Thursday, April 28, 2005

Go global and win!

In PROFITguide.com

How wonderful to see that the "Going Global" panel I moderated in Toronto earlier this month at the Women Presidents' Organization's annual conference received such nice coverage in Canada's PROFITguide.com. Read the global tip sheet here.

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

The Conundrum Over Compliance With Global Privacy Laws

In Darwin

If you're an international company, you've got a global headache (Laurel here ... at least that's what the article's author, Dr. Larry Ponemon, purports).

When their customer and employee data travels around the world, global companies must be in compliance with complex privacy and data protection laws. Not only do they have to understand differences in the regulations -- they also must have an appreciation of the cultural differences that shape these laws.

Saturday, April 23, 2005

Four How-To Ideas For Global Directors

In High-Impact Business English Training for Executives

This site provides a plethora of interesting information -- from a crash course in (global) communication to accessing global markets through language. Although some of the material is a couple of years old, it is still relevant for today's times. Pay a visit when you can. You won't be sorry you did.

Friday, April 22, 2005

Case Study: Following Business When It Moves Overseas

In Startup -- The Wall Street Journal Center for Entrepreneurs

Miller Centrifugal Casting, in Cecil, Pa., is one of many small metal forgers that sells to BIG industry, particularly steel companies. By using a centrifugal process, it creates big machine parts with complex shapes and strengths. But times are tough for old-school manufacturers like this, as steel production shifts increasingly to China.

The PROBLEM that exists for Miller Centrifugal: Customers withering away.

Find out what they did here: SOLUTION.

Thursday, April 21, 2005

The Return of Japan, Inc.?

In Knowledge@Wharton

Japan's economy, a powerhouse during the roaring 1980s, has been in the dumps since 1989. Today, however, signs are starting to appear that the world's second-largest economy is waking up again. In this special report (available in English or Japanese), Knowledge@Wharton presents insights from the Wharton Fellows program in Tokyo as well as an excerpt from "The Next Global Stage: Challenges and Opportunities in Our Borderless World," by Kenichi Ohmae.

Dr. Ohmae -- who many describe as Japan's leading management (global) guru -- has been a tremendous influence on my career in global trade starting in the mid-eighties when I first read, "The Borderless World." Never, had a book dominated my total being the way that book did. It taught me how the world is your market. My next all time favorite is "The Invisible Continent" where I think he did his best work ever (and I said so -- "This is the work of an awe-inspiring business genius" -- in my Amazon review).

I have had the good fortune to meet Kenichi and listen to his brilliant insights on our brave new economy. He's truly a global visionary. In addition, he was so gracious as to send me a copy of "The Invisible Continent" when it was first published (2000) and autographed it with a wonderful passage that sticks with me to this day on all the work I do on a global basis.

When I read Kenichi's new book "The Next Global Stage: Challenges and Opportunities in Our Borderless World," I will let you know what I think of it. It's a given though that he will, as always, open my mind to unlimited opportunities in our brave new world.

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Exports Set To Rise for India

In Financial Times

India will double its share of world trade ahead of its target date of 2009 as its integration with the global economy accelerates. It has been one of the star performers of the global economy since its reforms began in 1991. Yet India's share of world trade remains less than 1 per cent and it lies in 31st position in rankings of world exporters, far behind fourth-placed China.

To read the entire article, visit:
Exports Set To Rise Ahead Of Target As India Upgrades Trade Policy

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Abridged Borderbuster 4/5/05

CONTENTS

If you are not a subscriber to Borderbuster, here's a glimpse of what you missed this month:

1. Welcome From The Publisher
2. Feedback From Our Readers
3. International: Opening Up An Overseas Operation*
4. Business and Cultural Tips: Have Some Fun!*
5. Should Global Brands Trash Local Favorites?*
6. How I Went Global: Ongoing Series // China Never Stops*
7. A Reader Asks: Q&A*
8. Everybody Loves a Freebie -- repeat: FREE OFFER*
9. Pecking Order*
10. Don’t Blame Trade For US Job Losses
11. Dollar’s Fall Helps Some
12. Fifth Graders Tour International Industry*
13. Laurel’s New e-Book: “GODZILLA Global Marketing!”
14. Take A Walk On The Wild Side (TAWOTWS)*
15. Wind Behind Your Sail*
16. Miscellany*

*Indicates exclusive to Borderbuster subscribers only.

Sample section:

5. SHOULD GLOBAL BRANDS TRASH LOCAL FAVORITES?
*Subscriber Exclusive*

Twenty-one years ago, Professor Theodore Levitt of Harvard Business School dropped a bombshell on the international marketing community when he published "The Globalization of Markets" in the Harvard Business Review. In his paper, Levitt argued that technology had created a world in which consumer preferences were converging, and that successful businesses would do well to market globally standardized products. Central to Levitt's argument was the idea that globalization was leading to the extinction of traditional differences in national tastes.

To read the complete article, visit here.

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