The NetherlandsvsIsrael
オランダとイスラエルNLIL
Seen from the Netherlands: each line below describes Israel relative to the Netherlands.
Culture Map: eight scales
Erin Meyer's eight scales, sorted by how far apart the Netherlands and Israel sit, largest gap first.
Filled dot: the Netherlands, where you are looking fromHollow ring: Israel
Where you will notice the difference4 scales
Trusting
Israel builds trust through personal relationships more than the Netherlands (3 steps)
The Netherlands −2, Israel +1, on a line from −3 (Task-based) to +3 (Relationship-based).
Scheduling
Israel treats plans as more flexible than the Netherlands (3 steps)
The Netherlands −2, Israel +1, on a line from −3 (Linear time) to +3 (Flexible time).
Leading
Israel keeps more distance between boss and team than the Netherlands (1 step)
The Netherlands −3, Israel −2, on a line from −3 (Egalitarian) to +3 (Hierarchical).
Disagreeing
Israel is more willing to disagree openly than the Netherlands (1 step)
The Netherlands −2, Israel −3, on a line from −3 (Confrontational) to +3 (Avoids confrontation).
Where you are close1 scale
Evaluating
The Netherlands and Israel sit on the same step
The Netherlands −3, Israel −3, on a line from −3 (Direct negative feedback) to +3 (Indirect negative feedback).
Not placed3 scales
These scales are left unmarked: either Meyer leaves a country off the scale or no source places it, and drawing it anyway would be guessing.
- Communicating, Persuading, DecidingNo source places Israel on these scales
Hofstede: six dimensions
Scores from 0 to 100, sorted by the gap between the Netherlands and Israel. They describe national averages, not either country's character.
Individualism
Israel scores 44 points lower than the Netherlands (56 against 100)
The Netherlands 100, Israel 56, on a line from 0 (Collectivist) to 100 (Individualist).
Motivation towards achievement and success
Israel scores 33 points higher than the Netherlands (47 against 14)
The Netherlands 14, Israel 47, on a line from 0 (Consensus-oriented) to 100 (Decisive).
Uncertainty avoidance
Israel scores 28 points higher than the Netherlands (81 against 53)
The Netherlands 53, Israel 81, on a line from 0 (Tolerant of ambiguity) to 100 (Avoids ambiguity).
Power distance
Israel scores 25 points lower than the Netherlands (13 against 38)
The Netherlands 38, Israel 13, on a line from 0 (Low power distance) to 100 (High power distance).
Long-term orientation
Israel scores 20 points lower than the Netherlands (47 against 67)
The Netherlands 67, Israel 47, on a line from 0 (Short-term) to 100 (Long-term).
- IndulgenceNo score for Israel
What the sources say, theme by theme
Entries for the Netherlands and Israel, side by side on wide screens. Each keeps its own confidence label and citations.
Design & quality
Netherlands2 claims
Guido van Rossum created Python at CWI in Amsterdam. He names his frustration with ABC's lack of extensibility and the system administration needs of the Amoeba distributed OS group as motives. He started over the 1989 Christmas holidays and released 0.9.0 on 1991-02-20.
Well attested2 sources2009Datednl-design-1
According to Thomke (HBR, 2020), Booking.com runs more than 1,000 experiments at once and over 25,000 a year. Its internal rule is that anyone can test anything without management's permission.
Attested1 source2020nl-design-2
Israel3 claims
In Chutzpah (2019), Inbal Arieli argues in chapters such as "Failure Is an Option," "Certain Uncertainty" and "Resourcefulness" that growing up amid chaos (balagan) builds improvisation and resourcefulness. The argument is not based on quantitative data.
Thin1 source2019il-design-1
Hofstede's uncertainty avoidance (UAI) is high at 81. The Culture Factor describes a culture that wants rules, punctuality and precision, yet is good at improvising under pressure.
Attested1 source2026il-design-2
According to Haaretz (2012), rosh gadol ("big head") started out as an Israeli army term. It is praise for someone who sees the wider picture, takes responsibility and acts on their own initiative beyond their role.
Attested1 source2012Datedil-design-3
Failure & risk
Netherlands2 claims
ING moved to a Spotify-style structure of squads and tribes in 2015. In a McKinsey interview (2017), it described each tribe writing down its results and biggest learnings every quarter and celebrating both successes and failures.
Attested1 source2017nl-failure-1
According to Thomke (HBR, 2020), only about 10% of Booking.com's experiments produce positive results; the other 90% or so do not support the hypothesis. The company runs its experiments on that assumption.
Attested1 source2020nl-failure-2
Israel4 claims
Arieli argues that Israel is a society that does not shy away from risk and that children are raised to accept failure as part of learning. The Publishers Weekly review criticized the book for being unsure whether it is a parenting guide or a cultural analysis.
Thin1 source2019il-failure-1
After October 7, 2023, an estimated 15% to 20% of tech employees were mobilized for reserve duty, and in the war's third week about 70% of tech firms reported disruptions. Even so, the sector raised $3.1 billion in 220 rounds by spring 2024.
Attested2 sources2024il-failure-2
According to Calcalist, reserve duty delayed Wix's AI design product by one quarter, and Intel moved some work to teams in India.
Attested1 sourceil-failure-3
2025 brought a series of large acquisitions: Wiz ($32 billion, Google), CyberArk ($25 billion, Palo Alto Networks) and Armis ($7.75 billion, ServiceNow). Calcalist estimates the total value of acquisitions of Israeli-founded companies at about $80 billion.
