A Logical Architecture for Negotiation Styles in 60 Countries

cpx · People Architecture · originally published 10 June 2026 · revised September 2026: redrawn diagrams, thirty-seven additional countries from When Cultures Collide

Richard Lewis’s diagrams

When the leadership-style chart for a country tells you how the room is organised, the negotiation-style chart tells you what happens once people start talking. They are not the same thing. A German leader is autocratic-systematic in the org chart but methodical and evidence-heavy at the table. An Italian leader sits on top of a family hierarchy in one chart and conducts a verbose, flexible, expressive negotiation in the other. For anyone running a global IT delivery function, leadership style and negotiation style together form a much more useful predictive pair than either alone.

In August 2015, Business Insider published a follow-up to the leadership post covered earlier on bub.im: twenty-three diagrams from Richard D. Lewis, drawn from When Cultures Collide, mapping negotiation patterns rather than authority structures. This revision does three things. It redraws every diagram in one consistent style (a path from opening to close, showing tempo, register and where the decision actually happens), so nothing on the page reproduces Lewis’s artwork. It adds the thirty-seven countries and regions whose chapters in the book carry a “Behavior at Meetings and Negotiations” section but never received a diagram, condensed from those sections. And it aligns the country list with the companion leadership profiles, so the two posts can be read side by side. The book’s third edition dates from 2006; the political specifics have moved on, the cultural substrate less so.

Below: a three-layer logical architecture that decomposes the styles into seven archetypes, a summary table mapping each country to its archetype, and the full country-by-country gallery with PPM-lens commentary.

1. The logical architecture

Negotiation styles can be decomposed onto three orthogonal dimensions. Combine them and the country styles collapse into seven archetypes.

A practical reading of the table, what each archetype is actually doing to you when you sit across from it:

2. Country-by-country

Sixty countries and regions in alphabetical order. Entries from Lewis’s original diagram set carry his one-line characterisation, paraphrased, in the quote block; the others condense the meetings-and-negotiations section of the relevant chapter of When Cultures Collide. Every entry has an original diagram and a working note for the global-delivery context.

Arab countries N6 Patient & Relational (Persuasive)

Lewis treats the Arab world in one chapter with country notes (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, Iraq among them). Where a Westerner looks for a logical conclusion, the Arab negotiator uses personalised arguments, appeals and persistent persuasion, sits or stands closer than a European is used to, and expects friendly bargaining. His advice: always appear just in their eyes, show kindness and moral integrity, speak confidently and without hesitation, and treat punctuality as secondary. Iraq, in his 2006 reading, had not yet resumed a normal business tempo and its meetings were mainly political and adversarial.

Argentina N4 Expressive & Eloquent (Sophisticated)

Courteous and sophisticated in style, but Argentinians over-analyse in the Latin manner and can be quite opinionated given the chance. Lewis’s advice is short: stick to your guns.

Australia N1 Direct & Decisive (Loose)

Australians have a loose and frank conversational style.

Direct without the American intensity. Frank but not aggressive. Pair with the Australian leadership archetype (egalitarian, in the ring with the mates) and the pattern is consistent.

Austria N5 Coded & Understated (Agreeable)

Formal, well dressed, titles in use, yet less factual than Germans and quick to introduce personal detail and emotion. Austrians are agreeable to most proposals but may back out of today’s statement tomorrow, promise more than they can deliver, avoid confrontation and compromise rather than decide; the agreeableness disappears if they are cornered. Lewis recommends regular checks on what was promised, opening with “Did you remember…”. Short-term thinkers, in contrast to their northern neighbours.

Bangladesh N6 Patient & Relational (Unhurried)

Formal meetings with attention to dress and protocol, opened by extensive small talk that should be repeated at every subsequent meeting; launching straight into business is unsophisticated. The process must not be rushed (“only a fool tries to hustle the East”), stays pleasant and non-confrontational, and ends on a pleasant note whatever the outcome, with the door left open. Digressions and asides in Bengali are normal. As the usually weaker party, Bangladeshis expect generosity rather than maximum advantage.

