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"Going
Global: Is it the Right Solution for Your Firm?" As the DOW reached a two-year low in late March and companies such as 3Com, HP, Cisco, Conexant and Lucent announced layoffs, many executives wondered whether the downturn was centered in the U.S. We received many queries from our clients: "Should I be focusing resources toward overseas markets and opportunities? Am I too domestically focused in my business?" Going "global" is not right for every organization, and while globalization was a buzzword of the '90s and remains a rallying cry today, it involves much more than suddenly deciding to attend a trade show in Frankfurt or hosting the next Brazilian IT delegation to the U.S. In fact, going global requires a systematic organizational, product, and market assessment and a true reality check on your firm's capabilities. You heard it from the Army first. Going global is not just a job; it's an adventure. I'll never forget my first impressions when I joined AT&T Network Systems (now Lucent Technologies) in the mid-'80s. I was hired to help launch business in India for the Fortune 500 firm whose commitment to "international" had been in its markets of choice: the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan. When I attended my first senior management reception, I asked an ATT-NS US-based executive which country he most enjoyed visiting. He looked a bit blank and said, "I would need a passport to go somewhere overseas, right?" It was a big organizational clue. It turned out half of the executive board did not even own passports. If you think there are overseas opportunities for your products and services, we suggest that you start your international quest in your own backyard. Assemble your executives and team leaders, and take inventory. Have everyone look at one another and ask all of them to think about each colleague's visual and vocal clues. What does the skin color say? Eye shape? Hair texture? Is there a discernable accent when an individual speaks? Then consider ascertaining cultural information:
Individuals who take the time and effort to analyze the environment in which they live and work have a framework for analyzing their own and others' behaviors and needs. If the leaders in your organization possess these competencies and enjoy using them, you have the basis for a great international team -- one that may wish to work with people from different cultures and travel in exciting places. But do they realize the flip side? Disruption of personal and family schedules, long workdays to accommodate time zone differences, and a lot of time in unfamiliar places without friends or common language can be difficult. Not every personality wants or is well-suited to that type of adventure. And an organization can't globalize if its people have no familiarity or interest in learning about the distinct environmental and operational challenges in each country in which the organization becomes involved. So now try stage 2.
By now you should have a reasonable list of
places to talk about and a chance to make a realistic assessment
of the capacity of the organization to become interested in and
successfully pursue international work.
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