Cultural DNA

GURNEK BAINS is the co-founder and Chairman of Young Samuel Chambers (YSC), a premier global business psychology consultancy, with 19 offices around the globe, including four in the US, two in Latin America, eight in Asia Pac and the Middle East, two in Africa, and three in Europe. At YSC, Bains works at the most senior levels in international business, coaching CEOs and helping companies create the organizational culture to drive their long-term success. He has a doctorate in psychology from Oxford University. He is also author of Meaning, Inc.: The Blueprint for Business Success in the 21st Century.

“The book should be very useful to those responsible for international relations, but particularly to managers working in multi-national corporations.” (The HR Director, April 2015)"Bains steers an eclectic but carefully measured journey, in which he builds stepwise arguments, supported by anecdotal and empirical evidence from his own impressive global consulting history and wider sources." (The Marketeers, July 2015)"Sometimes cultural stereotypes–Americans are positive, Africans are warm, Indians hate aggressive behavior–can actually be useful in helping expats navigate an unfamiliar world. In his new book about cross-cultural communications, business psychologist Gurnek Bains says that it’s a good idea to 'cherchez la difference,'so to speak." (The Wall Street Journal, May 2015)"In his new book, Cultural DNA: The Psychology of Globalization, Gurnek Bains discusses the soft skills required to engage leaders in a connected world." (Fortune, March 2015)"Gurnek Bains presents ground breaking original research and the latest evidence from neuroscience, behavioral genetics, psychology and history to enable people to understand, empathize with and engage people from other cultures in our increasingly connected world. He argues that much previous work in this area has just scratched the surface and examines the deepest instincts of eight key global cultures to help readers understand the psychological themes at play in regions such as the U.S., Latin America, Europe, China, India, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa and Australia." (India CSR, May 2015)"To be a CEO today requires taking a global perspective with an understanding of the cultures of others.The position is that understanding those with whom we do business will make doing business easier and more pleasant. The danger of falsely stereotyping people in the attempt to understand them will be greatly diminished by reading this book." (Fin24, May 2015)"Bains steers an eclectic but carefully measured journey, in which he builds stepwise arguments, supported by anecdotal and empirical evidence from his own impressive consulting history and wider sources." (The Huffington Post, June 2015)"Authoritative and thoroughly-researched, Cultural DNA is a must-read book for anyone who is interested in, and asking deeper questions about, the origins of modern cultures." (Dialogue Review, June 2015)

• Acknowledgments viiIntroduction ixThe Psychology of the Eurozone Crisis xWe Are Not All the Same and That Is Good xivUnconscious Bias xviiGreater Similarity and Difference at the Same Time xixThe Globalization Challenge for Business xxiiiDefining Cultural DNA xxvA Word About the Evidence xxviiiWhy Bother with Differences? xxxiChapter 1 America—The Change Makers 1Founder Effects 3The Peopling of America 4Positivity 11Embracing the New 17Assimilation over Accommodation 20Mammon: Tamed and Untamed 26The Triumph of Functionality 32Increasing Plurality 35Looking Ahead 37Chapter 2 Sub-Saharan Africa: Under Nature’s Shadow 41How Modern Humans Populated Africa 43Nature’s Crucible: The Forces Shaping Africa’s Cultural DNA 45Community and Beyond 51Naturalness: Expressed and Denied 55In the Moment 60Metaphor, Analogy, and the Connectedness of Things 67The Big Man and His Alter Ego 72Looking Ahead 78Chapter 3 India: Beyond This World 81The Peopling of India 82The Toba Event 83The Forces That Have Shaped India’s Cultural DNA 85Ahimsa 87Individual Paths 95Inner Directedness 100Horizontal Stratification 104Mathematics: The Art of the Hindus 110Ritualistic Thinking 114Looking Ahead 119Chapter 4 The Middle East: Ambivalence and Uncertainty in the Modern Age 121How Modern Humans Populated the Middle East 122Deserts and Civilization: The Twin Drivers of Middle Eastern Cultural DNA 124The Rules of Life 128The Commercial Instinct 134The Best Ideas in the World 138The Honor–Modesty System 143The Other Sex 148Concentric Circles of Belonging 151Managing Contradictions and Tensions 153Chapter 5 China: The Seekers of Harmony 157The Peopling of China 159The Forces That Shaped China’s DNA 161The Drive for Harmony 165The Authoritarian Compact 173Concrete and Practical Inventiveness 177Fast Slow 181Bounded Sociability and Empathy 185The Art of Copying 189Future Considerations 193Chapter 6 Europe: The Equal Society 195The Forces that have Shaped European Cultural DNA 196Equality and Elitism 203Bounded Individualism 212Analyisis and Structured Planning 218Reserved Sociability 222The Diminishing Drive for Mastery 225The Opportunities and Challenges forEuropean Culture 231Chapter 7 The Far Continents 235Latin America—The Ever-Changing Melting Pot 235Australia: Mateship in a Far-Off Land 244Conclusions 255Notes 259Index 271