Press Releases
Partnership with Comartis
We are pleased to announce that Richard Lewis Communications (RLC) has formed a partnership with Comartis, a leading provider of assessment and talent development solutions and services designed to align enterprise training with business objectives.
Comartis was established in 1995 and is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland. It also has regional offices in Morocco and the United States, and a wide network of partners and resellers in America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
05/02/2010
Become a Lewis Method Cultural Trainer – a 2.5 day course from 3-5 March 2010
The Lewis Model of Culture – as described in Richard Lewis’s business classics “When Cultures Collide”, “The Cultural Imperative” and “Cross-Cultural Communication: A Visual Approach” – is probably the world’s leading practical approach to improving cultural competence in business.
Dozens of organisations such as Nokia, the World Bank, Michelin, Rolls-Royce, Microsoft, Unilever and the Finnish and Swedish governments have benefited over the past 20 years from training based on Richard Lewis’ theories. Business schools including Duke Fuqua in the USA (whose Corporate Education has been rated No. 1 in the world for the past 6 years by the Financial Times), and the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, have made the model central to various teaching programmes and – in the case of Duke – the basis for all its US government-sponsored cross-cultural research. Wharton and the London School of Business have also used the Lewis Model in their programmes.
Demand to become a certified cross-cultural trainer in the Lewis Method has increased over the past few years. Many people have contacted us to work under licence as cultural trainers, and we have run a number of courses annually, resulting in a licensed partnership for successful participants.
Who is it for?
The training is suitable for:
- Cultural trainers who would like to adopt a more structured approach
- Behavioural skills trainers who wish to add a cultural element to other training – e.g. in presentation, negotiation and leadership
- In-company trainers in organisations who wish to give cross-cultural training to very large numbers
- Business language trainers who want to add more depth to their courses
- HR and training managers who would like a deeper insight into what cross-cultural training is about
What does it involve?
The training begins with lunch on Wednesday 3 March 2010 at Riversdown House (see www.crossculture.com/riversdown) and departure is either on the evening of Friday 5 March or the following morning.
During your stay, you will get:
- An introduction to the Lewis Model, and a typical general workshop as delivered to clients
- An overview of our library of materials, which will be available to you after the training
- Insights into how to apply the Method to your own contexts
- Examples of different types of training – e.g. culture-specific and function-specific
- A demonstration of our CultureActive web tool and how it can be used in training (preceded by the chance to do your own cross-cultural assessment before the course)
- Advice on course design and on exercises for making training interactive
- An overview of promotional material
- The chance to meet individually to discuss a Licensed Partner agreement
- The opportunity to meet and learn from your peers from around the world
What are the benefits?
By the end of the training, you will have all the tools and techniques to be able to run at least a half day general cross-cultural workshop. Your readiness can also be boosted by the opportunity to attend a real upcoming training session by a Richard Lewis Communication trainer, dependent on the client’s permission for the particular session/s convenient for you.
Should you wish to be certified to run longer or more specific workshops there are more advanced programmes that you can attend at a later date.
For participants who sign a Licensed Partner contract, there will be a whole library of training and marketing materials available, live support and the chance to purchase CultureActive licenses for re-sale at a very favourable price.
How much does it cost?
The fee is £685 + VAT per person, including all training, course materials, your CultureActive assessment, books by Richard Lewis, airport transfers (Heathrow, Gatwick, Bournemouth or Southampton), accommodation and meals.
What next?
To book a place and/or receive a more detailed programme, and information about other course dates in 2010, please email us at michael.gates@rlcglobal.com
08/01/2010
Specifique Business Mat™
Richard Lewis Communications has recently begun a partnership with Specifique. One of our clients has already implemented a company-wide cross-cultural training programme based around the Business Mat™.
About Specifique
Specifique creates unique communication and training processes and tools for leading national and international companies worldwide.
They help their clients to reach business objectives by providing a proven process for organisational implementation: they guarantee that people understand and are able to act on strategic direction and their learning objectives. Their primary tool, the interactive Business Mat™, is specifically adapted to a client's individual needs.
