I - Interpretation (Interpretation)"Adapt and adjust—according to the cultural environment you are in, adjust the way you give and receive feedback to achieve the effect you expect."
During its global expansion, Netflix discovered the cultural limitations of the 4A feedback framework, so it added a 5th "A":Adapt and Adjust。
Core insight: "Everything is relative"
- Japanese people think Singaporeans are too direct
- Americans think Singaporeans are too indirect
- Dutch people think Americans are too indirect
- Directness and indirectness are relative; there is no absolute standard
Key tools:
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Upgraders/Downgraders
- Direct cultures use upgraders: "absolutely terrible", "completely wrong"
- Indirect cultures use downgraders: "slightly suboptimal", "perhaps we could consider"
- Only by understanding the other party's language habits can you accurately interpret the severity of the feedback
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Establish formal feedback mechanisms in indirect cultures
- Put feedback on the formal agenda
- Provide structure and preparation time
- Give people from indirect cultures a "safe framework" for giving feedback
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Bidirectional Adaptation
- Both sides need to adjust, not just the headquarters culture side
- Colleagues from indirect cultures also need to learn to accept direct feedback
- Colleagues from direct cultures need to learn to soften the way they express themselves
Case 1: Mie (Japan) — A feedback culture rising from tears Mie burst into tears on the spot when asked to give upward feedback. In Japanese culture, directly criticizing a superior is extremely uncomfortable. Netflix subsequently introduced a formal 360-degree feedback training structure, giving the Japanese team ample preparation time and a formal framework. Result: the Japanese team's feedback quality eventually surpassed that of the American team.
Case 2: Karin Wong (Singapore) — An incident sparked by a "polite" American email An American colleague sent the Singapore team an email worded politely (by American standards). But 7 of the 9 Singaporean colleagues considered the email "rude and reprimanding." The same words are interpreted completely differently in different cultures. English fluency ≠ cultural alignment.
Case 3: Ilse (the Netherlands) — Dutch bluntness devastates Americans Ilse told an American colleague: "You said 80% of the words in the meeting." The American colleague was hit hard and thought the entire meeting was a failure. In Dutch culture, this is just a constructive observation; in American culture, it is almost equivalent to a personal attack. The same feedback has a completely different "harm level" in different cultures.
A2 - Future Trigger Conditions (Future Trigger)Apply this skill when the following situations occur:
- The user is collaborating with people from different cultural backgrounds
- The user's feedback is misunderstood by someone from another cultural background
- The user is asking "how to give feedback to Japanese/Chinese/Dutch colleagues"
- The user is managing a multicultural team
- The user receives feedback from other cultures and feels confused or hurt
- The user's company is expanding internationally
- The user finds that communication in cross-national teams is inefficient
Step 1: Assess cultural differences
Before receiving or giving feedback, first assess the other party's cultural background:
Examples of direct feedback cultures: Netherlands, Germany, Israel, Russia Examples of indirect feedback cultures: Japan, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia Middle ground: United States (leans direct but more indirect than the Netherlands), Singapore (more direct than Japan but more indirect than the United States)
Key judgments:
- Does the other party use intensifiers or softeners?
- Is the other party used to public feedback or private feedback?
- How much "buffer" does the other party need to receive negative information?
Step 2: Adjustments when giving feedback to indirect cultures
Before giving negative feedback:
- First add positive content to build an emotional buffer
- Use a tone of suggestion rather than command: "Perhaps you could consider..." rather than "You should..."
- Consider using emojis or gentle wording (if communicating in writing)
- Put feedback into a formal context rather than bringing it up casually
- Tell the other party in advance that you want to give feedback, giving them time to prepare
Step 3: Mental preparation when giving feedback to direct cultures
When receiving feedback from a direct culture:
- Be prepared that the other party's "small suggestion" may sound harsh — it is usually not as serious as it sounds
- Interpret positive feedback and negative feedback separately
- In direct cultures, "you did not do this part well" ≠ "you as a person are not good"
- Learn to view direct feedback as professional development advice, not a personal attack
Step 4: Promote two-way adaptation
Colleagues from indirect cultures also need to adjust:
- Encourage colleagues from indirect cultures to learn to accept direct feedback
- Understand direct feedback as professional development, not a personal attack
- Establish a shared feedback language and norms within the team
- Provide cross-cultural feedback training so that both sides understand each other's habits
Practical suggestions:
- Have Japanese employees watch how Japanese people give feedback in Japanese (rather than watching Americans give feedback in English)
- Localized demonstrations are more effective than headquarters training
- Establish a "feedback vocabulary" in multicultural teams — clarify what the actual meaning of which expressions is
Do not use headquarters culture to "teach" local culture:
- Japanese employees clearly stated: watching Americans give feedback in English is useless to them
- They need to see how Japanese people give feedback in Japanese
- Localized demonstrations > headquarters training
- Solution: Cultivate local feedback role models in each region
English fluency ≠ cultural alignment:
- Karin Wong's case proves: the Singapore team is fluent in English, but their cultural expectations are completely different from those of the United States
- Do not assume that because the other party speaks fluent English they understand American-style feedback culture
- Communication style is shaped by culture, not language ability
It is not a substitute for the 4A framework:
- Cultural adaptation operates on top of the 4A framework, rather than replacing the 4A
- The 4A framework (Aim to Assist, Actionable, Appreciated, Accept or Discard) is the foundation
- The 5th A (Adapt and Adjust) is a cultural overlay on top of this foundation
- Order of use: first ensure the feedback conforms to the 4A principles, then adjust the way it is expressed according to the cultural context
The risk of cultural stereotypes:
- Individual differences within the same culture can be very large
- Do not assume that every Japanese person is equally indirect, or every Dutch person equally direct
- Cultural frameworks are a starting point, but they need to be adjusted according to the individual
- Observe the individual's feedback preferences and continuously calibrate