Imagine trying to explain to a famous historical U.S. executive how we operate in a global economy today. You're sitting at a conference table across from, say, Henry Ford or R.J. Reynolds, telling them that your company has teams working together but located in several different cities. Some are in San Francisco, some in Bangalore, and some in Mexico City, but they're all working on the same project.

"Sure they are," R.J. says skeptically. Then he adds, "Where's Bangalore?"

You explain some of the technological advances that make it possible for geographically dispersed teams to work together. We've gone way beyond the simple phone, you tell them, and now we can bring people together visually, share documents--all while they're in separate locations throughout the world.

Ford and Reynolds were visionaries. They probably get it.

But then try explaining to them the complications of cross-cultural working relationships, how the differences between national cultures affect progress. Try telling them about the effects of misunderstandings between people from different countries, about how they often perceive fundamental things differently--like deadlines, respect for authority, and conduct in meetings. Try telling Henry and R.J. about the effect of cultural differences on the bottom line, and they might stare at you blankly.

To explain all that, you need Sheri Mackey, the CEO of Luminosity Global. She'll tell you first:

"We help international companies around the world lead across boundaries and borders and get consistent business results, wherever they are."

Luminosity Global builds understanding between culturally diverse teams and organizations, recognizing the impact of some of the key differences between people working together from different parts of the world, differences that can inhibit progress, waste time, and hit the bottom line--hard.

What are some of these differences between cultures that affect us at work?  Read more.