Attested1 source2025il-failure-4
Feedback & code review
Netherlands2 claims
Erin Meyer cites the Netherlands as an example of giving negative feedback directly on her Evaluating scale, and of open disagreement on her Disagreeing scale. Her book says "the Dutch manager learns always to be honest and to give the message straight."
Attested1 sourcenl-feedback-1
Some expat guides link Dutch directness to polder-model consensus building, explaining that speaking your mind freely is a precondition for reaching agreement.
Thin1 sourcenl-feedback-2
Israel3 claims
Dugri ("straight talk") is a language ideology that treats bluntness as a sign of courage and sincerity, studied by Tamar Katriel in a 1986 book. Katriel says dugri presupposes mutual trust.
Attested1 source2021il-feedback-1
Katriel describes dugri as the speech style of the European-origin Sabra generation of the 1940s and 1950s, in contrast to musayara, an indirect Arab style. In 1999 she herself noted that dugri was in decline.
Attested1 sourceil-feedback-2
On her Disagreeing scale, Meyer cites Israel as an example of a culture comfortable with open disagreement. A review of The Culture Map also places it among countries that give negative feedback directly.
Attested2 sourcesil-feedback-3
Hierarchy & decisions
Netherlands3 claims
Meyer cites the Netherlands, along with Denmark and Sweden, as an example of an egalitarian culture on her Leading scale. A study guide to The Culture Map places it on the consensual side of the Deciding scale, alongside Sweden and Japan.
Attested2 sourcesnl-hierarchy-1
A study in Contemporary Management Research (2018) analyzed data from 808 managers using structural equation modeling. It found that polder values, reaching pragmatic agreement through consultation and debate, strongly shape the leadership styles Dutch managers prefer.
Well attested1 source2018nl-hierarchy-2
Woldendorp and Keman (2007) reviewed Dutch corporatism from 1965 to 2000 and argue that the polder model has been overrated. Bargaining between the social partners was tough, and the rate of central agreements was low.
Attested1 source2007Datednl-hierarchy-3
Israel3 claims
Hofstede's power distance (PDI) is 13, among the lowest in the world. The Culture Factor describes bosses as easy to approach and managers as relying on their team's expertise. A Culture Map review also puts Israel at the most egalitarian end of the Leading scale.
Attested2 sources2026il-hierarchy-1
Unit 8200 screens conscripts for math and programming aptitude and gives young soldiers difficult tasks with little supervision. The founders of Check Point, Palo Alto Networks, CyberArk, Wix and Wiz include alumni of the unit.
Attested2 sources2025il-hierarchy-2
Drop Site News has reported critically on the 8200 alumni network as a closed club and on the export of surveillance technology by firms such as NSO.
Attested1 sourceil-hierarchy-3
Communication & docs
Netherlands2 claims
On her Communicating scale, Meyer lists the Netherlands with the United States, Canada and Australia as examples of low-context (explicit) cultures.
Attested1 sourcenl-communication-1
The practical guide NL Compass says that Dutch workplaces take meeting agendas seriously and that fixing schedules in advance is the norm.
Thin1 source2026nl-communication-2
Israel2 claims
A review of The Culture Map classifies Israel as an unusual combination: high-context, yet direct with criticism.
Thin1 sourceil-communication-1
The share of private high-tech company employees working in Israel fell from 69% in 2019 to 62% in March 2026. Most of the rest work at overseas sites, mainly in the United States.
Attested1 source2026il-communication-2
Work & careers
Netherlands2 claims
Eurostat reports that actual weekly hours in the main job were 32.1 in 2024, the shortest in the EU (EU average 36.0). The main reason is the high share of part-time work; men in full-time work averaged 38.4 hours (2025).
Well attested2 sources2026nl-work-1
CBS reports that 52% of employed people worked from home at least sometimes in 2023. In the 2022 EU comparison, 12.7% worked from home most of the time, lower than in Finland (23.1%) or Ireland (25.3%).
Well attested1 source2024nl-work-2
Israel3 claims
High-tech employed about 400,000 people in 2025, 11.4% of the employed workforce. Exports hit a record $85 billion, 58% of all exports. Employment grew 2.5%, well below the roughly 6% annual average of the previous decade.
Well attested2 sources2026il-work-1
R&D headcount fell by about 3,500 in 2025. According to the Israel Innovation Authority (2025), Israeli companies employ about 440,000 people abroad on top of the roughly 400,000 in Israel, and private companies keep about half of their R&D staff overseas.
Well attested2 sources2026il-work-2
The Adva Center criticizes the "Start-up Nation" image, noting that high-tech then employed no more than 8% of the workforce. It reports that 65% of high-tech employees are men and that they come disproportionately from top high schools, elite military units and leading universities.
Attested1 sourceil-work-3
Open source & community
Netherlands2 claims
On 2018-07-12, Guido van Rossum stepped down as Python's BDFL in a python-committers post titled "Transfer of power." He named no successor and left it to the core developers to decide how the project would be governed.
Well attested1 source2018nl-oss-1
ING brought the Spotify model to a large bank, organizing about 350 squads into 13 tribes (McKinsey, 2017).
Attested1 source2017nl-oss-2
Israel2 claims
Company-led open source includes Wix's Detox, an end-to-end testing framework for mobile apps with about 12,000 GitHub stars, and monday.com's design system Vibe.
Attested2 sources2026il-oss-1
- GitHub: wix/Detox (2026)
- GitHub: mondaycom/vibe (2026)
According to SecurityWeek, VCs with 8200 alumni such as Team8 and Cyberstarts invest in startups founded by fellow alumni, and money from exits flows back into new investments.
Attested1 sourceil-oss-2