Hello everyone.

Welcome to a new weekend (almost over on my side of the planet)

Topic of the week: individualism vs. collectivism

A perfectly quick summary of last week:

“A customary term for mental software is culture.” (Hofstede, “Cultures and Organizations”)

This might resonate with readers, given many work somewhere in “software”. 🤗

First, let me quickly recap the last episode, you can just go and read it yourself in detail here:

Culture evolves within different social groups. You can compare nations, states, cities, neighbourhoods.

Culture defines our values and actions.

Culture has an impact on our perception and interpretation.

Culture is the base of bias, that is mental shortcuts.

Culture has a direct impact on our neurological pathways and there is plenty of research studying different brain patterns in cultural settings.

We will continue our journey down the culture rabbit hole for this newsletter, looking into different dimensions and how to utilize them at work and travelling the world.

The first dimension is…

“Individualism vs. Collectivism” or “I, We and They”

In my second SaaS-related job at an ad-tech company in the late 2000s, I was responsible for partnerships with ad agencies in Russia. While I knew the culture, as I grew up in Moscow, it was the first time working within the IT / ad industry. As a seed-funded company, we wanted to avoid travel, so we initiated contacts remote: mail and Skype.

While we got into detailed discussions over the first quarter and managed to build good relationships, business did not materialize. The COO wanted to call it off, the CEO asked me what to do. “We need to go there” I said. To my surprise, we were on a plane two weeks later.

We spent a week meeting, eating lunches, having dinners. The owner of the agency was also the owner of a restaurant. We had a good time chatting about anything and noting, rarely business. We bonded. On the last evening, I took the CEO of the agency, his colleague, and my CEO to a club after dinner - on a Thursday. They all had a blast.

On Monday, I got a message from the Russian CEO: “Alex, I haven’t been out for years. Thank you for spending the week with us. Let me come back to you with next steps.”

The week after, we received a signed contract, with a value that moved the region into the Top 3 revenue regions of the company.

Collectivistic cultures

Countries scoring high on the collectivistic scale:

• Japan

• China

• Ghana

• Costa Rica

• India

• Russia

• Vietnam

• South Korea

• Thailand

• Taiwan

In collective countries, families living together are often bigger, with multiple generations sharing one space. Children grow up in an environment of “we”. The loyalty is to the group. Breaking this loyalty is a big no-go. Parents have influence on the children’s decisions and can, often, “overrule” the wishes of the child.

Overall, this structure allows for practical and psychological safety and support.

The power lies within the power of the group (not even society). Business is done with a person.

Decisions are made by the group.

Personal relationships matter!

Professional trust is built on personal trust and credibility, above company standing.

Knowing the person to do business with personally is a big deal and opens doors. The ability to do business with a person is based on shared values over family, character and world view. The latter, you might not align, but a good and heated discussion builds bonds for life.

The downside: collectivistic behaviour can result in favouritism all the way to corruption.

Individualistic cultures

Countries scoring high on the individualistic scale:

• Australia

• US

• Canada

• Germany

• United Kingdom

• South Africa

• Denmark

• New Zealand

• Italy

• Belgium

In individualistic cultures, families are typically small, often parent(s) and child(ren). Kids grow up focused on the “I”. Education is focused on allowing children to become self-sustainable in their rights. Kids are expected to leave their parent’s home once high-school is over. In such a society, everyone is expected to look after themselves.

Personal “me” time is favoured over “us” time, and personal accomplishments are more important than what the group achieves. Individuals are “lonely fighters”, asking for help is hard.

The power lies within the power of an individual.

Business is done with the company.

Decisions are made by individuals.

Personal relationships matter less.

Professional trust is built on the base of the companies branding and standing.

Knowing the person to do business with personally (their family, interests, character and values) is not relevant to do business.

According to studies, identification with the nation, or patriotism, is less common. Although I must admit, this is an area I can not agree with based on my experience.

The downsides? Individualistic cultures suffer from a mental health crisis. As I learnt from the research for last week’s newsletter, the impact of being a bunch of lonely fighters is increased loneliness, depression and suicide rates. This manifests in hormone balance and e.g. serotonin receptors in the brain.

The culture map

Hofstede collected his data through surveys within IBM. As IBM has large-scale operations almost all around the world, this was a smart move by Hofstede.

Below is the map of the “collectivism-individualism” dimension.

Another story

In 2017, our Europe team started to welcome colleagues from India for 3-6 month stints. They’d be put up in a serviced apartment close to the office, knowing hardly anyone, working through large-scale customer-facing projects.

Because I knew about these cultural dimensions (hi, bachelor thesis), I applied the learnings from “individualism vs. collectivism”. I’d spent the first weekends with our Indian colleagues, driving them around Berlin, taking them for lunches around the office. My German colleagues would ask me why I’d spend so much time with them, I hardly knew them.

That was exactly the point.

I wanted to get to know them. As I led the delivery team in Europe, my goal was to make sure I know they can trust me and vice versa. To get there, I needed to get their friend. It wasn’t hard. All of them are wonderful people, and many remain friends and even colleagues years later.