Belgium (Flemish and Walloon) N7 Hybrid (Group / Leader)

Two rooms. With the Flemish you deal with a group: nonassertive, compromise-friendly, pragmatic, calm and adaptable, with the bottom line dominating and every member expected to show competence. With Walloons you deal largely with the manager or delegation leader, whose views must be analysed and who will be accountable; he is expected to show charisma and, at the right moments, humility. Less grandiose and obstinate than the French because they lack the conviction of knowing better.

Brazil N4 Expressive & Eloquent (Erratic)

Meetings tend to be erratic, even chaotic, with the agenda constantly interrupted by everyone’s creative ideas. Because Brazilians like to please, they tell people what they want to hear, always claim to have a solution, and reach for easy immediate answers rather than long-term plans. Exuberance at the start of a project is not matched by commitment to results; Lewis says constant tracking and monitoring becomes a necessity. Note also the oratorical tu-form delivery from a manager that makes what he says a fait accompli.

Bulgaria N5 Coded & Understated (Bureaucratic)

Bulgarians may take a circuitous approach before seeking a mutually beneficial resolution, which bureaucracy will often frustrate.

Lewis’s caption is uncharitable but not wrong, and Bulgarians will recognise the pattern faster than anyone else reading this post. The circuitous approach is the връзки protocol showing up in negotiation form: the real positioning happens around the table, not at it. Coffee, an aside in the corridor, a shared acquaintance from a previous job are not preliminaries, they are the negotiation. The book adds the mechanics: considerable reserve at first, options hedged as long as you allow, requests and reactions both circuitous, a roundabout route to price and bottom line, and businesses that run on a network of connections and exchanged favours, with go-betweens where “facilitation” comes into question. That describes the legacy circuit from the leadership post. The Sofia IT and multinational circuit operates closer to N3 (concise, decisive, post-meeting follow-up) and is poorly described by this caption. As with the leadership chart, the single most useful Bulgaria-specific advice for foreigners is: find out which circuit you are in before you sit down.

Canada N1 Direct & Decisive (harmony-seeking)

Canadians seek harmony but share the American directness.

Direct, but with the abrasive edges sanded off. Lewis adds that Canadian meetings are democratic, everyone airs a view, decisions are not rushed and the tone is low-key and humorous. Treat as N1 in tempo, N3-adjacent in tone.

Chile N4 Expressive & Eloquent (Accommodating)

Latin-style meetings with lengthy preambles, wordy monologues and digressions, kept on track by an underlying pragmatism. Chileans are not aggressive negotiators, sometimes showing insecurity about losing business or jobs; the style resembles the Italian, with plenty of flexibility and accommodation. They have second thoughts after meetings, so follow-up must be monitored, and options are left open when the first round does not conclude.

China N6 Patient & Relational

The Chinese are more direct than the Japanese and some other East Asians, but meetings are principally for information gathering; the real decisions are made elsewhere.

The negotiation in the room is not the negotiation. Seating by hierarchy, the senior man honoured though the deputy often decides, a slow and repetitious pace, no open no, nobody says “I”, and the whole occasion doubles as a test of whether you are a suitable partner for the long run. Identify the offline decision-makers, calibrate to the relationship horizon, and do not mistake meeting cadence for progress.

Colombia N6 Patient & Relational (Protocol)

Meetings are taken seriously: hierarchy, protocol and a disciplined agenda, balanced with friendliness toward foreigners. Protracted small talk, often with refreshments or a meal, comes first, and the serious business is initiated by the Colombian side with an innate sense of timing; personal relationships dominate deals. The senior figure then outlines the approach with a broad brush, specialists speak freely, decisions are by consensus including with the other side, disagreement is expressed indirectly and pressure should be gentle.

