Working With Us

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Did you enjoy the episode? If yes, please consider buying me a virtual cup of coffee ☕️ Click here: Buy me a coffee!  See the interview on Youtube ► Support the podcast on Patreon: → https://www.patreon.com/paularnesen You will get a guide for every episode and can watch the entire interview without any ads!

Did you enjoy the episode? If yes, please consider buying me a virtual cup of coffee ☕️ Click here: Buy me a coffee!  See the interview on Youtube

Watch this Episode on Youtube Episode Description Welcome to another enlightening episode of the Working With Us podcast! This time, we're heading to Sweden with intercultural expert Christina Rundcrantz. We'll delve into the fascinating world of Swedish work culture, discussing everything from the balanced concept of 'Lagom' to the influence of the Law of Jante. Whether you're eyeing business ventures in Sweden or are just intrigued by its unique work environment, this episode is a must-listen. So, join us as we navigate through the world's diverse work cultures.

Watch this Episode on Youtube Episode Description Welcome to another compelling episode of the Working With Us podcast. Today, we journey to Taiwan with global HR solutions consultant and intercultural trainer Sunny Foehr-Huang. Together, we'll unravel the intricacies of Taiwanese work culture, exploring everything from the vital concept of 'Guanxi' to the enduring influence of Confucian values. Whether you're considering business opportunities in Taiwan or are simply fascinated by its unique work environment, this episode promises to be an eye-opener. Join us as we continue our voyage through the world's diverse work cultures.

Watch this Episode on Youtube Episode description Welcome to the sixth episode of the Working With Us podcast. Join me and Danish culture expert Annette Dahl as we delve into the realities of working with the Danish. In this enlightening conversation, we explore Denmark's unique work environment, from its emphasis on work-life balance to the concept of "hygge" in the workplace. Whether you're planning a business venture in Denmark or simply intrigued by its professional culture, tune in as we unravel the nuances of the Danish work-life. Dive in with us as we continue our global expedition through the world's diverse work cultures.

Watch this Episode on Youtube Episode description Welcome to the fifth episode of the Working With Us podcast. Join host Paul Arnesen and Dutch culture expert Coco Hofs as we delve into the realities of working with the Dutch. In this engaging dialogue, we unpack the Netherlands' unique professional landscape, exploring its direct communication style and balanced work-life culture. Whether you're preparing for a Dutch business venture or simply curious, tune in as we decode the intricacies of the Dutch workspace. Dive in with us as we journey through the globe's diverse work cultures.  About the Guest Coco is Dutch and has lived outside of The Netherlands since 2016. She lives in Peru and runs her own business, ‘Cross-cultural Solutions'. With Cross-Cultural Solutions, she helps organizations overcome cultural differences in the international workplace. She helps professionals operating in a global economy understand our cultural background's impact when doing business internationally and across cultures. In her opinion, organizations tend to forget that cultural differences significantly impact how smoothly the business goes and how well teams of different cultural backgrounds work together. Coco comes from a corporate background, where she worked in an executive management role for the H&M Group for over 10 years. She has lived and worked in The Netherlands, Singapore, Japan and Chile. When she worked in Japan, she realized that managing cultural differences in the international workplace took a lot of time and energy. Time and Energy that, according to her, could have been dedicated to bringing business results to the company. It became clear to her that when those differences are not managed well, we leaders miss out on important queues and cannot influence others in a way that brings the best for all. She is a cross-cultural trainer, executive coach, keynote speaker and works with companies from all over the world, including companies from The Netherlands. Find her website  Follow her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coco-hofs/

Watch this episode on Youtube Episode description What is the first thing that comes to mind when discussing Japanese work culture? It is respect, hard work, lifetime employment, and technology savvy for me. Every book I have read about cross-cultural communication and management has had a chapter on Japan. In my conversation with native Japanese Natsuyo Lipschutz, she explains the Japanese culture and how it is to work or manage someone from Japan. It is a fascinating conversation about one of the most exciting cultures to study workplace dynamics. About the guest Natsuyo Nobumoto Lipschutz is a cultural diversity and cross-cultural communications strategist She is a Japanese-English bilingual keynote speaker, and she works with global organizations that want to improve cultural diversity and have their leaders communicate effectively beyond differences. TEDx speaker, 5-time Toastmasters international speech contest champion, US-Asia business strategy consultant, and World Class SpeakingⓇ public speaking coach, Natsuyo Lipschutz shares compelling stories behind her cross-cultural communication strategies in her signature keynote. Natsuyo is also the bestselling author of The Success Blueprint, which she co‐wrote with world‐renowned business speaker, Brian Tracy. She is also the author of 20Ji Ni Sogiotose (“Say It in 20 Words”) in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, as well as Story Ni Otoshikome (“Motivate with Your Own Story”) in Japanese. 20Ji Ni Sogiotose was awarded “the top 10 business books of the year” in 2021. ‍ Natsuyo began her career at a top Japanese trading company, ITOCHU International in New York. Natsuyo then received her MBA from New York University and held a management consultant position at McKinsey & Company. Today, Natsuyo is the managing principal of her strategy consulting firm, ASPIRE Intelligence, as well as an executive consultant for Breakthrough Speaking, a global public speaking consultancy. She also serves as the first Asian board of director at the National Speakers Association New York City chapter. Outside of work, Natsuyo is a competitive ballroom Latin dance national finalist, a proud mother of a pre-teen daughter who's a model and competitive figure skater, and a breast cancer survivor.

