About
Two perspectives. Two cultures.
One curiosity about the world.
David & Wenyan
We're David and Wenyan, a German-Chinese team who have spent years living, working and building a life across cultures. Along the way we've collected opportunities, misunderstandings, unexpected moments and one recurring question: "Wait, is this a cultural thing, or just a people thing?"
(We still don't always know. Usually it's both.)
David brings eight years as a managing director (Geschäftsführer) and more than a decade of living and working abroad, including more than 8 years in China and 3 years in the US. Wenyan brings careers with international companies in Germany and China, a master's degree from Tongji University in China and an MBA from Coburg University in Germany. Between us, we've seen German and Chinese working life from the boardroom and from the inside of big corporations.
Culture shapes how we communicate, lead, work and relate to one another. But it never tells the whole story. People are more complicated than national stereotypes, and understanding each other takes more than memorising a few dos and don'ts. Sometimes it takes a kitchen table, a pot of tea and the willingness to hear that what you call efficiency, someone else calls anxiety.
We bring our two perspectives together in two ways
Essays
We write about everyday encounters, cultural contrasts and the bigger questions underneath them, such as in our series Bread and Rice. Scenes rather than lectures: reflective, occasionally cheeky, always aimed at seeing the familiar from a different angle.
Cross-cultural training
We turn lived experience into practical tools for people and organisations working across borders. We help teams communicate clearly, build trust and decide better together, without losing their identity or pretending everyone needs to think alike. See what we do.
Our approach
Our approach combines professional experience, personal stories and curiosity. In a bicultural life, you learn quickly that you don't just translate languages. You translate intentions. And the best intercultural learning never starts from "we already understand each other." It starts with a better question.
Because the world doesn't need more people who think they have other cultures figured out. It needs more people willing to look twice, listen properly and laugh at themselves along the way. Preferably over dinner.
Different perspectives. Better questions. Better conversations.