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Dilemma 2: Rules Versus Exceptions ■ 73

of how competition can lead to cooperation. We speak of a
transcultural organization because of the manner in which
servant-leaders do business by effectively integrating ten-
sions, such as competition and teamwork, local and global,
irrespective of the culture where it is applied.

Hyperculture

Applied Materials has found another way to get the best
out of cultural diversity. This company makes sure that the
global rules are watertight by encouraging people with dif-
ferent viewpoints to make them. Concretely this means that
the top management team consists of seven different nation-
alities (nine, if you count double nationalities). The organi-
zation is run by several different Centers of Excellence, also
outside the United States. Because all international activities
are done in multicultural teams, all the managers are used to
switching from one to another international context. Those
who move from one culture to another no longer see them-
selves as egos in the center. They often use the intersections
between cultures as a platform to develop a hyperculture
that rises above differences and makes the best of them.
Individual cultures focus on themselves and are often
exclusive—literally shutting others out. The hyperculture,
what Charles Hampden-Turner calls reconciled values, is
3
made up of all the diverse and exclusive identities, but on
a higher level, where they come together and strengthen
one another. The creation of a hyperculture is therefore sig-
nifi cantly enriching. It is an organizational culture known
for servant-leadership, the form of leadership that brings
people with different points of view out of the resulting ten-
sion and is able to channel it into a productive dynamic.