The Challenge

A European-headquartered building materials company was experiencing growing friction between its Estonian operations and U.S. commercial teams. Both groups were highly skilled and committed, but they struggled to align on how projects should be executed.

• The U.S. team perceived their Estonian colleagues as overly cautious, indirect, and slow to make decisions.

• The Estonian team saw the U.S. approach as too fast-paced, overly optimistic, and lacking necessary detail.

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These differences created unhealthy conflict, causing delays in cross-regional projects and frustration in customer-facing work.

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The Approach: Culture Workshop for Alignment and Action​

Step 1: Surface the Gaps

• Applied The Culture Coach framework to map differences in communication, decision-making, and feedback.

• Facilitated open conversations around conflict triggers and blind spots in daily operations.

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Step 2: Build Shared Understanding

• Mapped each team’s preferences side-by-side to make cultural differences visible without blame.

• Used real examples from recent projects to ground the discussion in business reality.

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Step 3: Turn Insight into Action

• Co-created a practical playbook covering:

  • Clearer decision-making protocols for cross-border projects

  • Agreed formats for feedback (direct vs softened)

  • Shared expectations for communication (response times, meeting cadence)

• Delivered a leadership guide to reinforce agreements.

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The Outcome

Within three months of the workshop:

• 🚀 Project approval cycles were 30% faster, reducing costly delays.

• 🤝 Reported conflict incidents dropped by 40%, replaced with constructive debate.

• 📈 Teams scored +22% higher on collaboration and trust in the company’s internal survey.

• 💡 Leaders reported smoother alignment between U.S. sales and Estonian operations, resulting in faster responses to customer needs.

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Key Takeaway

In global industries like building materials, cultural differences don’t just shape relationships — they directly impact project delivery and customer outcomes. With the right framework and dialogue, those differences can become a source of efficiency, trust, and stronger results.