Customs of the World: Using Cultural Intelligence to Adapt, Wherever You Are

By: David Livermore, The Great Courses

Narrated by: David Livermore

Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

Taught by an international adviser to leaders of Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, and governments, this eye-opening course reveals how you can actively improve your cultural intelligence in an increasingly globalized world.

Based on groundbreaking research, these 24 lectures address dynamics and customs related to working, socializing, dining, marriage and family - all the areas necessary to help you function with a greater level of respect and effectiveness wherever you go. You'll also encounter practical tips and crucial context for greeting, interacting with, and even managing people from other parts of the world.

In the first half, you'll analyze 10 cultural value dimensions that researchers have identified as helpful for comparing cultures; and you'll see how these "archetypes" play out in day-to-day lives. In the second half, you'll look at 10 cultural clusters around the world that - when combined with your understanding of the 10 cultural dimensions - provide strategic insight into how to be more effective as you live, work, and travel in our globalized world.

Why do people from certain cultures have little regard for time? Why might working overtime reflect poorly on you in Scandinavia? Why should you avoid using your left hand when interacting with someone from the Arab world? You'll find out the answers to these and other intriguing questions in Customs of the World.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2013 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2013 The Great Courses

Quite possibly my favorite of The Great Courses

What did you love best about Customs of the World: Using Cultural Intelligence to Adapt, Wherever You Are?

I absolutely love The Great Courses. I've listened to at least 30 of them, and I have to say that Customs of the World might be my favorite. It was so packed with observations that were both fascinating and practical, I think I'll find myself wanting to listen again in years to come.

I'm struggling in my mind to suggest a better name for this course, because it's about so much more than customs. It's about how culture profoundly affects how people and societies interact, along with practical advice on how to observe and interact with people from all cultures and subcultures both around the world and at home. This course is invaluable not only to world travelers, but to anybody who engages with people from other cultures, whether at work or socially.

Professor Livermore divides the course into three sections. The first explains the concept behind cultural intelligence. The second set of lectures is a comprehensive look at the ten established dimensions along which cultures consistently differ. The final set of lectures takes a deep dive into each of the major cultural regions of the world, pointing out the dominant norms of each, along with suggestions on how to observe and interact with people from within those regions.

What about Professor David Livermore’s performance did you like?

Professor Livermore is clearly a prominent academic leader in this field, but he is also a remarkably experienced traveler and a captivating storyteller. Throughout the course, he draws on his own experiences to enrich the discussion and make it personal. He is excellent.

Does what it can with the time it has

This course as an exploration of ten cultural value dimensions:

1. Identity—Individualist versus Collectivist
2. Authority—Low versus High Power Distance
3. Risk—Low versus High Uncertainty Avoidance
4. Achievement—Cooperative versus Competitive
5. Time—Punctuality versus Relationships
6. Communication—Direct versus Indirect
7. Lifestyle—Being versus Doing
8. Rules—Particularist versus Universalist
9. Expressiveness—Neutral versus Affective
10. Social Norms—Tight versus Loose

Followed by applying them to ten global culture clusters:

1. Anglo Cultures
2. Nordic European Cultures
3. Germanic Cultures
4. Eastern European/Central Asian Cultures
5. Latin European Cultures
6. Latin American Cultures
7. Confucian Asian Cultures
8. South Asian Cultures
9. Sub-Saharan African Cultures
10. Arab Cultures

It's not a full guide of do's and don'ts, but it provides some key guidelines on each social clusters and how to learn more.

Starts strong but fades...

The first half of this course is interesting and really pretty good. Professor Livermore has participated in some interesting research and developed a system/language for talking about cultural awareness/intelligence ("CQ" in the course). And there is definitely some good information and concepts that will help you gain perspective and be better equipped to understand and interact with people from other cultures.

The 3-star ranking is because of the tendency the author has to talk about his own personal experiences, many of them banal, and present them as evidence of some general cultural dimension. This ranged from annoying (and frequently so) to contradictory in few cases. Another problem with the course is the author's multiple exhortations to "slow down" and "relax" and "enjoy" cultural differences. The repetition kept reminding me that I wasn't learning anything new after about lecture 10 or 11.

My impression is that the first half of the course is well researched, and thus fairly coherent and well presented, but that the second half of the course is thrown together.

Unexpectedly brilliant!

I didn't have any interest in listening to a lecture from the Great Course series. After all, I spent umpteen years attending college. I figured that part of my life was over. But here was a topic that greatly interested me and at a great price, too. I couldn't let it pass.

From the moment I started listening, I felt a deep nostalgia for my university days. I also knew I was going to really enjoy this listen. This course is so wonderful that I want to highly recommend it to anyone who has even the slightest interest in the subject of cultural intelligence. The format is so pleasant--a series of related but separate lectures, each one leading into the next one.

Even if you aren't planning overseas travel, you will find so much relevant information here that will explain behaviors that have puzzled or even irritated you in the past. And if you are planning on overseas travel, you will have a bunch of new information that will be immensely helpful to you. If you aren't able to interact with the "natives", you will still be equipped to look for various things that will tell you much about the culture you are visiting. Additionally, Professor Livermore gives you some do's and don't's to further enhance your knowledge and your travel. He is a wonderful lecturer, too.

I enjoyed this book so much that I know it will be a repeat listen for me. It has also inspired me to look for further Great Courses subjects that sound interesting. This experience has been as enjoyable as any of my favorite audiobooks.

First half kind of interesting, second half great!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Customs of the World: Using Cultural Intelligence to Adapt, Wherever You Are?

