© dominion. All rights reserved. developed by :: Fomax Tech ::                   Michael Gates             Michael Gates was a Scholar of St. Catherine’s College Oxford, where he gained an M.A. in English Language and Literature. He worked for five years in radio before helping establish the Finnish office of Richard Lewis Communications. The company provides cross-cultural and communication skills training world-wide. He is now Group Managing Director for Richard Lewis Communications, but also takes an active role as a speaker and trainer. His clients include Nokia, Ericsson, Microsoft, Rolls-Royce, Accenture, Bearing Point, Boston Consulting, The World Bank, Vestas and the Central Eurasian Leadership Alliance, to name just a few. He has published numerous articles and chapters in books on cross-culture in The Weekly Telegraph, The HR Director and People Management. Program Outline In business people with different values, beliefs and patterns of behaviour are increasingly being thrown together. Entering into diverse mind-sets and being able to adapt their own behaviour accordingly is a skill that 21st century leaders will benefit from immensely. It is the key to leading teams and collaboration. It is essential for global customer intimacy. No matter how logical the strategy and how rational the processes, humans more often than not will fly in the face of reason. No more so than in times of change and stress. What may be commonsense in India, may not be commonsense at all in New York and vice versa. Communication, leadership, decision-making, ethics, and the way language is used to manage and motivate people – these are all culturally-determined. Most important of all, what makes us trust other people – the glue without which no group of people can function as effectively as they might – varies considerably across the globe. This program aims to raise awareness of the importance of cross-cultural competence and also introduces the CXO’s to a systematic approach and tools. The focus is on managing cultural interaction as a business process as it is too important to leave it to chance.   back to thought leaders