The New Year 2016 is underway, and it is time for companies to set new business goals and budgets.
If your enterprise is seeking to expand its international presence this year, we would be happy to do our part to make your transition to the global stage a smooth one by offering you our Intercultural Training USA, Presenting for an American Audience, Negotiating with Americans and/or Conflict Management in International Teams seminars!… read more
Currently, my social media is awash with pictures of Christmas trees. Lots of them. As usual, U.S.-folks are outdoing themselves with decorations and lights on their floor-to-ceiling, full-bodied trees (can trees be “full bodied”? I don’t know. Full figured, maybe?) By now, virtually all self-respecting Americans who celebrate Christmas have had their tree-trimming parties and are relaxing with a glass of eggnog on the La-Z-Boy.… read more
1. Colleagues may bring in baked goods to share on their birthday
Let’s start with the fun, fluffy stuff. Once, when I worked at a high school in the U.S.A., I was greeted in my office on my birthday with a beautiful home-baked birthday cake by my boss (I still remember, Pat!) Granted, this may have been over and above what many bosses do, however, it is generally the typical order of things in America for people bring treats to YOU, the birthday child (assuming, of course, people know it’s your birthday)
So, you can imagine my confusion after moving to Germany when office colleagues would bring in cake, muffins and the like, followed quickly by a round of collegial handshaking and wishes of „Alles gute zum Geburtstag!“ to the bearer of the treats.… read more
Last week for the Fall school holidays, we took our fifth cruise—and our fourth through the Mediterranean. We don’t lack imagination, this is mostly due to logistics—cruises with itineraries leaving from northern Italy involve the least amount of getting-to-port travel hassles.… read more
Global working teams are an increasing reality in today’s business world. It is no longer unusual for members of the same project or even departmental team to be located simultaneously in California, Germany, Singapore and Ireland. Likewise, as companies seek to expand their reach beyond national borders, global customer acquisition is becoming standard operating procedure.… read more
Time magazine recently featured an article about a young woman’s culture shock after a dramatic relocation. In the book recounting her defection from North to South Korea, „In Order to Live: a Young Girl’s Journey to Freedom“, Yeonmi Park describes the expected—and unexpected—challenges of adjusting to her new, adopted culture.… read more
Last week during one of my trainings, I complimented a woman on her nearly-flawless English. She related how she had lived in the U.S. for ten years while married to her military husband. As she talked about her experiences and impressions from her time there, she mentioned that she had held several jobs over the decade, from shopping cart attendant to cashier t
o dialysis administrator.… read more
Hello and Guten Tag,
My name is Michelle Diehl. I am an American living in Germany who teaches a variety of business skills, including German – American intercultural understanding to many, many fine professionals here in Germany. Thanks to the thoughtful contributions of my training participants, each seminar brings me to an even higher and more nuanced level of understanding, and I hope to continue the enlightening dialogue through this blog.… read more
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