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I grew up in a relatively small world. Our family consisted of four people: my father, my mother, my brother and me. Everything happened in familiar patterns: same school, same neighborhood, same routines. Life was safe and predictable, but it also felt limited.
Early on, I noticed that I was curious about what existed outside those walls. A conversation with someone who had just gone on vacation, a book about a faraway country, a news story about a city I had never been to; it increasingly fueled a desire to understand how people lived elsewhere, what other ways of thinking and working looked like, and what it felt like to live in a world that was larger and more complex than my own environment.
The first step towards internationalization
Twenty years ago, at my first job after college, that curiosity became a reality. Almost immediately, I worked in international projects, with teams spread across multiple countries and customers in various markets. Projects had to be rolled out simultaneously, decisions were made across time zones, and each day required understanding of unwritten rules and varying expectations. Technology made connection possible, but it quickly became clear that being connected is not the same as really understanding each other.
Our brains evolved for small social groups. The Dunbar number, as described by Robin Dunbar, suggests that, on average, we can maintain around 150 stable social relationships effectively. International cooperation far exceeds that number. Colleagues, customers, and partners are in different cultures, time zones, and contexts, and our brain must constantly interpret signals that are incomplete or colored by cultural assumptions. A silence can mean disinterest, while it's just a timing issue. A direct comment can seem blunt, while for the other it means clarity.
Cultural complexity
Culture determines much of our daily functioning, even in professional contexts. Research into cultural dimensions shows that communication, hierarchy, decision-making and trust vary systematically between groups. What is efficient and logical in one context may be seen as inappropriate or disruptive in another. International cooperation is therefore not only an organizational challenge, but also a cognitive and social exercise: it forces us to understand how others think and why they act the way they do.
Dealing with this complexity requires a lot from the brain. Psychological research indicates that prolonged exposure to cultural and social complexity can cause mental fatigue, similar to decision fatigue. Technology facilitates coordination across time zones and channels, but does not remove the cognitive load. Anthropologically, we practice cultural adaptation on a daily basis: the ability to interpret behavior that is based on social logic other than that of our own cultural background.
In practice, this means that international cooperation is a constant exercise in observing, interpreting and anticipating. At first, it frustrated me: deadlines seemed impossible, feedback was misinterpreted, decisions were delayed. I slowly learned how important it is not only to follow processes, but to actively understand the context of others and to adjust my own behavior accordingly. The ability to navigate effectively appeared to be less dependent on knowledge or experience and more on cognitive and social flexibility.
Flexibility and diversity as a breath of fresh air
Since joining Open Commerce, I've really experienced the value of working in flexible, global teams for the first time. Instead of being limited to one office, with 50 or 100 colleagues, I interact daily with people from different cultures, with different perspectives and experiences. It's a breath of fresh air: ideas are tested more quickly, insights come from unexpected angles, and decisions are richer because they are fueled by diversity.
The difference is clear. Where traditional offices are often rigid and homogeneous, open, international teams offer a dynamic that is both cognitively stimulating and creatively nurturing. International diversity is not a luxury; it is a strategic advantage that reinforces collaboration, innovation and adaptation.
Openness is 'the key'
And yet, something paradoxical happens. While the world is more connected than ever, it is beginning to close at the same time. Countries want more internal control over data and technology. Political parties focus on nationalism and protectionism. People are afraid of each other, distrust is growing, privacy and AI are becoming sensitive. International cooperation is under pressure, while the world needs more cooperation to solve complex challenges.
What this requires is simple, but not obvious: openness. Open your teams, open your business, open your technology, open your ideas, your beliefs. Be open to new input, new perspectives, new partners and new technologies. Openness isn't naive; it's adaptive. It's a way of embracing, rather than avoiding, cognitive and social complexity. It's how international cooperation remains successful, even in a world that is prone to closure.
What internationality can teach us
International experience tells us that the ability to think and act across borders is an exercise in humanity. It is a test of our cognitive flexibility, our social insight, and our willingness to broaden our perspective. Openness makes collaboration possible, innovation achievable and trust buildable. Closeness limits our adaptive abilities; openness increases them.
Perhaps that is at the heart of what international experience can teach us: that success across borders does not depend on systems or tools, but on people's willingness to open up, learn, and adapt cognitively and socially to a world that is larger, more complex, and more diverse than ever before.
