Richard D. Lewis

Richard D. Lewis
Richard D. Lewis
Born	July 13, 1930 Billinge, Lancashire, United Kingdom
Residence	Warnford, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Occupation	Chairman, Richard Lewis Communications Ltd

Richard Donald Lewis (born 1930) is a British polyglot, cross-cultural communication consultant, and author. He claims to speak 11 languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Japanese). Some would argue he speaks only 7, as Norwegian, Swedish and Danish have mutual similarities.

Early life

Richard Donald Lewis was born in Billinge, Lancashire on 13 July 1930. He is descended from a long line of coal miners, originally from Mold, North Wales.^[1]

After completing his schooling in Lancashire, Lewis went on to study Modern Languages at Nottingham University and also gained a diploma in Cultures and Civilisations from the Sorbonne in Paris. After attending the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Lewis spent the next two years living and working in Finland, where he learnt to speak Finnish and also came to know and love the Finnish people and culture.^[1]

Career

He founded the Berlitz School of Languages in Finland in 1955, and later opened a further 5 schools in Finland. In addition, he opened Berlitz schools in Norway in 1958 and in Portugal in 1959.^[1]

In 1966, Lewis founded the Berlitz School in Tokyo and spent the next 5 years living and working in Japan, where he became tutor to Empress Michiko.^[1]

He is currently Chairman of Richard Lewis Communications Ltd.

The Lewis Model

The Lewis Model of Cross-Cultural Communication was developed by Richard D. Lewis. The core of the model classifies cultural norms into Linear-Active, Multi-Active and Re-Active, or some combination. Broadly speaking, Northern Europe, North America and related countries are predominantly Linear-Active, following tasks sequentially using Platonic, Cartesian logic. Southern European, Latin, African and Middle-Eastern countries are typified as Multi-Active, centred on relationships and often pursuing multiple goals simultaneously. East Asia is typically Re-Active, following harmonising, solidarity-based strategies.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

While Lewis' writings recognise these can only be stereotypes, he asserts that his model provides a practical framework for understanding and communicating with people of other cultures, and that the model can readily be expanded with other features, such as Hofstede's cultural dimensions, seen in relation to Lewis' triangular representation.^[7]

Honours

Lewis was knighted by President Ahtisaari of Finland in March 1997 in recognition of his services in the cross-cultural field relating to the training of Finnish Ministries for EU entry (1995) and the EU Presidency (1999).

He was subsequently promoted to the rank of Knight Commander by President Halonen in 2009. He has always promoted the greatness of the Finnish culture in his publications, which efforts have been highly appreciated by the Finnish government and various public and private organisations.^[8]

Media

In 2015 Lewis won the prestigious SIETAR Founders Award. This award, with its citation "Making a World of Difference", is granted to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding commitment and service to the intercultural field.^[9]

Fish Can't See Water by Richard D. Lewis and Kai Hammerich won the Management Book of the Year award in Denmark in 2013.^[10] The book has been cited since then in many highly acknowledged business magazines, newspapers and blogs for its practical approach and tips on how national cultures impact corporate strategies and their execution.^{[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]}

Lewis publishes regularly articles in the world-wide read business magazine, the Business Insider. His articles focus mainly on tips and background information for doing successful business with different cultures of the world.^{[21][22][23][23][24][24][25][26][27][28][29]}

In 2016 Richard Lewis Communications plc was "named and shamed" for failing pay several employees the National Minimum Wage.^[30]

However, this relates to a situation dating to 2013, when a change in the system of deductions for accommodation and meals meant that the company inadvertently and temporarily paid less than the National Minimum Wage to some members of domestic staff. As soon as this was clarified, arrears were paid in full to the staff concerned, and the system was changed to comply with National Minimum Wage legislation. This action was acknowledged in a case closure letter from HMRC in which the Compliance Officer said he was 'satisfied' that all arrears had been paid and that the correct rate was now being paid.^[31]

