In 2000 I established ChinaConduct®, an independent consultancy organisation specialising in EU-China collaboration. We give training and advice to academic, corporate and governmental stakeholders. We have advised more than 500 European and Chinese/Asian companies and organisations in their projects and strategies. In 2021 ChinaConduct® merged into Cultural Quantum®, an organisation I set up in 2016.

My research on cultures and knowledge systems, and my wide and extensive practical experience in working across global areas, led me to develop the Cultural Quantum® Five Step Method. The Five Steps are: 1. Awareness (cultural: e.g. egalitarian/hierarchic dynamics; individual/group); 2. Context (systemic differences: political, legal, social); 3. CQSA Cultural Quantum Self Assessment; 4. Defining and negotiating a common framework; 5. Developing strategies, managing mutual expectations.

I also coined the term ‘Cultural Waste‘ or ‘Cultural Loss‘. While many methods like Kaizen and Lean strive for efficiency by reducing and preventing all sorts of waste (e.g. waiting time during a production process, overproduction), one aspect is being overlooked: the inefficiency caused by misunderstandings in the collaboration between people with a different cultural logic. How can you manage an international or intercultural team if you have no insight in their expectations towards leadership and ownership? How can you create a value proposition if you don’t know your customer’s preferences? How can you build customer relations or key partnerships if you don’t know what people expect? The forgotten human dimension behind system-driven methods in management and manufacturing often results in misunderstandings and inefficiency causing Cultural Waste or Cultural Loss. Cultural Waste can be detected, reduced, and prevented through the Cultural Quantum Five Step Method. (book forthcoming)

Author at Intellect, Sage Publications. Peer reviewer at Journal of Cross Cultural Management.

More information: culturalquantum.com.