Croatia N4 Expressive & Eloquent (Cautious)

Expect delay, refreshments and digressions; prepare a strategy for holding the agenda. Sub-discussions break out, everybody may talk at once, and because Croats tend to disagree with each other, negotiations are slow unless the power structure makes everyone follow the leader. Formal titles and hierarchical seating, no early commitment until trust is established, and courteous statements intended to please that should be taken with a pinch of salt, though no deceit is meant. Humour is absent from the meeting and cynical everywhere else.

Czech Republic N2 Logical & Methodical (Gradualist)

Contemplative, practical and rational, with a dislike of confrontation and a pride in flexibility. Problem-solving is gradualist, in the Dutch and Belgian manner; decisions can be deferred to tomorrow but not indefinitely. Czechs believe sound procedures are good for business and seek common ground as Germans do; their love of structure, regulation and incremental planning makes them poor at handling chaos.

Denmark N3 Concise & Reserved (Congenial)

Neither too aggressive nor too passive: Danes plot a reasonable line of argument, show flexibility and patience, and every member of a delegation voices an opinion. Level-headed negotiators with the knack of securing good deals without making enemies. The one non-negotiable is egalitarian procedure. Internally they are blunt and believe an opinion can be negated without negating the person; expect horizontal communication and low-key, humorous delivery.

Estonia N3 Concise & Reserved (Tenacious)

Calm, level-headed and proud of their self-control even when the meeting goes badly. Tenacious in argument, using facts and figures against emotive claims, cautious and in no hurry to conclude, yet keen to win Western partners and quick to pick up business that is lying around. Products and policies are presented confidently and frankly, and once a contract is signed they impress by their industriousness in fulfilling it. The most skilful businesspeople of the three Baltic states, in Lewis’s view.

Finland N3 Concise & Reserved

Finns value concision.

Few words, long silences, decisive close. Do not fill the pauses. A Finnish “yes” carries more weight than an American “absolutely”, and they know it.

France N2 Logical & Methodical (Adversarial)

Meeting the French means preparing for vigorous, logical debate.

Logic, but adversarial. Formal dress, surnames, hierarchical seating; demands are not stated at the start but built up through a carefully constructed rationale, and the hand is revealed late. They are suspicious of early friendliness, dislike first names and jackets off, rarely decide inside the meeting, and treat the whole exercise as intellectual. Do not take the heat personally; you have not lost the room, you are in the room.

Germany N2 Logical & Methodical

Germans rely on logic but amass more evidence and labour their points more than either the British or the French.

A German negotiation is almost a research review with budgets attached. Lewis’s list: disciplined appearance, hierarchical seating and speaking order, arrival well informed, weighty logical arguments, the second line of attack already prepared, compartmentalised specialists, and a search for common ground rather than concession. Bring the source documents, the assumptions and the dependency map. They will find the gap in your reasoning and expect you to thank them for it; head-on collision with a sizeable German company seldom leads anywhere.

Greece N4 Expressive & Eloquent (Shrewd)

Great charm and serious negotiation. The senior person dominates, as across the Mediterranean; Greeks are shrewd, experienced and give little away, and can talk late into the night, seeming to improve as they go. Two decoding notes from Lewis: a slight upward nod means no and a sideways tilt means yes, and a Greek may smile when very angry.

Hong Kong N1 Direct & Decisive (Brisk)

People in Hong Kong negotiate much more briskly to achieve quick results.

The N1 of East Asia. Facts without padding, impatience, an interruption if you are slow. The relational depth of the mainland pattern is intentionally compressed.

Hungary N4 Expressive & Eloquent

Hungarians value eloquence over logic and are unafraid to talk over each other.

Pure expressive register. Talking over each other is engagement, not rudeness. Lewis adds the operational detail: initial touchiness about national honour, agendas ignored, problems raised without solutions, prolonged bargaining, pessimism laced with optimistic forecasts, no direct no, and promises that are grandiose in intention and weak in implementation. Business must be face to face. The cynical leadership archetype tells you the attitude; this is what it sounds like out loud.

India N5 Coded & Understated (Ambiguous)

Indian English excels in ambiguity, and truth and appearances are often themselves subject to negotiation.

