commerce, conscience, culture, and control – the four dimensions of societal relevance a while back, I came across a tweet by Business Insider about the three key dimensions of society: commerce (as in businesses), conscience (mostly represented by non-profits and charitable organizations), and culture (through arts). I thought one was missing though, so I added […]
Category: culture & diversity
listening to your heart is more scientific than you think
listening to your heart is more scientific than you think science is not static. what we know today may be obsolete tomorrow. our innate curiosity and healthy skeptical side make sure that we, as a species, can build on, question, contest, and eventually change our informational status-quo. improving and evolving are qualities that are deeply […]
don’t be your worst enemy. stop diluting your brand.
don’t be your worst enemy. stop diluting your brand. most psychology experts would probably tell you that you are your worst enemy. that you are the biggest obstacle standing in your own way. knowing yourself usually helps to avoid falling into the easy traps. well, guess what. it’s the same with your brand. knowing yourself […]
defining “culture” with Geert Hofstede
defining “culture” with Geert Hofstede one of the key aspects we focus on at the make sense academy is cross-cultural communication. being expats ourselves and having traveled quite a bit, we’re very well acquainted with those awkward situations where you don’t understand what the f*&# is happening. mostly because your cultural reference is different. sounds […]
are dutch direct?
when it comes to emotions, opinions, preferences and many other things, they are matters of perspective. most of our thoughts are relative to who we are, where we are, where we come from or grew up. and it is by exposing them to different perspectives that we can better understand our own unconscious biases or implicit stereotypes.
those who know nothing of foreign languages, know nothing of their own – J. von Goethe
no language is better than any other. just like no culture is better than the other. they are different, value different things, structure things differently. they all have their own logic and weirdness. and it is by comparing them that those become obvious, and that you can get to better understand your own, and how it impacted who you are and how you think.
capital letters? we choose soft and sweet over loud and obnoxious – any time
in this overwhelming world where everyone seems to be shouting for attention, softer and more intimate can be welcome. no need to shout if you build a message that is actually welcomed or content that actually matters…
we don’t need words as much as we think
we tend to over-index on words. there are more human and universal ways to communicate what we mean, but many marketing professionals tend to overlook them much too often.
how Disney truly understands the difference between translation and localization
there is a big difference between being available in a different language, and having a true and deep meaning for someone who happen to have a different way of expressing themselves and looking at the world.
one. two. many. not three.
I just heard a story about a language that doesn’t actually count any further than two. everything more than two is just “many”.
when you hear why, it actually makes sense.