CQ

I was reading an article in the Harvard Business Review last night after class and found it quite interesting. I thought I would share a bit of it with you. What the backside is CQ? Well since you asked and I'm generous with my ever widing knowledge base I will provide insight into this topic. CQ is ........wait for it............Cultural Intelligence. There I said it. Cultural Intelligence is essentially an individual's seemingly natural ability to intepret someone's unfamiliar and ambiguous gestures in just the way that person's compartriots and colleagues would (according to the article) and even mirror them. We live in a society where we are now constantly interfacing with other cultures. We are here chatting online with people from other countries, from other backgrounds and essentially from other cultures. It is no longer isolated to persons who do business abroad. We here in this circle of bloggers require a certain amount of CQ. According to the article, CQ is related to emotional intelligence but picks up where emotional intelligence leaves off. In it's opening paragraph the writer refers to a poster advertising the global bank HSBC. It shows a grasshopper and the message: "USA - Pest, China - Pet, Nothern Thailand - Appetizer". This one seemingly insignificant insect has three different meanings to three different sets of people, totally unrelated except for their interest in the grasshopper. CQ is essential in today's business environment. A Western businessman meeting with a Japanese investor stands to greet his guest and extends his hand. The Japanese man bows turns and walks away simply because a meeting in the US is opened with a handshake. In Japan the handshake comes at the end of the meeting to seal the agreement. By extending his hand to the Japanese the US businessman has indicated an end to the meeting. By having a high CQ the US businessman would have observed that the Japanese man did not approach with an extended hand and would probably have realized that this was not a part of their culture. One critical element of CQ is the propensity to suspend judgement. Instead we are required to observe current action and predict future action by observing interaction. CQ requires input from 3 sources: head, body and heart. Learning , doing and feeling. The Review puts forward a 6 step process for cultivating your CQ. This process involves identifying strengths and weaknesses, selecting appropriate training, apply training, reorganizes personal resources to support the desired approach, enters the cultural setting that needs to be mastered and finally reevaluate your progress. (Source: HBR October 2004.Article entitled "Cultural Intelligence" by P.Christopher Earley and Elaine Mosakowki) Examine your own CQ. Is it high or low. Later guys.