globalsuccess

AXIOM Best Business Book Winner

How a Common Tongue Transforms Multinational Organizations

THE LANGUAGE OF
GLOBAL SUCCESS

For nearly three decades, English has been the lingua franca of cross-border organizations, yet studies on corporate language strategies and their importance for globalization have been scarce.

In The Language of Global Success, Tsedal Neeley provides an in-depth look at a single organization―the high-tech giant Rakuten in the five years following its English lingua franca mandate. Neeley’s behind-the-scenes account explores how language shapes the ways in which employees who work in global organizations communicate and negotiate linguistic and cultural differences.
Drawing on 650 interviews conducted across Rakuten’s locations in Brazil, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States, Neeley argues that an organization’s lingua franca is the catalyst by which all employees become some kind of “expat”―someone detached from their mother tongue or home culture.
Through her unfettered access to the inner workings of Rakuten, she reveals three distinct social groups: “linguistic expats,” who live in their home country yet have to give up their native language in the workplace; “cultural expats,” or native speakers of the lingua franca, who struggle with organizational values that are more easily transmitted after language barriers are removed; and finally “linguistic-cultural expats,” who, while native to neither the lingua franca nor the organization’s home culture, surprisingly have the easiest time adjusting to language changes. Neeley demonstrates that language can serve as the conduit for an unfamiliar culture, often in unexpected ways, and that there are lessons to be learned for all global companies as they confront language and culture challenges.

You’ve been a terrific source of insights and perspective on our Englishnization program at Rakuten. I’m sure your guidance and research would be of enormous value to any company’s globalization efforts.

Hiroshi Mikitani

CEO of Rakuten

Praise

The Language of Global Success does a masterful job documenting the unfolding changes in work practices, impact on firm performance, and daily struggles and joys following an English-language mandate in a large Japan-based company.” Read more

Robert Sutton

Stanford University and coauthor of Scaling Up Excellence

The Language of Global Success does a masterful job documenting the unfolding changes in work practices, impact on firm performance, and daily struggles and joys following an English-language mandate in a large Japan-based company. Neeley’s careful analysis of globalization’s intertwined elements makes this a landmark study. Her compelling writing will appeal to any reader interested in the nitty-gritty of leading and understanding large-scale organizational change–and what it feels like for affected employees.”

Robert Sutton

Stanford University and coauthor of Scaling Up Excellence

“In The Language of Global Success, Tsedal Neeley courageously deconstructs the greatest challenge that global companies face: language.” Read more

Bill George

Former chair and CEO of Medtronic and author of Discover Your True North

“In The Language of Global Success, Tsedal Neeley courageously deconstructs the greatest challenge that global companies face: language. Her breakthrough research and insights into ways people adapt to change demonstrate what is required to integrate multiple cultures and languages into a unified organization required for sustained success.”

Bill George

Former chair and CEO of Medtronic and author of Discover Your True North

“A very original book at the intersection of language and organizational and national culture that combines attention to a question of real interest with rigorous field research.” Read more

Pankaj Ghemawat

New York University and IESE Business School, and author of World 3.0

“A very original book at the intersection of language and organizational and national culture that combines attention to a question of real interest with rigorous field research. It sets a high bar for further work in this domain–very high indeed.”

Pankaj Ghemawat

New York University and IESE Business School, and author of World 3.0

“This is a fascinating examination of how an English-language mandate at a Japanese firm, Rakuten, unfolded over time and how employees reacted to it.” Read more

JoAnne Yates

MIT Sloan School of Management

“This is a fascinating examination of how an English-language mandate at a Japanese firm, Rakuten, unfolded over time and how employees reacted to it. I am not aware of any other book on the organizational aspects of such mandates, and the scope and length of this impressive study make it valuable and important.”

JoAnne Yates

MIT Sloan School of Management

“With a wealth of material and rich insights, this accessible book develops a novel expatriate perspective on global work and provides concrete evidence for why language matters.” Read more

Rebecca Piekkari

Aalto University, School of Business

“With a wealth of material and rich insights, this accessible book develops a novel expatriate perspective on global work and provides concrete evidence for why language matters. It will be of great interest to scholars working in the fields of international business, human resource management, and organization psychology. A delightful read.”

Rebecca Piekkari

Aalto University, School of Business