Consider the cell phone. For us, it’s essential, and what’s more, it is everywhere.

It is, in fact, hard for people in developed markets to remember what it was like not to be available 24/7. The ability to reach anyone, anytime, from absolutely anywhere has become a given. BlueToothed or iPhoned, the connected yet very private (or at least self-absorbed) world of the cell phone could be the quintessential expression of western culture.

Yet in much of the rest of the world, where even clear, accessible land lines are more plan than reality, mobile telephony is only beginning to make its impact felt. Clearly, it’s a huge economic opportunity for the industry. There’s more to entering these markets than throwing up a network of towers, of course. Before you get the product in people’s hands, it’s essential to understand the culture.

But cultures are complex and dynamic systems, moved by often contradictory forces. Looking only at the dominant characteristics of a culture - as more than a few companies have done in failed attempts at cross-cultural marketing - is a bit like the Indian story of several blind men describing an elephant. (”It’s a wall!” “It’s a tree!” “No, it’s a snake!”)…