Highly relevant for HCL and Wipro engagements. Lewis’s caption sounds harsh; the underlying behaviour is that positions, dates and constraints are themselves negotiable in a way that linear-active cultures treat as fixed. His nine-step seller’s script (“I do not want to sell at all” through to a price by analogy with past deals) is a masterclass in this. Indians stay polite while modifications are proposed, repackage energetically, and hate turning down any business. A status report from an Indian PM is more often a negotiation opener than a state report. Read it as such, and the partnership works.

Indonesia N5 Coded & Understated (Deferential)

Indonesians are very deferential conversationalists, sometimes to the point of ambiguity.

Deference can read as agreement when it is not. Nobody may be made to feel malu; everything is negotiable and everything takes time; delegations are large, elders do the speaking, repetition is constant, and ambiguity is actively cultivated. As with the UK, real positions emerge after the meeting, but for different reasons: not coded politeness but hierarchical caution. Forget time pressure.

Iran N6 Patient & Relational (Persuasive)

Some introduction first (praise for their hospitality works), but Iranians move to serious negotiation fairly early and signpost it by asking directly for your purpose, staying suspicious until the real aim is clear. Show how the business benefits Iran rather than how much you know; listen at length and analyse the underlying message later; offer only the latest technology; expect copious notes, so do not contradict yourself. They are highly persuasive and expect persuasion back: a first no is not final, and Lewis suggests trying about three more times, because giving up reads as weakness.

Ireland N4 Expressive & Eloquent (Idea-driven)

Invariably warm and friendly, sometimes confusing. The Irish are not agenda followers and digress enthusiastically when an interesting idea appears; ideas matter more than plain facts, and the abstract, innovative and theoretical attract them as they do the French, with less logic. The tendency toward procrastination and the creativity are the same trait: unconventional, independent spirits who resist structure and routine.

Israel N7 Hybrid / Polar

Israelis proceed logically on most issues but emotionally on some.

Two registers, switched deliberately. Informal, first names early, everyone has a say, no time wasted on abstraction; tenacious on price but careful not to look unreasonable, concessions made slowly and matched with a quid pro quo, and rarely subtle. When a logical-mode Israeli negotiator suddenly shifts to the emotional register, that is not a loss of control, it is information: whatever provoked the shift is the actual point of leverage.

Italy N4 Expressive & Eloquent

Italians regard their language as an instrument of eloquence and take a verbose, flexible approach.

Verbose, expressive and flexible, and that last word is the operative one. Agendas are looped and jumped, several people speak at once, silences over five seconds are unbearable, and positions taken with great force at 10:00 may be softened with equal force at 11:30. Stay engaged and do not pin the room to its first statement. If you chair, set firm rules in advance; one of Lewis’s Germans used football referee cards.

Japan N6 Patient & Relational (Group)

The first meeting is the hard part: without a proper introduction the Japanese cannot place your rank, and a person-to-person exchange of views is impossible because each delegate represents the group and cannot pronounce without consultation. Lewis’s illustration is the Westerner who, over six visits, meets eighteen people in groups of three and tells the same story six times; that is not obstruction but the mechanism by which the group reaches a position. Cards, silence, no open no, and a decision that arrives from the whole company, not the people in the room.

Kazakhstan N6 Patient & Relational (Hierarchical)

Satisfying but complex. Kazakhs take time to know you before communicating clearly, like proposals presented clearly and forcefully, and answer with initial caution. Formal at first, they work toward a strong personal relationship with the chief interlocutor, and talks are interspersed with socialising and feasting, with visible joviality once they trust you. Interpreters are usually needed, cards are in Russian and English, address is by first name and patronymic, and seating at dinner follows rank with the most senior farthest from the door. Never contradict a senior openly; disagreement is signalled indirectly.