The learning theory behind the mats is that people retain 90% of what they learn if they can interact on new information with other people and relate the new knowledge to their current work situation.
What’s the process?
Step 1. Pre-project and decision basis:
Specifique performs an analysis of the specific strategies/training that the client wants to broadcast internally. Based on the analysis and learning objectives, Specifique creates and presents a visualised tailor-made concept and process for the particular change needed.
Step 2. Development and testing:
When the client has made a decision, the design process begins. Specifique consultants work closely together with an internal project group to develop content and sketches. Before final production, the mats are tested on the relevant target group in the client’s organisation to ensure the quality.
Step 3. Train-the-trainer/Train-the-leader:
The trainers or leaders from the organisation are trained to run Business Mat™ sessions within the organisation. A facilitators’ guide is provided to give practical support to trainers and/or leaders.
Step 4. Mobilisation and implementation:
In close cooperation with the client, Specifique designs the implementation process and provides assistance in cascading the events throughout the organisation. An important factor for success is the initial mobilisation to create focus and buy-in from the leaders in the organisation.
Step 5. Follow-up:
Change happens over time and therefore Specifique offers several tools for follow-up most often aligned with the already existing parallel internal processes.
The process itself helps your internal planning team think through complex issues and decide how to convey them in a simple way.
In actual events, your staff works with mats in teams of four. The only limit to the numbers who can take part is the size of the location. The technique is ideally suited to large company events, where you can keep even up to 1000 people engaged and occupied on issues of importance for up to half a day with minimal facilitation. The end result is a series of company-specific action points, which participants commit to.
For cross-cultural initiatives, the Business Mat™ can be used as part of training led by Richard Lewis Communications. For very large programmes, we can also train your internal trainers to facilitate cross-cultural training, which includes use of the mats.
There is no limit to the type of initiative or subject that can be handled. For instance, communicating vital Health and Safety information, helping a merger or acquisition process, or moving from a product-orientated to a solution-orientated organisation. The underlying aim is communication, which results in the actions you wish for.
If you would like to hear more, please contact us at specifique@rlcglobal.com or for more general information visit www.specifique.tv
19/10/2009
Saïd Business School, Oxford
Michael Gates, our Group MD, has been delivering a number of programmes for the Saïd Business School at Oxford University. A recent and fascinating one was a cross-cultural session for the Small Countries Financial Management Programme, aimed at helping tiny economies like the Cook Islands, Samoa, St. Kitts and Nevis, etc., run their financial affairs more effectively and securely, and negotiate more successfully with larger countries. More information here: http://www.gov.im/treasury/scfmc/programme.xml
The main initiative he has been working on, though, is the Oxford Programme on Negotiation (OPN) http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/execed/leadership/negotiation
This is a high-level open executive programme given by some of the world's top negotiation, persuasion and ethics trainers, mainly from Harvard and Oxford. Some years ago a little-known gentleman called Barack Obama attended the sessions on persuasion which one of the OPN trainers, Professor Gary Orren, has now brought from Harvard to Oxford!
If you are interested in seeing how a customised in-house version of OPN could work for your organisation, write to michael.gates@rlcglobal.com
28/09/2009
Richard D. Lewis awarded second honour from Finnish Government
On 16 June 2009, Finnish Ambassador to London, Jaako Laajava, presented Richard D. Lewis with the Insignia of Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland, in recognition of the significant contribution he has made to furthering the understanding of Finland.
Throughout his long career as a linguist and cross-culturalist, Finland has been a special focus for Mr Lewis, who has also written two books about the country: Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf (2007) and Finland: Europe’s Hero Nation (1997).
During the Finnish EU Presidency, he provided cultural training and advice to all Finnish Ministries and the Prime Minister’s Office. Mr Lewis’ connection with Finland remains strong and he is currently chair of the Finnish English Speaking Union, which he helped to re-establish in 2008.
In 1997, he was awarded the Insignia of the Knight of the Order of the Lion of Finland.
