Cultural Curriculum Chat with Jebeh Edmunds

Season 6 Episode #7 My Conversation with the founder of Gloced GMBH Sandra Schuett

• Jebeh Edmunds

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Unlock the secrets of intercultural business success with Sandra Schuett, the brilliant mind behind Glocled GMBH, as she shares her personal journey of growing up between German and Romanian cultures. Her unique upbringing fuels a passion for bridging cultural divides in the workplace. Sandra highlights the power of openness, empathy, and a curious spirit in transforming how we engage with diverse communities. From maintaining cultural identity to creating new cultural dynamics, her insights offer educators and business owners the essential tools to cultivate truly inclusive environments.

Discover why cultural adaptability is non-negotiable in today's global markets. Sandra provides a captivating example of how a client tailored their smartwatch product to resonate with different cultural preferences, showcasing the profound impact of understanding nuances. She emphasizes the necessity of thorough market research and cultural competence to avoid pitfalls and enhance company reputation. Through real-world applications, this conversation underscores the value of being adaptable and open to learning as key drivers of international business success.

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Speaker 1:

Hello, I am so pumped to share with you today. We have a wonderful guest from Berlin, germany, ms Sandra Schutt, from the Glockled Company, and she is going to share with us insights on international business relations, as well as intercultural communication and how we can be open with empathy and our willingness to learn. On our next episode of the Cultural Curriculum Chat podcast and Mrs Edmond's Cultural Corner, she is going to walk us through how we can bridge those gaps of cultural understanding and I can't wait for you to hear what she has to say. Hello everyone, welcome back to the Cultural Curriculum Chat podcast and, if you are watching on YouTube, mrs Edmond's Cultural Corner.

Speaker 1:

Sandra Schutt, founder and CEO of Glocklet, and she is a global growth consultant and expat coach helping bridge the gap of understanding in the workplace. I really loved Sandra's mission of getting people to understand each other with the openness and willingness to learn with empathy. She is going to talk with us today about some faux pas that we might run into and also, when we are interacting with people of different cultures, what is the best way to be responsive. Join our diverse community of learners who want to do the best thing that they can in our inclusive places and spaces. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you are in the mix of all things multicultural educational practices and inclusive workplace strategies.

Speaker 1:

And now back to our episode, and I am so excited to get into this conversation today with Sandra. If you are new to the channel and the podcast, my name is Jeba Edmonds, founder and CEO of Jeba Cultural Consulting, where we do all things multicultural educational resources and tools to help you, educators and business owners get on the path of positive change. So welcome, sandra. I am so happy you are with us today.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much, Debra, for having me.

Speaker 1:

Yes, welcome, so help our audience understand. Before we get into intercultural competency shop talk, give us a little bit about you and your background.

Speaker 2:

Yes, happy to do that. So, as you might hear, I'm not American, I'm not British either. I lived in London, though for quite a while I'm German. I'm currently also based in Germany. Yeah, how did I end up here? Like in the intercultural consulting industry? So I would say for me, I basically grew up in an intercultural context, first of all. So my parents, they were born and raised in Romania, nowadays known as Romania, romania, nowadays known as Romania.

Speaker 2:

But there is even more of an intercultural story behind this because, okay, let me jump back into history class here a bit. So in the 17-1800s, groups of people from Germany migrated into an area that was Austria, hungary at that time and then became Romania. So you can imagine a lot of people migrating to this area. And then there they basically created their own community. They had German schools there, created their own community, they had german schools there, um, they only spoke german, german villages, like a couple of german villages at the end of the day, um, and that kind of an extra culture that emerged.

Speaker 2:

You could even say right, because those were like the germans that migrated from germany to what is now known Romania but still kept their German culture, but obviously kind of mixed it with the Romanian culture there, which kind of had a new culture emerging. And then these people, like my family and all the relatives I have, then came back to Germany and then I was born in Germany and I grew up with this kind of third culture you could say. So this is really why I also call, and love to call myself, an interculturalist, because it's really, you know, inter coming from the Latin word meaning between. I grew up between cultures. That's really my story.

