JUNE 9, 2026|BOOKS & REVIEWS
The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: Business Beyond Borders by Dean Foster
"There is no excuse for cultural ignorance in the 21st century." Except perhaps laziness. The moment I picked up this book during the judging phases for last year's Non-Obvious book awards, the idea intrigued me. What could a book about cultural awareness have to teach someone like me? I'm proud of the diversity of my own business travel, but Dean Foster's experience working across 100 countries as the former Worldwide Director of Berlitz Cross-Cultural Division is enough to make any world traveler feel like an amateur.
Thankfully, this book avoids the ego trap and instead uses a compilation of true stories to illustrate exactly what it takes to survive and thrive in any culture -- as well as what to avoid doing. For anyone headed overseas for work (or even for pleasure), this book will help you become a better citizen of the world. And a better traveler too.
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How It All Started
A Short Backstory Of This Blog
This is a blog about non-obvious ideas. Originally launched on the Typepad platform in 2005 as the Influential Marketing blog, the stories at first focused mainly on digital marketing while Rohit worked at Ogilvy Advertising. In 2015 Rohit officially rebranded to the Non-Obvious Insights Blog and published his WSJ bestseller Non-Obvious. For the past twenty one years, this blog has coined new terms, introduced future marketing practices and inspired the next generation of non-obvious thinkers and marketers.
