Meyer was born and raised in Minnesota. She has spent most of her adult life in Europe and Africa. Currently, she lives in Paris with her husband and two sons.
Career
Meyer's interest in cross-cultural management dates back to her years as a Peace Corps volunteer, teaching English in Botswana. Later, she worked in HR as a director at McKesson, then at HBOC and Aperian Global. She teaches cross-cultural management at INSEAD, where she is the programme director for both the Managing Global Virtual Team programme as well as Management Skills for International Business, and lectures internationally. She has studied, for over a decade, how people in different parts of the world build trust, communicate, make decisions and perceive situations differently, especially in the workplace. She is also a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review. In 2013, she was selected as one of the top ten best business school professors by Business Life.
''The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business''
Meyer wrote her first book, The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business in 2014. This book represents her collective research data from over thirty different countries. In the book she provides a framework for evaluating different cultures and then offers strategies for improving international success. She has identified 8 dimensions that capture most of the differences within and among cultures. Using this method, Meyer has also developed a self-assessment tool for Harvard Business Review, which helps in seeing where one falls on each of the eight scales. The book received positive reviews from critics and the media. The Huffington Post wrote that “whether you're a corporate or traditional diplomat, global traveler, government official, or passionate world citizen, this is the one book you should not miss.” and Forbes wrote that “The Culture Map stands out as a practical book to explain and frame a very difficult collection of concepts that are increasingly relevant today.” In an article about the book, Inc. called it “superb.” The Eight Scales Each of the eight scales is described as a continuum between the two ends which are diametric opposite or at least competing positions as follows:
Communicating – Are they low-context, or high-context ?
Evaluating – When giving Negative feedback does one give it directly, or prefer being indirect and discreet?
Leading – Are people in groups egalitarian, or do they prefer hierarchy?
Deciding – Are decisions made in consensus, or made top-down?
Trusting – Do people base trust on how well they know each other, or how well they do work together?
Disagreeing – Are disagreements tackled directly, or do people prefer to avoid confrontations?
Scheduling – Do they perceive time as absolute linear points, or consider it a flexible range?
Persuading – Do they like to hear specific cases and examples, or prefer holistic detailed explanations?
