immerse and adopt Japanese business customs or I'll fail. My company's HR just sent me a PowerPoint about "not being offensive" that felt both patronizing and useless. How do I navigate a culture I don't understand without either being a clueless American or losing myself entirely? Is it possible to be authentically me while also genuinely respecting their way of doing things? Thank you.
"I have not told half of what I saw—observation and humility are the keys"
I spent seventeen years in a culture utterly unlike my own and found wonder in the difference. Do not try to become Japanese—you cannot. Instead, observe deeply, ask questions humbly, and let your genuine curiosity honor them more than any performance of their customs could.
"Self-made men must shape themselves to new marks when old ones fail"
I crossed continents where no map existed by adapting to each terrain. Learn the essentials: greetings, hierarchy, the art of the business card. But do not pretend to be what you are not. Competence and respect transcend culture. Deliver results and they will meet you halfway.
78 votes total