Did the Pedestrian Die?

The Dilemma

You are a passenger in a car driven by a close friend. He hits a pedestrian. You know he was going at least 35 miles per hour in an area of the city where the maximum speed allowed is 20 miles per hour. There are no witnesses. His lawyer says that if you are prepared to testify under oath that he was only driving at 20 miles per hour it may save him from serious consequences.

What right has your friend to expect you to protect him?

1. My friend has a DEFINITE right to expect me to testify to the lower figure.
   
2. He has SOME right to expect me to testify to the lower figure.
3. He has NO right to expect me to testify to the lower figure.

Fons Trompenaars has put this dilemma to some 70,000 managers in over 65 countries. The responses vary tremendously and will often change when Fons then reveals a further important factor - that the pedestrian is indeed very… dead! But there is one thread that remains common no matter where and to whom Fons is posing this dilemma: regardless of their culture, people would like to help their friends as well as respect the truth and support laws that protect pedestrians. Culture is the way one solves dilemmas. That is, the way one resolves dilemmas is culturally determined.

Did the Pedestrian Die? is an accumulation of a decade of research into cultural diversity across the globe with a wide range of client organizations. Trompenaars and his research team have identified the issues that really make a difference at the level of the individual and the organization as whole. In addition to his well-established cross-cultural database of 70,000 managers from across the world, more recently Trompenaars has interviewed thousands of business leaders and managers to understand the challenges and concerns they face, the tensions between competing priorities, demands and values.

Often humorous, always inspiring, Did the Pedestrian Die? collects the insights of the worlds most sought-after culture guru and shows how they can be put to immediate effect in any organization.

• Chapter 1: Did the pedestrian die?
• Chapter 2: Leadership: Reconciling the dilemmas of today
• Chapter 3: Matching values
• Chapter 4: People
• Chapter 5: Functions
• Chapter 6: Globalization
• Chapter 7: Diversity
• Chapter 8: Corporate identity, culture and change
• Postscript: Dilemmas to be addressed in globalizing organizations

Fascinating reading. A lot of non-scientific attitudes and prejudices is shown to reside in Trompenaars. So much so, that I begin questioning his previous work. Some truths exists in this book, but it is very hard to decipher, as he is too prejudiced and tries to make fun of different people at their own expense (Swiss, French, Germans, Belgians, etc.).

In short, if you miss this book, you may miss some laughs, but you'll save some time by not reading it.