17/06/2009
AJAN Consulting
Richard Lewis Communications is pleased to announce a partnership with Helsinki-based training and consultancy organisation, AJAN Consulting. This new venture offers a dynamic range of services to its clients, combining Richard Lewis Communications’ expertise in language and cross-cultural training with AJAN Consulting’s focus on customer service and personal development.
With extensive experience in customer service management, AJAN Consulting delivers targeted, practical, interactive training and coaching to help organisations focus more effectively on making a difference to their clients.
Customer service skills training covers the basics of customer service from rapport building, listening skills, and dealing with demanding clients to more advanced techniques for influencing your customer relationship through language.
The AJAN coaching and training model draws on accredited skills in Executive Coaching, Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Psychometric behavioural profiling.
14/05/2009
IMEX exhibition in Frankfurt
Richard Lewis Communications will be exhibiting at the IMEX exhibition in Frankfurt (Frankfurt Messe), 26-28 May 2009. IMEX is the major European exhibition for the meetings and incentive travel industry, attracting some 9,000 visitors in 2008. You are cordially invited to visit us on stand D755.
We have a close training partnership with both IMEX and Meeting Professionals International (MPI). These partners recognise that developing cultural competence is vital in this most international of industries.
As well as having a stand at the exhibition, our Group Managing Director, Michael Gates, will deliver a presentation on "Cultural Issues in the Meetings Industry" on 26 May 2009.
28/04/2009
Alphe Brazil
From 18-20 March 2009, Richard Lewis Communications took part in Alphe's international conference for educators and agents in São Paulo. David Lewis, Director of Riversdown House, and Michael Gates, Group Managing Director, met over 40 agents from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay and Peru. If you are involved in business in this region and would like to find out about how Richard Lewis Communications can support you, please get in touch with either David (david.lewis@rlcglobal.com) or Michael (michael.gates@rlcglobal.com).
08/04/2009
Riversdown Tournaments 2009
Our annual golf and tennis tournaments will be held on the following dates this year:
- Golf: Friday 31 July 2009
- Tennis Singles: Saturday 1 August 2009
- Tennis Doubles: Sunday 2 August 2009
Location: Riversdown House in England. See www.crossculture.com/riversdown
If you would like to take part, please contact David Lewis by email david.lewis@rlcglobal.com
01/04/2009
The Possessive Apostrophe
Official changes in the way a language is written always cause hot debate. Just remember the German spelling reform of 1996. Now Birmingham City Council in the UK is suddenly in the spotlight regarding its decision to do away with the possessive apostrophe. Read Richard D. Lewis' reply to this linguistic conundrum.
24/02/2009
FILM ARC Initiative
Richard Lewis Communications held a workshop in January 2009 for FILM ARC - an interregional film initiative set up by four regional film funds in the Nordic Region. The audiovisual sector includes filmmakers and film and documentary producers. Representatives from 40 companies from the Film Arc region took part in order to gain inspiration and knowledge. The event was held during the prestigious Tromsö Film Festival in Norway. For more information see www.cineregio.org/working_groups/film_arc
15/02/2009
Martin Králik
Czechoslovakian-born, multicultural, globe-trotting polyglot, Martin Králik, has joined our blogging team of Richard D. Lewis, Michael Gates, and Jacques Méon. Read Martin's blog published today entitled "Culture and the Failures of our Time", asking the question as to whether our seemingly better understanding of cultural issues is having a positive impact on global events.
09/02/2009
ICEF Dubai
From 1-3 February 2009, Richard Lewis Communications took part in ICEF's international conference for educators and agents in Dubai. David Lewis, Director of Riversdown House, and Patrick Dudley, Global Business Development Manager, met over 50 agents from the Middle East, Africa and Turkey. If you are involved in business in this region and would like to find out about how Richard Lewis Communications can support you, please get in touch with either David (david.lewis@rlcglobal.com) or Patrick (patrick.dudley@rlcglobal.com).
