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Theassumption thatthereare universalwaysof thinking,feeling, andbehaving aroundtheworldis misguided."

Over the last four  decades,Asiahas beenthe  primary  engine of global economic  growth.  This year the economy in India is expected to grow more than  6 percent,  according to the IMF and OECD.China,now the world's  largest economy  in purchasing-power-parity    terms,  issitting  on $15trillion  in bank deposits ,growing  at $2trillion  annually.  And since opening  its borders  to global trade  in 2012,Myanmar, formerly  Burma,is creating  an extraordinary   entrepreneurial environment owing to its "greenfield"   advantage:  a rare opportunity   to build  a fit-for-purpose economy  tosuitthe modern  world.

What does this mean for global  leaders?  According  to SHARON SCHWEITZER,  an expert  in intercul­ tural  communication   and international   etiquette,   Asia's economic  force signifies a call to action: executives,  entrepreneurs,  and emerging  leaders,whether they  presently  do business in Asia or not,would  be well served to become  culturally  smart about  their  Asian counterparts.   Only then, as opportunities    knock,can they build successful,long-lasting businessrelationships.

Ms. Schweitzer  recently  made this task simpler  and easier. In her new book AccesstoAsia:  Your Multicultural     Guide to Building Trust,Inspiring  Respect,and Creating  Long-Lasting  Business Relationships   (Wiley,  2015), she offers  a one-stop  guidebook to intercultural   relationship building  and international   etiquette   in 10 Asian countries: China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar,  the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea,and Taiwan. Additionally,   she explores the U.S.business culture  for any leader seeking a deeper  understanding   of the United States..

Country  bycountry,  Schweitzer  leaves no stone unturned.  In Access to Asia she addresses it all-from belief  systems to business etiquette,   customs to communication   styles. She also shares. advice and anecdotes  from  interviews  with  more than  100 business professionals  and regional gurus.The result:a unique, user-friendly   manual to help leaders gain cultural awareness and succeed in the  relationship  business in Asia.

A guiding  theme  in Access to Asiais Schweitzer's  fundamental  eight-question   framework.   For each one of the 10 Asian countries  featured,  leaders can go on a functional   fact-finding  mission:

1.How do people prefer to act-individually or as a group?

2.How are power and authority viewed?

3.How do people compare rules and relationships?

4.How do people regard time?

5.How do people communicate-directly or indirectly?

6.How formal or in formal do people tend to be?

7.How aligned are people's social and business lives?

8.How is the concept of women in business handled?