Richard Lewis Communications and CrossCulture

Richard Lewis Communications started in 1989 and gives executive language, communication skills and cross-cultural training, coaching and consultancy world-wide.

CrossCulture is the new brand for its cross-cultural division, based around The Lewis Model of Culture.

But our story began much longer ago, when Richard Lewis visited Helsinki for the 1952 Olympic Games. As a linguist, he was fascinated by Finnish:  he had already taught himself the country’s minority language, Swedish, as a schoolboy. He decided to stay, learn Finnish (eventually writing a grammar book ) and start a career opening language training centres, beginning in Helsinki and ultimately spreading as far as Japan and Brazil.

In the mid 1980s a Finnish client, Valmet Paper Machinery, realised good English language and presentation skills were not enough to succeed in the inevitable process of globalisation. Knowing of Richard’s interest in cultures – sparked by anthropological studies at the Sorbonne – they asked for his help in changing how they approached different markets. And so the creation of The Lewis Model of Culture began. The brand CrossCulture is a natural evolution.

Our mission, at CrossCulture, is to embed knowledge of cultural behaviour in individuals, teams and organisations, helping you do better global business.

The story is never-ending as our community of clients, partners and associates widens and deepens the Lewis Model and its applications in a changing world…