At the end, with each one of them, we pulled off the most amazing projects, worked over weekends and late nights. They trusted me with their problems, they shared with me their newest findings about the product.

Throughout the years, I was able to build a network within the company and have the right channels to get things done.

At the same time, I could take the team to Swedish clients and get straight to business. The Indian team members would find this strange, but my team came to understand the differences and was able to adapt to make the opposite comfortable.

If you can change your mental “culture colors”, there is a lot to win.

Find my research: individualism vs. collectivism

Cultural neuroscience: Progress and Promise

I mentioned this paper last time. As it compares multiple dimensions through a neuroscience lens, I guess I might mention it even next time. It is a good paper, showing the intricate connections between culture and our mental wiring.

(NIH)

The impact of “individualism” and “collectivism” on governance and government

This paper argues that individualism is mostly beneficial. Indeed, you can see a trend of highly collectivistic countries being corrupt, family favoured, and less democratic. Because once somebody is in power, they’d surround themselves with people that are loyal to them to protect it. While in individualistic countries, a person in power, will never know whom to trust because everyone fights for their benefit. But is that a cultural problem or a human problem?

(European Journal of Political Economy)

For additional research, I used the following book:

Find my research: neuroscience

July, 22nd - World Brain Day

Did you know the 22nd of July is World Brain Day? I did not. I mean, not that this is significant. But I have been in the realm of brain stuff for the almost a year now. Weekly! And I did not know about it. The WORLD FEDERATION OF NEUROLOGY EVEN HAD A PAGE: https://wfneurology.org/world-brain-day-2024

My initial reaction: “oh, they messed up! How can we not know about it?”

But then, yes - how much do we learn about our heart, our brain, our gut? Nothing much really. Instead, we have to deal with Trump and OpenAI almost daily. Because this is what will keep our bodies fit in 30 years. 🙄

Enough of gloom - it is a personal decision to learn and take health serious. One way to do that is to read the newsletter - I hope. If you agree, let me know. If you disagree - let me know. Either way, feel free to share it with others. That would help me a lot. ❤️

And maybe next time we can help to spread the word about “World Brain Day” in advance. I have pencilled it in my calendar.

ADHD - medicate or not? (and some thoughts on reviewing content)

In his latest newsletter, Dr. Peter Attia reviewed a study looking into the side effects of ADHD medication. The study suggested that the use of ADHD medication can seriously increase the risk of heart disease. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by inattentiveness, impulsivity, emotional dysregulation and can lead to depression.

What I love about any content from Attia is the level of detail and the in-depth understanding of scientific research, facts and “facts”.

Why is this important?

1. We are constantly bombarded with headlines suggesting a study found that “taking x will lead to sure death”, or “taking 4 kg of vitamin D helps to never get Covid”. Too often, these are clickbait headlines and studies.

2. Reviewing, understanding, and fact-checking content has become more important. The onset of AI increased the likelihood potential for hallucinationed, made-up content. Developing a critical mind is critical.

Coming back to the study: Attia’s main point is the importance of understanding assumptions taken by the authors and the definitions or scope of data included / excluded. For example, the study included really any arterial disease or “any other peripheral vascular disease”. A very broad term for basically any heart and blood vessel issues.

Hence, the study ends up with a larger pool of people supporting the thesis that long-term ADHD medication can develop heart diseases.

Attia concludes that the data does indeed suggest using ADHD medication for a longer period of time increases risk of heart issues (e.g. high blood pressure or arrhythmias). But these side effects should be weighted against the impact of ADHD itself, which leads to cause depression.

(Dr. Peter Attia)

Nootropics and brain performance

Nootropics - compounds, natural or synthetic, that can (potentially) have a positive impact on cognition, concentration, working and long-term memory.

Caffeine, fish-oils - maybe nootropics are just a new fancy word for substances we know are good for brain health. Maybe it will help to further increase the interest in brain health in general - better marketing, so to speak.

Research supports the short and long-term impact of fine-tuned brain food: from salmon to cashews, coffee to dark chocolate.

(Houstonia)

Anti-Anxiety Diet

A bit more about nutritions.

In March, we discussed ways to increase dopamine, e.g. through nutritions. If you missed it, read here.

The good people over at Melon Mag came up with a good, short list of brain food. They call it the “Anti-Anxiety” diet. Either way, a crisp list of nutritious products you can find in your supermarket.

Supporting evidence also comes from a very recent study that collected data from 13,000 people in Singapore on their eating habits. The finding? More fruit during midlife helps reduce depression and late-life (post 65 years).

On top of tech

Blue-screen Microsoft moment for BCI: a perspective

Who has not heard of the blue screen debacle of the recent week? Okay, everybody. Good!

Lucky, we aren’t all connected with BCI’s based on Microsoft operating system - yet.

But let’s imagine this was the case, what could happen?

Some thoughts in this article.