06/02/2009
Collaboration with GGallery
Richard Lewis Communications is pleased to announce a partnership with GGallery, a leading multimedia training specialist in Italy. Our first area of collaboration is in the field of Web TV and is called englishLIVE. Further details and an introduction can be found at www.englishlive.tv. If you have any questions, please contact Daniele Canepa at daniele@ggallery.it
20/01/2009
Culture and the Credit Crunch
In Richard D. Lewis’ book, The Cultural Imperative (2003), he posited that economic determinism was perhaps not as an effective predictor of global trends as culture. Read Michael's Gates' blog about whether this still holds true in our new credit-crunched world.
09/01/2009
British Council Accreditation for Riversdown House
In December 2008, the English language training services at Riversdown House in England were officially accredited by the British Council.
This means Riversdown House's standards of training, management, resources, premises, and welfare have all been independently assessed and shown to meet the very strict criteria stipulated by the British Council.
To enquire about training programmes at Riversdown House, please contact David Lewis: david.lewis@rlcglobal.com, tel. +44 1962 77 11 11.
19/12/2008
Georgian on their mind
During the recent conflict between Russia and Georgia, few commentators have highlighted the linguistic angle. Read Richard D. Lewis' blog illustrating how language can often be stronger than guns. Click here for the full article.
08/12/2008
English-Speaking Union of Finland
The next meeting of the English-Speaking Union of Finland will take place on 9 December 2008, starting at 6:00 p.m. at the Hanken School of Economics. The speaker is Professor Roger Ainsworth, Master of St. Catherine's College and Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. He will be talking about Oxford and the current challenges for universities in general. There will be canapés and cocktails during the evening. The inaugural event in September was a great success with around 100 attendees. For further information about this event and about membership, contact us at info@esu-finland.org
11/11/2008
Association of Film Commissioners International
Richard D. Lewis will be speaking at the Association of Film Commissioners International's annual 'Cineposium' to be held in Wellington, New Zealand, from 19-23 November 2008. His session entitled 'When Cultures Collide' is introduced as follows: Cultural understanding is vital when hosting foreign production groups, and film offices need to know what cultural behaviors to expect. This session will teach you how best to prepare, plan, react and respond to a growing global clientele, with tips and guidelines for doing business with international productions. See www.afci.org/events/cine_program.htm
02/11/2008
Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA
EVA is a policy and pro-market think-tank financed by the Finnish business community. On 28-29 August 2008, our Group Managing Director, Michael Gates, took part in a 2-day seminar at EVA and discussed, among things, how brain drain could be transformed into brain gain. Mr Jorma Ollila, Chairman of EVA and Nokia, and Secretary of State Mikko Alkio (Ministry of Employment and the Economy) also took part in the event. See http://www.eva.fi/eng/index.php?m=2
15/09/2008
The English-Speaking Union of Finland
The English-Speaking Union of Finland is starting up again on 30 September 2008, with an event at the British Embassy in Helsinki. Richard D. Lewis and Ulla Ladau-Harjulin from Helsinki School of Economics (HANKEN) are joint chairmen. The first speaker will be Sir Eldon Griffiths, National Patron of the World Affairs Councils of America, and former government minister in the UK. For more information, please download the PDF here (120k).
25/08/2008
How to... Implement Language Training
Read Richard D. Lewis' article in People Management on how to implement language training in the work place. You might not believe it, but the British should be excellent linguists! Click here for the full article.
29/07/2008
Denmark
Richard Lewis Communications is pleased to announce it has formed a new partnership with Mette Rousøe in order to develop its business in Denmark.
We currently are proud to work with some Danish companies, such as Vestas and Jysk, and are looking to build on our successes to create a significant presence in Denmark.
Mette is a cross-cultural expert in her own right, currently living in the UK having just finished postgraduate studies in Communication and Language skills at Portsmouth University to complement a previous MA in English and Design in Denmark. Before moving to the UK, Mette worked six years for the Danish Design Centre within their business development section.
Mette sees the fit between the Lewis Model of cross-cultural interaction and her own experience and believes the Danish market – being such an international crossroads of business – could benefit from the cross-cultural training, workshops and seminars that we currently offer.
30/06/2008
Stiff Upper Lip
The British are famous for their 'stiff upper lip' - but do they still have one? Read Michael Gates' commentary on Andrew O'Hagan's article in The Telegraph. Find out whether the British are finally starting to show a few emotions. Click here for the blog article.