Speaker 1:

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Speaker 1:

You know, and to know the infusion, and I feel like, too, in this space, me coming from Liberia and still infusing that Liberian lifestyle in America. I really love that resonation of helping us understand the background of those German expats that came to present-day Romania and still infusing their culture and livelihood with the current current. You know the Romanian people of the past and and and honoring that. So that is amazing. Sandra, thank you for sharing that and and still keeping that culture and, um, the German way of life in a different country. That is something I didn't know about, so thank you for sharing. Yeah, of course, and as you're saying like I didn't know about.

Speaker 2:

So thank you for sharing. Of course, and as you're saying like I didn't know about, that was also part of my whole childhood. And then how I grew up, like I always had to explain myself, you know, and nobody understood, like I was really sometimes struggling. I wouldn't say I was frustrated, it didn't hurt my feelings or anything, but it was really, like you know, at school, when I was trying to explain it because it was so hard to understand. But that's not true, I'm German 100%. Not that it matches at the end of the day, but still, you know, it was like my truth and I think it kind of also influenced me into, you know, wanting to understand what culture is, because I really was confronted by it so early.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, and I feel like too, in your work and your lived experience you were trained about. You know how people communicate with each other and that push for understanding for you, understanding yourself in the world and for how other people understand you. Your company was born from that practice of you know of how to deal with different people and that's amazing, especially when you talk about how you perceive, you know intercultural competency. You live it every day. You know being 100% German with you know Romanian ancestry as well infused in that. That's amazing. So when we're talking about you know I love your mission that you have on there of you you know working in Silicon Valley and moving to London and living up there and in Germany and I love how you have this metaphor on your website and I will have this friends in the show notes to learn more about Sandra's work of being that iconic Golden Gate Bridge. You said and I quote, where you begin to understand your role to bridge between the different cultures and business landscapes. I love how you put that, sandra, because so many people in the business community are looking for that bridge. So many people have that stuckness of and the tools that they can put into practice. I think is also empowering for them as well to know you're there to guide them through it, and then they feel safe enough to ask you those questions, you know, before they go to a client or you know, or a schoolmate, like you said.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I didn't realize that their culture, you know, is more individualistic than collective, with those surprises, isn't that so true? Yeah, never a dull moment. Are you looking for a DEI inclusive workplace facilitator who has plenty of experience helping you cultivate those courageous conversations in order to move forward? Look no further. I am here to share with you that I have limited number of spots for professional development trainings this month, and we will cover topics of unconscious bias, inclusive workplace strategies, as well as recruitment and retention of BIPOC staff and clients. If you'd like to learn more, book a consultation with me in the information below. And now back to our episode. My other question for you, sandra, too, is, when we're talking about working with companies and that stuckness and how you guide companies through those touch points and those pain points, is there something that community members and even people listening would take away from you, some quick strategy that they could navigate right now?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's a tricky question because you know I have to answer. It depends. Yes, I would always say, as I was mentioning at the beginning, start beforehand, don't just go into a market and then you lose money, you lose money and you lose time. It doesn't make sense. So, start beforehand, get some help, do your research and, yeah, really make sure. So, first of all, why would you like to choose this or that country, that market, and what are cultural peculiarities? That's all I can say. You know, and then trying to adapt it to and this can go into a lot of directions or affect a lot of things Adapt your sales, adapt your ads, your social media, all of those communication parts, but even your product. It might make sense to, depending what product, you have, put more sugar in it. There's a lot of well-known brands. Even when you know yourself, like when you're traveling, you notice, oh, this drink is a lot sweeter here, or like this chocolate. But there can really be a lot of parts of your business that can be affected by health peculiarities.

Speaker 1:

I love that. And, like you said too, knowing the market first and foremost before you get there because you do, you lose a lot of time, a lot of money. It could even impact the reputation of the company you're representing. You know if it is a negative outcome or you know things don't work out. So that costs companies a lot of time and money as well, companies a lot of time and money as well. And also, too, I really like how you talked about you know, knowing those peculiaries and researching of, do you feel comfortable and confident to lead in this way? Do you feel comfortable and confident to? You know?

