the Fundamental Global Business strategy

   Ultimately a business strategy rarely comes down to much more that giving one’s customers or client what they want. Often this becomes a problem if one needs to hunt to determine what that is, presumes what that is or in some other way the communication has been mangled, compromised or otherwise has been diluted.
   This happens often with small start up businesses who have not done their homework thoroughly. It’s not enough to have a driving passion to open a storefront dedicated to all things Star Trek. But has the proper research been done to see if the community could sustain such “an enterprise”, is there competition, etc.
   This happens with larger corporations as well. American Apparel recently found their strategy and practices out of synch with, at least, the economy and cultural shifts of the day; seeing deep cut backs, store closures, potential investigations and that their very survival is in question.
   As challenging as managing a, or an aspect of a, business may be, the right personnel is just as challenging; for they are the face of your business. For your foreign customers, alliances or whomever you may be interacting with in another country it is not enough to simply buy the ticket, fly over and introduce yourself.
   This calls to mind the image of the foreign traveler who, when confronted with someone who did not speak English, began repeating what he had just said slower and louder; embarrassing his colleagues and missing both the opportunity and the point.
   Are you as a company or you as an employee in a position to take advantage of acculturation trainings; similarly, the question of language training? If you are not making an effort to learn the language, at least honor your potential hosts by learning key phrases. It will be appreciated that some effort was made on your part. Likewise, expose yourself to as much about the people and their customs as you can. For example, if you’re doing business in Italy you’ll need a clothing allowance; likely more so than anywhere else in the world. Italians expect current fashion from a professional. After all, this is the country that gave us Gucci, Prada and Versace (to name a few). There seems no greater amount of ritual associated with business cards than with the Chinese. This is not akin to disingenuous agreement. This is a matter of honoring the other; thee fundamental international strategy. Don’t loose that important account just because you don’t know how or when to shake hands (or hug, kiss, bow, etc.)!