Latvia N5 Coded & Understated (Compliant)

Similar to Estonians but less reserved. Apparently compliant, hesitant to disagree, yet difficult to persuade; cool at a first meeting and warm once acquainted. They may show signs of agreement that is not entirely there, and they do not rush. Rural attitudes persist among managers (distrust of lawyers, bankers and marketing people), older Russophone managers keep to top-down habits, and a desire to do things right legally and technically produces an over-emphasis on process. Contracts and commitments are almost invariably honoured.

Lithuania N7 Hybrid / Charm offensive

Less strict with agendas than Estonians, more persuasive than other Balts, and emotion creeps in. Lively small talk, a courteous introduction of proposals and a cautious reaction to yours; if their proposals are strongly resisted the discussion heats up, counter-proposals are expressed vigorously without giving much away, and then comes a charming offensive with reasonable concessions and clever repackaging. They compromise in Nordic style only where no face is lost, and can switch styles.

Malaysia N6 Patient & Relational (Harmony)

Harmony and balanced discussion are the goal. A relative indifference to business reduces ambition and competition, there is little attempt to alter the environment (in direct contrast to Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan), and the people who compromise most are the ones most respected; Malays are not given to great shows of determination. Polite, respectful listeners who expect neatness, correctness and calm, with some Islamic defensiveness and no interruptions. The Chinese and Indian business communities run on their own patterns.

Mexico N6 Patient & Relational (Leader-centred)

Friendly small talk until the time feels right. The Mexican delegation leader is highly visible, claims priority seating and is chief spokesman; the delegation concurs with him and protects his status, and any relaxing of formality is his to initiate. Address all remarks to the senior Mexican, not the interpreter or the specialists. Details are rarely discussed in plenary: the leader outlines the project in broad terms, conveys approval of general principles without taking a fixed position, and stays detached from thorny points to avoid unpleasantness. National honour is to be respected at all times: be firm, but never humiliate.

Netherlands N2 Logical & Methodical (Discursive)

The Dutch focus on facts and figures but are great talkers who rarely decide without a long Dutch debate, sometimes approaching over-analysis.

The polder model applied to negotiation. Meetings start on time, formal at first, no emotion, no haggling, no bluffing, no rush, then decide tomorrow. You do not close a Dutch negotiation, you reach the moment at which the table runs out of objections.

New Zealand N1 Direct & Decisive (Laid-back)

Lewis covers New Zealand alongside Australia, mostly by contrast: quality is valued over price, deregulation has gone further, and the tempo is laid-back. Urban New Zealanders are sharp businesspeople who enjoy lively exchanges. What they respect is personal steadiness, stamina and dependability, so show that you are as reliable as they are, and appreciate the “small is good” quality of their produce and ideas.

Norway N3 Concise & Reserved

Most Norwegians fall somewhere between Swedes and Finns.

The Nordic middle ground. More discursive than Finns, less wide-ranging than Swedes.

Pakistan N5 Coded & Understated (Flowery)

A meeting can be an aesthetic experience: flowery Victorian English sets a scene of exaggerated deference and flattery. Like Danes, Pakistanis maintain the semi-euphoric atmosphere as long as possible until holes appear in the apparently agreed arrangement, then stay polite while modifications are proposed and repackage energetically; they hate turning down business. Bargaining is expected, price comes last after every benefit has been elaborated and is approached indirectly. Attitudes to contracts resemble the British, with more flexibility.

Philippines N5 Coded & Understated (Conciliatory)

Politeness to older people and senior rank is essential; the tone is conciliatory and heated or opinionated expression is unwise. Filipinos are conformist, rarely say no openly and conceal their feelings, so read the hidden signals: raised eyebrows or an upward head jerk mean yes, a downward jerk means no, and a spoken yes with the head going down is a no. Managers pay lip service to democracy but keep considerable power distance, and efficiency suffers from the need to find contacts in high places to cut through red tape.

Poland N7 Hybrid / Polar

Poles have an enigmatic communication style, ranging from matter-of-fact pragmatism to a wordy, sentimental, romantic approach.