Publications

• "Fish Can't See Water: How National Culture Can Make or Break Your Corporate Strategy" (2013), ISBN 978-1-118-60856-2, published by John Wiley & Sons
• “When Teams Collide: Managing the International Team Successfully” (2012), ISBN 978-1-904838-35-7, published by Nicholas Brealey International
• “When Cultures Collide: Leading across Cultures” (2006, 1999, 1996), ISBN 978-1-904838-02-9, published by Nicholas Brealey International
• “Cross Cultural Communication: A Visual Approach” (2008, 1999), ISBN 978-0-9534398-3-6, published by Transcreen Publications
• “The Cultural Imperative: Global Trends in the 21st Century” (2007, 2003), ISBN 978-1-931930-35-2, published by Intercultural Press
• “Humour across Frontiers” (2005), ISBN 978-0-9534398-2-9, published by Transcreen Publications
• “Finland, Cultural Lone Wolf” (2005), ISBN 978-1-931930-49-9, published by Intercultural Press
• “The Billingers” (2009, 1985, 1976), ISBN 978-0-9534398-4-3, published by Transcreen Publications
• “The Road from Wigan Pier: Memoirs of a Linguist” (1998, autobiography), ISBN 978-0-9534398-0-5, published by Transcreen Publications

References

1. “The Road from Wigan Pier: Memoirs of a Linguist” (1998, autobiography), ISBN 978-0-9534398-0-5
2. Ott, Ursula F, (2011). "The Influence of Cultural Activity Types on Buyer-Seller Negotiations: A Game Theoretical Framework for Intercultural Negotiations". International Negotiation. 16 (3): 427–450.
3. "The Lewis Model Explains Every Culture In The World". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
4. Ott, Ursula F.; Kimura, Y. (2016). "A set theoretic analysis of international negotiations in Japanese MNEs: Opening the black box". Journal of Business Research. 69 (4): 1294–1300.
5. Ott, Ursula F. (2014). "L'influence des facteurs culturels sur les négociations achat-vente: un modèle théorique pour comprendre les négociations interculturelles". Négociation. 21 (1): 93–117.
6. Ott, Ursula F. (2011). "The Influence of Cultural Activity Types on Buyer-Seller Negotiations - A Game Theoretic Framework for International Negotiations". International Negotiation Journal. 16 (3): 427–450.
7. Ott, Ursula F. (2016). "The Art and Economics of International Negotiations: Haggling, Hurrying-Up and Holding-Out". Journal of Innovation and Knowledge.
8. "Defending Finnish culture - Embassy of Finland, London : News & Current Affairs". www.finemb.org.uk. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
9. "Richard D. Lewis won the SIETAR Founders Award | Cross Culture". www.crossculture.com. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
10. "Berlingsketidende - Business Søndag - 22-09-2013". www.e-pages.dk. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
11. "Crossing the divide". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
12. "Fish Can't See Water: How National Culture Can Make or Break Your Corporate Strategy | Business Digest". www.business-digest.eu. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
13. "Eight Types of Corporate Crisis and the Role of National Culture | The European Business Review". www.europeanbusinessreview.com. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
14. "Fish Can't See Water | Book | Management Book of the Year". Management Book of the Year. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
15. "7 Common Causes of Corporate Culture Crises". Business News Daily. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
16. "Company Lifecycle And Culture Change Too Fast Today". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
17. Palin, Adam (2013-07-31). "Corporate history retold through cultural clichés". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
18. "Book extract: Start up a cultural revolution | The Sunday Times". www.thesundaytimes.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
19. "Cultural Stereotypes Can Kill Remote Teams | GreatWebMeetings.com". www.greatwebmeetings.com. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
20. "How different cultures say "I disagree"". Quartz. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
21. "Business Insider Deutschland". Business Insider Deutschland. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
22. "Why China Considers Itself The Center Of The World". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
23. "24 Tips For Understanding Russians". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
24. "How To Empathize With The British". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
25. "How A Japanese Salesman Schooled An American Hotshot On Doing Business In Japan". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
26. "This Creativity Challenge Perfectly Revealed The Difference Between Hungarians And Germans". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
27. "North Korea's Behavior At The 1979 Ping Pong Championships Really Said It All". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
28. "This Hiking Story Reveals Cultural Differences Between Finns, Italians, And Japanese". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
29. "What You Should Know About Negotiating With Japanese". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
30. UK Government NMW offenders. Check date values in: |access-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help);
31. Letter from HMRC, 13 May 2015

External links

• Richard Lewis Communications
• Video Map The World - Cultural Types - The Lewis Model
• The Lewis Model Explains Every Culture In The World
• Riversdown House - The Home of True Immersion
• Richard Lewis Communications Finland
• Richard Lewis Communications CrossCulture Unit
• CultureActive - online cultural profiling tool