{"id":25504,"date":"2021-01-17T10:26:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-17T14:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=25504"},"modified":"2021-01-30T19:19:54","modified_gmt":"2021-01-30T23:19:54","slug":"the-culture-map","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-culture-map\/","title":{"rendered":"The Culture Map: How to Use This Tool at Work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is the culture map and how does Netflix use it? How can it help you better understand the different cultures of people you work with?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A culture map is a tool that maps out key characteristics of a given culture. Understanding points of overlap and deviation help you communicate better across cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more about the culture map as a tool and how Netflix was able to use it successfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Use the Culture Map<\/strong> Tool<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While Netflix\u2019s international employees generally adjusted well to the company\u2019s culture, some aspects were more difficult than others. For example, the generous <\/em>severance packages that the company gave employees who failed the Keeper Test<\/a> were considered paltry <\/em>in some other countries. To resolve this, Hastings had to make severances larger in those countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hastings wanted to remain vigilant about finding the areas in which Netflix\u2019s corporate culture clashed or aligned with local cultures, so that he could lead his American and foreign employees in being as effective as possible. <\/strong>Hastings found a tool for this task when he read The Culture Map<\/em> by Erin Meyer, who co-authored this book. Meyer had created culture charts that used scales to measure norms for various behaviors, such as communication and decision-making<\/a>. For example, on a scale from \u201cconfrontational\u201d to \u201cavoids confrontation,\u201d Japan ranks as highly conflict-avoidant in the \u201cDisagreeing\u201d category. By comparing the charts of different cultures, Hastings could quickly and easily see the ways in which two cultures were similar as well as different, and that insight could help him develop ways to bridge those differences. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hastings shared the culture maps with his senior vice presidents, and then he asked them to work in small groups to map Netflix\u2019s culture within the same dimensions. Each group\u2019s map differed slightly, but they all showed the same general trends. Hastings aggregated the charts to create one Netflix culture map, and he compared this with the charts for each of the cultures where the company had regional offices (Amsterdam, S\u00e3o Paulo, Singapore, and Tokyo). When Hastings saw the categories in which the culture maps diverged, he recognized that they reflected actual issues and misunderstandings that had arisen. For example, the Netherlands\u2019 culture map ranked the culture\u2019s decision-making closer to the \u201cconsensual\u201d side of the scale than the \u201ctop-down\u201d side, which explained why Netflix\u2019s Dutch employees struggled to adopt the informed captain model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exercise: Have You Had Cross-Cultural Confusion?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reflect on an occasion when you experienced cultural differences<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n