The polar style: pragmatist in one breath, romantic in the next. Friendly and flexible when well treated, fiery when they suspect injustice, and aggression is felt to be justified after an insult. Ideas arrive in a roundabout manner and a discreet distance is kept. Mode shifts carry information; track which register the room is in and match it.

Portugal N6 Patient & Relational (Written)

The relationship opens with the assumption that trust exists, and clients are seen as friends; the cheerful, communicative manner makes this easy even at the first meeting. Because bureaucracy is heavy, business relies on good personal relations and mutual confidence, and the ability to secure introductions and long-term goodwill is, in Lewis’s phrase, the criterion of efficiency itself. Unlike Spaniards, the Portuguese like things in writing and write well; a well-expressed document is seen as a defence against ambiguity.

Romania N4 Expressive & Eloquent (Hard-bargaining)

Skilled diplomats and hard bargainers, in a commercial environment Lewis describes (in 2006) as riddled with bureaucracy and corruption, so distinguish apparent prospects from factual reality. Deals are rarely a straight transaction between two parties; others may be involved on commission, or demanding “facilitation” payments. His motivation notes: be personal rather than official, show the way to profit, do not talk down, and accept charisma, hyperbole and a flexible truth as part of the register.

Russia N7 Hybrid / Strategic (Chess)

Lewis’s Russian negotiator combines peasant caution, tenacity and reticence with the trained cunning of the command economy. The characteristics are laid out in full, with programme translations, in the Russia entry of the leadership profiles; the shape is: plan several moves ahead, represent the government at some level, speak with one voice, ask the other side to speak first, open with a maximal draft containing throwaways, sit out deadlock, push when the other side retreats, treat compromise as weakness, prefer an all-embracing conceptual agreement to step-by-step closure, and regard a contract as binding only while it remains mutually beneficial. Personal relationships unlock the official deadlock. Register-switching between stone face and warmth is also in the pattern, which is why the N7 tag.

Serbia N4 Expressive & Eloquent (Manipulative)

Late arrival and thirty to sixty minutes of small talk during which you are being assessed. Initial proposals are reasonable and hint at generosity; on resistance the cordiality drops and the pressing continues until an impasse, at which point they finally seek and listen to your views. Haggling is part of the process, and new ideas presented as spontaneous have usually been planned. Expect requests for sympathy if resources look inadequate, feigned righteous indignation, questions answered with questions, and formality that turns informal when they get heated. Resist the ploys patiently; once they see they cannot pull the wool over your eyes they descend into reality and become friendly, even generous. The humour is dry and usually black.

Singapore N6 Patient & Relational

Singaporeans take time to build a relationship, after which they can be shrewd negotiators.

The relationship-build is a gate, not a phase. Once you are on the trusted side of it, the substantive negotiation that follows is fast and sharp. Foreigners regularly mistake the trust-building period for the whole engagement and never reach the second mode.

Slovakia N5 Coded & Understated (Courteous)

Formal, with titles until people know each other, and hierarchy respected in seating, entering, leaving and speaking turns. Meetings are for learning positions after socialising and sounding out; there is no rush to commit. Care not to offend produces ambiguity that can look like hypocrisy: Slovaks often say what you want to hear without intending deceit. Cautious in business despite social spontaneity, they digress but with more discipline than French, Italians or Hungarians, and as a formerly oppressed people they expect Western partners to be generous with concessions; they are tenacious but not openly forceful, bluffing a little to get what they can.

Slovenia N2 Logical & Methodical (Procedural)

Orderly affairs. Slovenes are procedure-oriented, follow agendas with limited digression, start and finish on time, socialise afterwards, and write careful minutes. Like nationals of many small countries they are persistent and well networked, and everyone seems to know each other. Negotiating characteristics are factuality, rationality, structure, procedure and persistence; bargaining is low-key and stays within agreed parameters on price and delivery, new ideas sprung suddenly get a negative reaction, and concluded deals are reliably met. Less red tape than most of the Balkans.