Watch this episode on Youtube Episode description What do Mercedes, BMW and Audi all have in common? First, they are considered solid cars, but second, they are all German. Are this German quality and engineering prowess true to a German in the workplace?  ‍In this episode about working with Germans, I spoke to the CEO of Crossculture Academy and native German, Steffen Henkel, about the work culture among Germans. He gave me some precious insights about how the German workplace mentality brings forward the value of having someone from Germany on your team. About the guest Steffen Henkel is an intercultural coach, facilitator and entrepreneur with strong expertise and experience working with companies worldwide, especially from the US. He is a native German and lives in Germany as we speak. He is the CEO of Crossculture Academy. Their impressive client list includes companies such as Audi, Recaro Carl Zeiss, Robert Bosch, Accenture, GlaxoSmithKline and many more. Steffens professional experience includes: Project Manager at the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations, responsible for the intercultural management and training program Management of a global pool of trainers, including the development of a tool for high-quality trainer selection Founder and Managing Partner of compass international gmbh. relocation, training, consulting (2002 – 2009) Founder and Managing Partner of change.project gmbh; Development of the intercultural online portal www.crossculture-academy.com COO of Globiana, Inc. and Global Mobility Online Platform to support international assignees and their family members Researcher at the Bavarian Research Cooperation FORAREA on "Risks and opportunities of intercultural business collaborations of German SMEs in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia"  Long-standing board member of the Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research SIETAR Germany e. V. Lecturer at various universities, e. g. Heilbronn University of applied sciences and the European Business School, Wiesbaden, Germany Research visits and study tours in the Middle East and Southeast Asia In 2005, member of the Round Table of Stiftung Warentest Test for intercultural training providers, Berlin, Germany ‍ If you want to connect with Steffen and read more about his work and company, please look him up on LinkedIn or visit his website crossculture-academy.com

Watch this episode on Youtube Episode description What is the first thing that comes to mind when discussing Italy? Amazing food, art, culture, fast cars, the pope, Romans, and so much more. Italy is a country with an impressive history, and this has made its people very unique. You might know some second-generation Italians, but do you know the real native Italian? In this podcast episode, I speak with native Italian intercultural trainer and consultant Maura di Mauro about working with Italians. We dive deeper into the Italian culture and mentality and what makes hiring, working with or having Italians in your remote team can bring value to your business or your workday. About the guest Maura di Mauro is a passionate Intercultural, Diversity & Inclusion and Sustainability Trainer and Consultant. She is a GDEIB Assessor and Practitioner and one of the Intercultural Cities Network's expert consultants.  She is a lecturer of Intercultural Management at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and several other universities, with Bachelor, Master and PhD courses.  She is involved in international research activity on topics of her interests; and in teachers' intercultural training programs for embracing intercultural educational practices and for the internationalisation of higher education.  She enjoys working in international and multicultural environments, supporting people and organisations to develop their intercultural and global sustainable leadership skills, and co-design customised DEI Strategies to create visible changes. She also enjoys putting her creativity into developing customised training programs, together with didactical activities and tools, such as games, videos, and MOOCs.  She loves today's possibility of working hybrid; however, she still believes in the power of experiential in-person training groups activity, where "real" intercultural encounters can take place.  She is the co-author of the book "Feeling Italian" and co-leader of the project with the same title. The book was written based on an international photo contest about what it means to feel like Italians today in a global world; based on the book, training programs aimed at developing intercultural and global skills were further developed, together with the didact video "Feeling Italian. Citizens in a multicultural society". She deeply believes that a strong theoretical framework, research and a continuous learning approach can make a difference in the field. This is one of the reasons why she wrote several publications between books, articles, research reports and training toolkits on intercultural training and diversity and inclusion.  She uses Italian, English and Spanish as working languages. Nowadays, she lives in Milan, Italy, the city she considers an international hub. For educational and work reasons, she has lived in the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, Malta, Kuwait, USA. Find Maura on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Watch this episode on YouTube Episode description If you know someone who likes to complain about everything, tell them to try working with Norwegians. Norwegians are generally perceived as highly tolerant, and you won't often hear them complain.  "Bad weather, you say? Just put on more clothes. Too much snow? Just put on your skis." In this first episode of the Working With Us podcast, you will learn about how it really is to work with those from Norway.  2 Norwegians, your host Paul Arnesen, global recruiter, and Intercultural trainer Karin Ellis has a light and non-technical conversation about how it is to work with them and the people from their culture.  About the guest Karin is the founder and CEO of the Norwegian intercultural educational company Ellis Culture. ellisculture.com. She is an educated IT engineer with more than 30 years of professional experience working for some of Norway's most significant international companies. She was born and raised in Norway and has been a leader for multicultural teams in Norway and globally in countries such as Ukraine, India, England, Malaysia and Tanzania.‍ As a result, she has developed a unique understanding of what it means to work with Norwegians. Since 2008 she has been an educator and cultural trainer for companies and job seekers worldwide looking to learn more about work and life in Norway.‍ The courses she has developed on work in Norway have been attended by several thousand people and are very popular at Norwegian universities. In addition, her books about working with Norwegians and applying for jobs in Norway, which you can find on ellisculture.com or on Amazon, have been translated into several languages and is an excellent guide to "the Norwegian" in the workplace. She has also developed e-learning courses "Working with Norwegians" and "Applying for jobs in Norway", which can be found on ellisculture.com. In addition to being the CEO of Ellis Culture, Karin Ellis has been the Honorary Consul of Estonia in Bergen since 2014. Find Karin on Facebook and LinkedIn by looking for Ellis Culture or visiting her website.