03/06/2008
Cross-Culture according to The Lewis Model
The Lewis Model has been receiving attention in a number of business and academic books recently, as well as in magazines. There are chapters including it in three books out in the near future:
- A chapter in a book published by the Icfai University press, India, due out in July 2008, entitled "Communicating for Diversity";
- A chapter in a business guide published by Børsen, the main Danish financial newspaper, entitled "Communicating Successfully Across Cultures in Times of Change" (this article is in Danish);
- A chapter in a book due out late 2008 or early 2009 in the USA, entitled "Beyond Hofstede: Cultural Frameworks for Global Marketing and Management". This latter draws on our work with Duke Fuqua Business School.
The Lewis Model will also feature in a panel due to be presented by Richard D. Lewis in association with the World Bank and Duke Fuqua at the 8th International Conference on Knowledge, Culture and Management from 5-8 August 2008 at Cambridge University. The presentation will use the World Bank as a case-study, showing how the Lewis Model has been integrated into all behavioural training at the bank, with measurably successful results.
15/05/2008
Riversdown House Tennis & Golf Tournaments
Our annual tournaments for alumni of Riversdown House will be held on the following days this year:
• Golf Tournament: Friday 25 July 2008
• Tennis Tournament (Singles): Saturday 26 July 2008
• Tennis Tournament (Doubles): Sunday 27 July 2008
If you would like to play in any of the tournaments, please get in touch with David Lewis by email david.lewis@rlcglobal.com
08/05/2008
Nestlé and Azerbaijan
Michael Gates has today written an article in the Richard Lewis Communications blog about Nestlé's unfortunate cross-cultural incident in Azerbaijan, recently reported by the BBC. Click here to read the article
06/05/2008
The Decline and Fall of the Pax Americana
Read Richard D. Lewis' latest blog about the fate of the USA. Will the American Dream come to a rapid end in the face of Chinese and Indian competition? Find out whose culture is strongest! Click here to go to the blog.
13/04/2008
The Lewis Model of Cultural Analysis
Are you a trainer who wishes to include cross-culture in your services to clients? Why not take part in a "Train the Trainer" session at Riversdown House (last programme took place on 19-20 May 2008). If you are interested in joining future sessions, please contact Jacques Meon, Head of Licensed Partner Programmes, at partners@crossculture.com.
12/04/2008
President Nicolas Sarkozy's State Visit to England
President Sarkozy is finding it hard to stay out of the news these days and his recent visit to England was no exception. But who was cross-culturally more adept? The President himself or his glamorous wife, Carla Bruni? Read Jacques Meon's blog to find out more.
02/04/2008
Blog
Today we launched our blog at blog.crossculture.com. Our cross-cultural consultants, headed by Richard D. Lewis, will post thoughts and observations on current affairs and everyday events. You can automatically receive an email every time a new post is made by clicking on the link "Subscribe to Cross-Culture by Email" on the main blog page.
17/03/2008
Vestas and CultureActive
Richard Lewis Communications recently launched its CultureActive Personal and Cultural Profiling tool at Vestas Wind Systems A/S in Denmark for the use of all staff. With a 28 per cent market share, and 33,500 wind turbines installed, Vestas is the world's leading supplier of wind power solutions. Regarding the cooperation, Susanne Filipsen, Global Mobility Manager at Vestas, says: "As Vestas continues its international growth, it is important for us to get our messages across cultures both externally and internally. We believe that CultureActive will help us to communicate better across cultures for more effective business."
18/02/2008
Licensed Cross-Culture Partners
The 6th "Train the Trainer" session for consultants wishing to incorporate the Lewis Model into their cross-cultural modules took place at Riversdown House on 21-22 February 2008. The training was run by Jacques Meon, Head of Licensed Partner Programmes. If you are interested in joining future sessions, please email us at partners@crossculture.com.
02/02/2008
Cross-Cultural Communication: A Visual Approach
The second, expanded edition of Richard D. Lewis' popular visual guide to cross-culture has just been published. It now contains over 360 diagrams and covers more than 70 cultures. Click here for further details of this and other books by Richard D. Lewis.