South Africa N4 Expressive & Eloquent (Repetitive)

Lewis describes meetings with Black South Africans as folksy and chatty, loosely tied to agendas, with points taken in order of importance and not abandoned until some mutual satisfaction is reached; older men decide when that point has come. Meetings can be noisy without being aggressive, and all-African meetings can be quarrelsome along tribal lines. You will be expected to lead or contribute significantly, show deference to seniors and protect everyone’s face. In negotiation: bargaining and haggling are part of the process, tribal or clan interests sit in the background, the style is slow and repetitive, conviviality is usually maintained, and theatrical demands and explosive outbursts are followed by conciliatory periods. Repetition across meetings is normal.

South Korea N1 Direct & Decisive (Energetic)

Koreans are energetic conversationalists who seek to close deals quickly, occasionally stretching the truth.

Combine the chaebol context from the leadership chart with this pattern and you have a counterparty who closes hard inside the room and has a wider family circle to refer back to outside it. Lewis’s explanation for the toughness is historical: compromise has meant defeat, second place disaster, so they stay competitive and on the lookout for further advantage. Safer to read “stretching the truth” as “positions presented with confidence may have a softer foundation than the delivery implies”.

Spain N4 Expressive & Eloquent

Like Italians, Spaniards will pull out every stop to achieve greater expressiveness.

A sibling of the Italian style, with one twist Lewis illustrates well: six Madrid managers ignored a perfect German slide deck and watched the salesmen instead, took them to a four-hour lunch, and closed three days later. They are more interested in you than in your goods, proposals start as vague outlines, and the expressive register is the signal, not noise around it.

Sub-Saharan Africa N6 Patient & Relational (Sit under a tree)

Observe African protocol: neat and often smart dress, surnames and titles at first, formal hierarchical seating, respect for older members, and a reasonable, conciliatory opening. The business of the day is not broached at the outset; one first “sits under a tree” for an unhurried preamble that includes asking after health and relatives, and an elder signals when the shift to business has come. At first meetings do not push forward; concentrate on sincerity and trustworthiness, carry business cards showing all qualifications and rank, and understand that this stage creates reciprocal obligations as much as trust. Go-betweens are valuable where language or other barriers exist.

Sweden N7 Hybrid / Discursive

Among the Nordic countries, Swedes have the most wide-ranging discussions.

A wide-ranging discussion that arrives at a durable consensus. Slow upstream, fast downstream. Pair this with the Swedish leadership style (egalitarian, decentralised) and you understand why Swedish vendors take longer to commit but rarely walk back what they have signed.

Switzerland N2 Logical & Methodical (Quiet)

The Swiss are straightforward, nonaggressive negotiators who obtain concessions by expressing confidence in the quality and value of their goods and services.

The Swiss do not push, they anchor. Concessions are extracted by the calm, repeated assertion of value, not by counter-pressure; bargain too hard and they stiffen as if you had made a shady proposal. Lewis’s diagram of the Swiss pattern is a straight line from modest preliminaries to quality delivered on time. The least theatrical of the N2 archetypes, and worth understanding in detail given dormakaba’s HQ context.

Thailand N5 Coded & Understated (Face-saving)

Buddhism discourages competition, so ambition and initiative are muted; authority is respected when present and ignored when absent, and work tempo tracks the boss. Discussion is welcome, but decisions and blame pass upward, and decisions are often ambiguous so that nobody loses face. Business is pursued after hours in social settings, and a patronage system governs advancement. Do not hurry: three or four days of relationship-building first, then a slow, concentric approach to the central issue. Giggles mean a favour is about to be asked for, or withheld.

Turkey N4 Expressive & Eloquent (Haggling)

Friendly, semi-formal meetings with extremely polite and solicitous hosts. The Ottoman trading inheritance makes haggling normal and its absence a disappointment; starting prices bear little relation to intrinsic value, and a Turkish seller who is beaten down or rejected keeps cool, shows no annoyance, and keeps the door open for the next deal. Willing to take business risks, with natural caution on large new projects, and well aware of the value of their position as the bridge between East and West.