The most memorable moment was without a doubt when he spoke about my own culture, the Nordic cluster. Dead on! Made me realize that what I take for 'normal behavour' is normal mainly if you are Swedish. I have lived in several different cultures, mainly Latin and south Asian, and now I'm making my Latin boyfriend listen to the course, mainly to prove that I'm not weird, just Nordic.

What about Professor David Livermore’s performance did you like?

I loved how he didn't over compare to US culture, and didn't say US ways were superior.

What’s an idea from the book that you will remember?

Many, it mainly confirmed, and gave a reason for things I already kind of knew.

Any additional comments?

I could have skipped the first half of the course, or shorten it quite a bit, too much fluff for my liking. The second half is extremely interesting and useful. Well worth waiting for.

11 hours in a breeze.

What did you learn from Customs of the World: Using Cultural Intelligence to Adapt, Wherever You Are that you would use in your daily life?

It's packed with insightful moments. And the more you listen, the more your own culture becomes strange to yourself. This means your cultural intelligence is growing. It will help you become more effective in your dealings with cultures around you.

Any additional comments?

My best audiobook, in 9 years of customer loyalty to Audible.

Author as chauvinist

If one can get past his patronizing, homiletic tone - and if one can wade through his scornful disapproval of event-oriented people, the content is largely informative and genuine. Do take his interpretation of how Arabs and others self-identify with a grain of salt. His American waspish bias is a LOT to put up with in this context; in fact, his entire premise seems to be based on an attitude of teaching other people just like him to get their way with folks outside of their own culture. He SAYS he appreciates other societies, but his attitude stems more from wanting to do business successfully with them, than from a sincere desire to embrace, understand, and accept them.

That being said, perhaps the most useful takeaway from these lectures is his own caveat to all his generalizations: pay attention to individuals intently lest you make too many assumptions about people, simply based on their origins.

Way too long considering the substance.

Many of the topics are common sense issues that don't justify a 30min lecture. After listening 6-7 full lectures I simply started fast forwarding to the end after getting the idea of each lecture. This series should be half the length it is right now.

Informative and well presented

Where does Customs of the World: Using Cultural Intelligence to Adapt, Wherever You Are rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Having had a lifelong interest in diversity and the ways of other cultures, I found this lecture series to impart a wealth of information. The professor was engaging and extremely well-traveled and informed. He shared a personal and valuable insight into the patterns of other cultures and how they think and act, offering many illustrations. Having recently traveled to SE Asia for the first time, it shed light on some of my perceptions and experiences, and encouraged me to appreciate even more all the fascinating and wonderful people who share the world. I especially appreciated his discussion of the importance of being open to experiencing new foods, music, religious beliefs, and etiquette in order to fully engage and benefit from the beauty and wonder of those less familiar to me.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Customs of the World: Using Cultural Intelligence to Adapt, Wherever You Are?

The discussion of how the importance of family, food, and religious beliefs color customs and culture in various groups.

Have you listened to any of Professor David Livermore’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I'd like to hear more of his insights.

What insight do you think you’ll apply from Customs of the World: Using Cultural Intelligence to Adapt, Wherever You Are?

The importance of one being respectful, accepting, and open to the different customs of the world's inhabitants to fully be a member of the human race in all its diversity.

Wide breadth of material, yet lacking depth

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book to most people as a primer to various cultures around the world and familiarise them to the various dimensions that are used to measure differences between cultures.While it serves as a useful index of cultural norms and practices, it does suffer from broad generalised claims. The writer did admit that not all members of a certain culture would behave as he described, he did not try to investigate too deeply upon the internal differences of cultures.There is also a missed opportunity to address the effects of variables such as economic, religious and other factors that might affects how a group of people manifest their practices as a culture.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I wish that the writer would address how socio-economic, religious and other factors affect cultures, and also the malleability of members of certain cultures to new practices. The audiobook resembles a travel guide more than a rigorous study of culture.I am sure that this book could've benefited from incorporating the latest literature on behavioral economics and anthropology.

What about Professor David Livermore’s performance did you like?

I think his reading is personable and I can't find discernible flaw throughout the audiobook.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I have the opportunity to, maybe I will listen to it in one sitting, but some parts made me cringe too much. It is usually the part where the culture I am familiar with is described to be an unrecognisable caricature.

Comprehensive and logical construction

Would you listen to Customs of the World: Using Cultural Intelligence to Adapt, Wherever You Are again? Why?

Yes. It has such a comprehensive presentation of the subject that it is necessary to listen again to digest every morsel of information.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, too much to take in at one go. Better to disect it into maneagable chunks.

Good, you can take his ideas.

In general is accurate : )
I have asked to Thai and Japanese people about the anecdotes and stories, they confirmed them. However, regarding latinamerican culture, is generally accurate, not totally. But he is the expert, so I am open to check this with other latinamericans.

Excellent!

Really appreciated the effort and so glad so many are making personal efforts to understand and be understood in different parts of the world. Encore.

Average

Provides really basic details and does not give deep diving in any area. Still entertaining due to different stories in each chapter.

Superb

Really well structured. Great narration. Lovely stories. Can only recommend it and will definitely talk to colleagues about this course.

Very interesting and informative

Really enjoyed this, the short chapters made it very easy to digest. learnt a lot and understand different cultures much better

Culturally insighto and easy to digest

The authoritative but very accessible delivery by a professor so immersed in the subject was brilliant. 30 minutes on each topic was a perfect introduction and made the commute something to look forward to!

Very good

I've always been a bit on the smug side about my cultural awareness, having been very fortunate to travel a lot since childhood, and work in many different countries since, but I found these lectures very interesting with a good framework behind them. Well presented too, highly recommended!