(Sociable)

Neurotech - technology that needs to earn trust (and place)

Building in the mental health space is not easy. The new layer of even deeper brain modulation, stimulation and tracking carries a lot of hope for people with mental health issues. Which we all know, is rising in most developed countries. (if you don’t believe me, check out the brainhealthatlas).

There are deeply medical technologies, like Neuralink or Synchron.

I continue to believe that at one point we will measure brain activities for sleep and mental performance, like we measure heart and pace for exercising.

But it is a long way to get there.

Over the past decade, many companies have shut down. We had the first data leaks. Granted, machine learning as we know it today, did not exist ten, or even five years ago. These models make a huge difference for data analysis. It means that smaller tracking devices can extract more information, which then can provide many more insights through AI-analysis. But it is far from ideal.

There are user behaviour obstacles: who hasn’t downloaded Calm or Headspace, used it for a couple of weeks, and then abandoned it?

It will take time.

My theory for neurotech:

• it will be included in wireless headphones, which we will wear much more frequently throughout the day;

• such fitness trackers will be included in sweat headbands or caps / hats to measure brain activity alongside heart rate.

And Apple is in a good position. Should they include EEG tracking in their earbuds and release the Apple ring on top of their Apple Watch device, they can track brain, heart, movements and activities 24/7.

(MedCityNews)

Watermarking AI-generated speech

The last couple of weeks have been very busy for AI. New models, new integrations, new hardware. With that, we are seeing more realistic (real-world realistic) images, videos, and voice imitations.

We were able to trust our brain to distinguish between real and fake. That is becoming increasingly more difficult. How do we now know what is real and what is not?

We need to rely on technology like watermarks, a digital certification confirming the signal (voice, image, video) is real, human-generated, or AI-generated.

Meta has created a way to watermark AI-generated speech.

This could be sent via networks of e.g. telco providers alongside the message and generate a notification to warn the end user, thus reducing misinformation, spam, and fraud.

The whole situation is somewhat sad, if you ask me. We are getting closer and closer to a reality, where we don’t know what is real and what is not.

(MITReview)

Neural networks think like humans

We make a lot of decisions every day - around 25 every minute. One of my first newsletters was about how our brain makes decisions through Bayesian inference (prior beliefs) and anticipatory mechanisms. Have a read!

Humans try to train neural networks to make more decisions like humans. It will be fun, they say. 🤖

There is one catch:

Why catch? Because our brain can fall back on memories and schemas to identify the best options. When these memories don’t exist, what do you fall back on?

When Neural networks, such as Large Language Models, don’t know the answer, they start to hallucinate: make things up, make weird connections, lying.

This is where new models of training the models **can help improve the models. (yes, I deliberately chose this sentence!)

The study combined a “stochastic probability model” and an “evidence accumulation process”. The latter basically stores the result of each decision made to create a repository of past scenarios. This is very similar to how we humans learn and make decisions.

The result: the model was much more accurate, especially in high-speed decision-making scenarios. Humans tend to have reduced accuracy when making decisions under time pressure.

Another area where AI can seemingly win over humans. I am just saying…. 🤖

(Georgia Tech)

Media Box

Climate-smart coffee

Imagine coffee prices, which are already creeping higher and higher, to skyrocket even more.

Mostly, because the dominant Arabica plant will struggle through climate change and hence produce 80% less crop by 2050. Given, we often underestimate the speed of negative trends (hi, 1.5C temperature change), we might be there in 2040. That is in 15 years.

Let the Coffea Robusta enter the stage. While it is not a new plant, it has received less attention, especially from big producers. But this might change. The robusta plant is more, well, robust in fast-changing climate and can adopt easier to different soils. The latter is what scientists hope and hence trialling Robusta plants all over the world.

There are two options to stop your normal espresso to become the 335 pound espresso we watched James Hoffman drink the other day: either we stop climate change or we get Robusta growing to substitute the Arabica decline.

(University of Florida)

Misc but not least…

The other day, I had a conversation with a family member. That person has come a phrase I often heard: “I really want to do my thing. Now is the time. I started to read that book.” The first time I heard that was probably 2013.

Then on Thursday, I saw this statement from James Clear, author of “Atomic Habits”:

You can consume all the things in the world. They can provide ideas. That’s great. It is entertaining. If entertainment is what you want - awesome! Most likely, it will create FOMO as well (fear of missing out, in case you did not know).

But only doing will move you forward.

It is scary. But then…

…the other option? Don’t do it. Acknowledge the dream you might have had, to become a founder, start your own business, be a professional trader, dancer, boxer, photographer, is a nice thought, and nothing else. Then move on. And that is ok as well. Don’t dwell. Let it go!

If that thought makes you angry or anxious? Then do it. 🙂

Start with little steps.

Do things that are scary! Every week. One thing. Then look a week, a month, a year back - look at your growth and learnings! I guarantee you, you will not disappoint yourself.

Don’t do it - and look back a year later. You will ask yourself: why didn’t I do it?

100%!!!

Thank you for reading.

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Maybe they can learn something as well? ;-)

Have a great rest of the weekend.

Alex