United Kingdom N5 Coded & Understated

The British avoid confrontation in an understated, mannered and humorous style that can be either powerful or inefficient.

If a British colleague says “I am not entirely sure that is quite the direction we would want to go in”, that is not a hedge. That is a no. The mannered style and the coded speech are the same instrument. Negotiations almost always close after the meeting, not in it: a British “let me come back to you” is not procrastination, it is the actual decision-making step.

United States N1 Direct & Decisive

Americans lay their cards on the table and resolve disagreements quickly, with one or both sides making concessions.

The American style fits any North-American-owned project that wants to call a steering committee, present three options and close on one before lunch. The pathology is the speed: Americans will read your hedging as a stall and your need to consult your team as weakness. The full deal path, and Lewis’s advice to answer “Have we got a deal?” with “Maybe”, is in the United States entry of the leadership profiles.

Uzbekistan N4 Expressive & Eloquent (Circular)

Lively, often noisy meetings where everyone talks at once. Arguments are circular rather than linear because every aspect must be examined, settled issues are revisited, and business is treated as personal rather than between companies, with praise and flattery expected in both directions. Uzbeks are opportunists who will try to extract know-how, technology and secrets at minimum cost, pounce on any contradiction, and lapse into noncommittal silences between talkative sessions to disorient you; do not surrender leverage and do not appear gullible in the social interludes. Underneath they are flexible, though they hide it, and contact with Westerners has moved them from handshake deals toward written contracts.

Venezuela N4 Expressive & Eloquent (Haggling)

Pleasant, sociable meetings opened with plenty of small talk, considerable protocol including seating, and a senior delegate who expects a great deal of respect and must in return appear affable and generous; address most remarks to that person. Initial proposals are far from realistic conclusions and protracted haggling follows; agreements reached are often somewhat inconclusive. Venezuelans talk a lot, often several at once, and Lewis lists the features that unsettle northern counterparts: the gap between concept and implementation, low productivity, and social envy.

Vietnam N6 Patient & Relational (Tenacious)

A combination of French rationality and Vietnamese tenacity: courteous, but ready with counter-arguments, cautious and giving little away. History has left them suspicious of Chinese, Japanese and Westerners alike, and the openness to Americans and ASEAN is strategic balancing. Decisions are made by consensus, socialist considerations have dominated business though doi moi has softened them, and bureaucracy remains tortuous by most standards.

3. Cross-reading with the leadership chart

The negotiation chart and the leadership chart describe two different layers of the same culture. Reading them together produces a sharper signal than either alone.

Two cross-cultural pathologies worth naming explicitly, because they are invisible if you only read one chart:

4. Takeaways for global IT and PPM

A short, opinionated list; bub.im is not a textbook.

The framework is a heuristic, not a verdict. Every Italian negotiator is not a verbose extrovert; every British one does not communicate exclusively in coded speech. But knowing the default the culture leans on tells you which behaviour is signal and which is just noise, and that, in a programme that crosses six time zones, is the difference between a clean steering committee and a recurring escalation.

Sources and attribution

• Richard D. Lewis, When Cultures Collide: Leading Across Cultures, 3rd edition, Nicholas Brealey International, 2006. The 23 original characterisations are paraphrased from the Business Insider and World Economic Forum summaries; the remaining entries condense the “Behavior at Meetings and Negotiations” sections of the country chapters. Lewis’s diagrams are not reproduced; every diagram on this page is an original drawing based on his written descriptions, released for reuse with attribution.
• Original article: Gus Lubin (with reporting by Jenna Goudreau), “23 fascinating diagrams reveal how people negotiate around the world”, Business Insider, August 2015.
• Republication: “Negotiation tactics differ around the world. These charts will show you how to adapt your style”, World Economic Forum, September 2016.
• Lewis’s consultancy: crossculture.com.
• Companion post on bub.im: Leadership profiles for 65 countries.

Written for commentary and analysis; corrections welcome.