Speaker 1:

I always say have a little taste of humble pie, because you're not in your comfort bubble that you're so used to and, being in a different environment you're going in your comfort bubble that you're so used to and, being in a different environment, you're going to have to learn to be adaptable. And how things work one way in your home setting does not necessarily work. You know overseas as well. My question to you I know I'm going all over the place, but that adaptability you know, and can you share just an example of how a client felt, you know a little overwhelmed, and how they overcame that adaptability. If you could.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, of course, I had this client project. It was about a smartwatch and it wanted to approach three different markets and it was very interesting because it's also about you know, it's a consumer product first of all, and it's about it was about fitness, right? So this was like the goal and there were different parts that they I gave them like my um, like I consulted them and recommended that, in terms of their advertisement, um, they should really, um do some adjustments because, yeah, so in terms of like the adaptability, uh, we did some um, different ones. Their messaging, like we call it for the different market and member one had like this we talked about this before more individualistic approach.

Speaker 2:

So what we did there? We said, ok, this has to be really, because it's like a fitness product, it has to be like about your best. Like a fitness product, it has to be like about your best self, like unleash your best self, like this was really more, uh, the message behind it. And then, for the other market, this didn't make any sense at all. I can say this was a market in asia and that's all I can say um and there.

Speaker 2:

It was really more about you know. I can't give you all the details, but it was more about you know, like flourish together, like because everyone's wellness matters, like. This was more the approach and, as you can tell, like this is so different, like the one and we also included like for the app itself. This was more the approach and, as you can tell, this is so different the one and we also included for the app itself. I remember now we included the individualistic one. This was really more about including competition, the competitive features, into the app and also to show off, like, to even you know, you could publish your new stage or you could publish your new six-pack photo or things like that were more features there, whereas in the other one it was more about having group chats, like supporting each other, and more about this togetherness we're in this together approach. Those are just like some simple examples. Of course we went further, but that's what I'm happy to share with you. I love that.

Speaker 1:

Hello business leaders and event planners. My name is Jeba Edmondsonds and I am a professional keynote speaker. I have been on dozens of stages covering topics of resilience, leadership and cultural competency. If you are interested in a speaker who is energetic, poised and comes with a lot of lived experience, feel free to book an appointment with me. We have a few slots open this month and I cannot wait for you to reserve one.

Speaker 1:

And now back to our episode. I love that and it is with adaptability, of adapting to what the consumer wants. They have different personalities, different, you know, lenses, cultural lenses Some people want to have that in your personal discipline, others want that group accountability and guidance. And that's amazing that you're on the forefront of that, helping companies you know, translate it per se in different markets that have different needs. And, oh man, I could talk to you about this all day. This is amazing and I tell you I am a big fan of your work.

Speaker 1:

I watched a previous episode of yours about a person that is in the baby food industry and how he had to research the markets, you know, and to also understand there's going to be families all over the world and their needs are going to be to feed their babies. So what can we do? And how does that look like? You know, from different markets and just having that, you know, thinking outside of the box approach and then getting really minute and finite of which consumer needs what, because it will look different. And so, oh, sandra, I tip my hat.

Speaker 1:

I'm a huge fan of your work and already just following you and your work and having those conversations. I think is really important, especially, like you said, bridging the gap and understanding differences. And I love how you talk about the willingness to learn. You have to open your eyes and learn from others and that's how we grow, you know, together globally. You know, I feel like a lot of us still today are still trying to feel that comfort, but I think the most growth is to learn from each other and be out there. There's an old African proverb that says to travel is to learn, and I'm so happy that you are teaching those skills to those that need that while they're traveling or having a new you know experience, you know overseas, for their company or for themselves. So thank you for that, Sandra. So where can we find you and your work Can you share? Where can we find you?

Speaker 2:

Of course. So there's my website. I'm sure you'll also put it somewhere. It's from glocalcom, so G-L-O-C-L-e-dcom. That's the website, um. And then, of course, on linkedin, I'm always happy to connect with my personal um page there and also with the company's page, of course, um, we do also have an instagram account, which is, more you know, sharing some struggles, um, with the expat community, so you can also check out that one.

Speaker 1:

yeah, always happy to connect. I love it, and if you are looking folks for you know more consulting work with sandra, I'll have that as well in the show notes. Sandra, thank you, it's a pleasure to meet you and thank you for beaming all the way in from Berlin, germany, correct, you're in Germany right now, or London, right?

Speaker 2:

Right yeah.

Speaker 1:

So thank you so much for taking the time and sharing your insights with our audience, and thank you all everyone with the Culture Curriculum Chat podcast and Mrs Edmonds Cultural Corner, where we share lots of inclusive strategies to get you ready to promote positive change at work and in your community. I'll see you next time, bye, bye.