Work out how to deal with anyone across the table — by reading what they do, not where they are from.
Based on Erin Meyer, "The Culture Map" (2014) · a field tool from Selleris
The Negotiator's Compass is a free, interactive tool for cross-cultural negotiation. Describe how the person across the table actually behaves — how directly they speak, how they give feedback, how they reach a decision, how they handle disagreement — and it places them on eight behavioral axes, matches them to one of seven negotiation personas, and hands you a concrete playbook for that person. It is built for any deal that crosses a border: a sales call, a partnership, a vendor contract, a first meeting with a counterpart you have never met.
The framework is adapted from Erin Meyer's book The Culture Map (2014), taking her country-level scales and pointing them at the individual in front of you rather than a whole nation. This page is in three parts. Part I, the eight axes — the concrete signals that tell you where someone sits on each scale. Part II, the seven personas — a dossier for each, with what to do, what to avoid, and the trap to watch for. Part III, the diagnostic — mark what you have observed and it builds a live profile, names the closest persona, and assembles a playbook tailored to that specific person. It runs entirely in your browser: no sign-up, nothing to install.
Meyer maps cultures, not individuals. We take the next step and carry the model onto a live counterpart at the negotiating table. For that to work, keep four things in mind.
Nationality gives only a starting guess. Within any culture people vary widely; the more educated and "international" someone is, the further they may sit from the norm. Test the hypothesis against observed behavior and adjust.
What counts is not the absolute spot on the scale but the gap between your counterpart and you. A German looks blunt to someone indirect, and tactful to someone blunter still. Always compare against your own style.
Rarely does anyone fit one persona perfectly. If the profile is mixed, don't force it - use the advice for each axis separately. The diagnostic below does exactly that, assembling a playbook from the eight axes.
The axes are neutral. Bluntness is no better than tact; consensus is no worse than a solo decision. There is only a difference to be managed. Judging someone else's style is the fastest way to blow up a deal.
The core instrument. Each axis card shows both poles side by side: the signals that place someone there (what they say, how they write emails, how they run a meeting) and what each pole means for your moves. This is also the list of identifiers a persona is later assembled from.
Stable combinations of positions across the eight axes - the clusters that actually recur in negotiations. Each dossier: the axis profile, a portrait, how to recognize them, the negotiation playbook (do · avoid · levers), cultural anchors, and the main trap.
On each axis, mark what you have already observed in the person's behavior (in conversation, email, a meeting). The atlas will build their profile, find the closest persona, and assemble a negotiation playbook from the eight axes. Not sure on an axis? Leave it on "mixed."
