Culture Hacks: Deciphering Differences in American, Chinese, and Japanese Thinking

Having spent some extended time in both China and Japan, I used to take downtime and weekends to deep dive into what the heck is it that makes these cultures so distinctly 'other' than each other and incomprehensibly different than American physicist business guy. The author has spent most of his life living and thinking on the matter. His lifetime observations add to my own vignettes are kind of breakthrough "Aha!" moment.Most striking for me was Conrad's cumulative grasp of the core differences. The author delivers striking background and precise metaphors.I agree that it's a matter of belief systems surrounding time. We are steeped in Western tradition that 'Infinity' linear, it started, it is now, and progresses toward an incomprehensible big number. The West is saturated with cultural anchors of unique past, present, and TBD future toward the end of days. There is no similar word expression in the Eastern languages to convey a concept of linear time. Western mores, concepts of good vs evil are an ancestral inheritance inherited from the past. The Bible studied might consider that only things where that we didn't inherit divine guidance relate to electrodynamics, the Standard Model implications, and bio-engineering. 3000 years ago, these would have no meaning to record. Xtianity, Islam, most Western paganism include and end of days. The West inherits fixed and unchanging Truths.Time is circular in the East. Buddhism, Shintoism, most Confucianism, Daoism, operate at the moment. But, that's too simplistic for the Western mind in commerce. Linear time has no philosophical meaning in Eastern culture. Time never began. Never ends. Time repeats in a circle. All that is, was. Truth is relative and relative to the circular nature of time. The implications, as Conrad elucidates are profound. Relative 'Truth' worldview changes perceptions of everything and permeates life. An Eastern "Yes" is not what Westerns understand.Japan and China are wholly different cultures with dramatically different mindsets. The author explores the matter in stunning vignettes and detail.This is the very best primer and intro to what to expect in dealing with the two countries that I've chanced to read. Here are some critical hacks to get beyond the very real and literally inexpressible cultural tight spots. It's a book to read ... and then re-read chapter by chapter. I took my time reading and time to reflect and absorb the material.Hacks has been the most mentally stimulating read of the year.

Seriously well written and very insightful. I enjoyed what I read and learned more then I thought I would. Extremely useful

The author makes some very good points in distinguishing the varying mind sets or thinking inherent in contrasting cultures. His charts and examples do help the unanointed in the field to get a better appreciation of differences. It is interesting in that he avoids the traditional academic research literature which has been widely utilized in educational institutions as well as continuing corporate consulting seminars on the subject.The exhaustive inspectional work of Geert Hofstede, Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner Hans as originally begun by Kroeber and Kluckhohn at Harvard back in 1952 to understand and appreciate diversity in global business situations does not appear in the book, Their building of a cultural dimensional framework based on a collection of inspectional criteria is still the Rosetta stone of inspectional determination that afterwards resulted in country clustering of shared cultural behaviors. Also absent are the classic charts like the cultural iceberg noting the easily seen physical or material characteristics and the below the surface hidden aspects of culture, masked identities.Still Conrad does do a much-needed service in this important field in deciphering differences in American, Chinese and Japanese thinking patterns that will be most helpful in forging the chasm that separates people. In today’s economically integrated world as well as the political splintering both theoretical and actual that too often results in armed conflict finding methods to breach our divides and come together on common human and environmental interests using any approach is a welcomed initiative.My years as an international business executive coupled with my tenure as a professor of global commerce and authorship of books and articles on cross-cultural issues can only applaud books of this type. Any work that adds to the subject and provides an additional valuable framework for navigating the differences in cultural mind sets is appreciated. Qualifying diverging cultures using terms like linear, literal, intuitive and applying abstract and balanced to them is a nice approach.However, I would offer a slight criticism of the book. My own practical experience has taught me that instead of focusing on differences one might begin building on what we all share (sub-title of my book on the Essential Concepts of Cross-Cultural Management, 2012, Business Expert Press). We are all human beings, with much more in common then we think. We share universal desires and hence values that can be used to construct bridges of uniformity and close the cultural gaps that tends to separate us and mistrust others.As renowned cross-social explorer Hofstede once remarked, culture is the software of the mind, the program that the brain runs on. Any key to understanding it, unlocking its unique determinants allows all of us to live in peace and harmony.

A great read! I have learnt so much about the different ways of thinking between Americans, Chinese and Japanese. Cultural context is very important when working internationally. This book has provided me with much useful information about Chinese and Japanese. I always thought that the way forward was “my way or your way”. This book has opened my way of thinking.

In summary, I enjoyed this book because it talked about the good, bad and ugly things about Chinese and Japanese cultures as well as living in Japan and China as an America.I'm an American who has spent the past 30 years of my life living and working in Madrid (Spain) so I appreciate a person who does not just paint rosy pictures of places: NO place is without its drawbacks.The aspects that I liked least of the book was that it did get pretty redundant at times and the author talks from a business man's viewpoint which makes him emphasize the cultural aspects of business people/families more than the average Joe Blow. I work as a basic level public employee in a small mountain town outside Madrid so most of my contact is with common folk: business meeting politics do not interest me.Anyway I thank the author for clearing up a bit the Chinese and Japanese mentalities. As a college student in California I lived and socialized with a number of Chinese guys and Japanese girls.To end on an interesting note...I discovered that the author has been living and working for quite a while in Hong Kong. It seems he concludes that neither "pure" China, nor Japan, are for him (nor his Japanese wife).

This book is well written and based on long personal experience of living and working as American in Japan and China. While at times a bit repetitive and rigid in terms of using theoretical constructions to explain the behaviour of the Japanese and Chinese people, the concrete examples given are very enlightening and useful.

This book was very insightful and complexed at times but was structured so well it made the complexities more simple to grasp! Thank you for sharing your wisdoms🙏🎁💗