What's in a Name
The Story Behind Cultural Savvy
By Joyce Millet, Founder & President
It started in a college classroom.
My curiosity about the world began long before that — back in elementary school — but the spark that shaped my career came later, and unexpectedly.
I was a political science major at the time, checking boxes more than following a calling, when I signed up for a series of Asian history courses for reasons I couldn’t fully articulate.
Those courses changed everything.
The professors weren’t just academics. They were practitioners — former diplomats and educators who had lived across China, Japan, and India. They taught history the way it actually unfolds: through people, power, culture, and the quiet forces that shape nations.
Not only that, but they brought a depth no textbook could replicate.
From classroom to immersion.
One professor was leading a three‑month study program across Asia. I applied — and everything changed.
What followed wasn’t just travel. It was immersion.
I moved through cities and villages, temples and markets — each place revealing a different rhythm, a different logic. I stood before landmarks I had only seen in books. I tasted cuisines that carried centuries of history in a single bite. And everywhere I went, I was met with a warmth and generosity that made the unfamiliar feel unexpectedly welcoming.
Those months opened a world I hadn’t known existed — and they shifted the direction of my life.
From experience to identity.
After those years navigating Asia, I knew exactly what I wanted to build — a practice that would give leaders what I never had: real preparation for working across cultures, where the stakes are high and missteps are costly.
But what to call it?
The answer came from one question: What do people actually need when they work across cultures?
Not awareness. Not sensitivity. Something more operational.
They need to be culturally savvy — to navigate, not just observe. To adapt, not just understand. To use culture strategically.
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