15/01/2008
The Diplomat
We were featured for the first time in The Diplomat magazine with a general article about culture. The Diplomat is the oldest magazine for diplomats in the world and for the past 60 years has provided essential reading for the diplomatic community in London, covering foreign affairs, interviews with ambassadors and London lifestyle. The article will be followed by a regular "Final Thought" feature on the last page of the magazine, called "The Cultural Commandments" and giving 10 essential rules for understanding and dealing with a different world culture each month.
01/12/2007
Cross-cultural Advice in the Telegraph
Following on from our article about becoming a culturally-competent Expat last August, The Telegraph newspaper has published an article by Richard D. Lewis on "Anglo-Saxons – World’s Worst or Best Linguists?" Telegraph Expat readers get continuous advice on dealing with other cultures through our permanent mini-National Cultural Profile resource at their website.
20/11/2007
Oredev Software Developer Conference
Michael Gates spoke at the Oredev annual conference for software developers in Malmö. Many participants are from the local area, but there are also plenty from abroad, and the speakers are from every corner of the globe. The majority of the conference is technical, but there were also presentations and workshops on future trends of a more general nature, and on the topic of skills development. Michael’s main session was on the importance of global relationship skills for your business, as a software developer. You can read a pre-conference interview with him here, and in the first quarter of 2008 a full video of his session will be posted at the conference site.
13/11/2007
Swedish Lapland Conference
Richard D. Lewis spoke on 25 October 2007 to the Swedish Lapland conference in Northern Sweden. The theme was how to deal with the different cultures who send tourists and people having corporate events to a part of the world that is becoming increasingly of interest as a destination.
25/10/2007
Keeping fit at Riversdown House
If you are coming for intellectual training at Riversdown House, you will have no excuses for not keeping physically fit as well – despite the great meals! We have just opened a new gym comprising treadmill, elliptical cross-trainer, static bike, step machine, rowing machine, multi-gym, weights centre, pilates ball, and more. Don’t forget, also, our superb new astro-turf tennis courts, if you have not yet had chance to try them out.
19/10/2007
Cross-border Mergers & Acquisitions
Richard D. Lewis and Jeff Russell of Duke Fuqua Business School, our academic partner in the USA, were published in the popular Troubleshooter column in People Management, the UK-based magazine of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), on the topic of cross-border mergers and acquisitions.
18/10/2007
Speaking at PROCOM
Michael Gates, Group Managing Director, Richard Lewis Communications, was a guest speaker at PROCOM in Oulu. PROCOM is the association of Professional Communicators in Finland. Finnish speakers can find information here.
20/09/2007
"Cultures of the World" Map
Richard Lewis Communications’ long-awaited "Cultures of the World Map" has been officially released. The map is based on the Lewis Model of Culture, and is colour coded to illustrate clearly some key behavioural differences between world cultures, with blue for predominantly linear-active cultures, red for mainly multi-active cultures and yellow for reactive ones. Many cultures are a mixture, and you also get differences within countries. The map has the World on one side, and Europe on the other. If you are interested in ordering a copy, please contact us.
08/09/2007
Become a Lewis Method Cultural Trainer – a 2.5 day course from 3-5 March 2010
The Lewis Model of Culture – as described in Richard Lewis’s business classics “When Cultures Collide”, “The Cultural...
08/01/2010
Specifique Business Mat™
Richard Lewis Communications has recently begun a partnership with Specifique. One of our clients has already implemented a company-wide cross-cultural training programme based around the Business...
19/10/2009
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai, Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1949 until his death in January 1976, was once asked for his...
Strc prst skrz krk
A sentence in Czech containing no vowels.
Free Trial
CultureActive is an award-winning site providing valuable online resources for International Business Managers. If you would like to try out CultureActive, click here for a multimedia introduction and the opportunity to register for a trial account.
Search this site:
)){kind=link}
)){kind=link}
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Stay up-to-date with trends in international communication. Subscribe »
