Be Thoughtful and Respectful to One Another

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How should you talk to your team members about the results of the US election?

With a clear winner, as in Trump, say something like I want to emphasize that one of our core values as an organization is to be thoughtful and respectful toward one another. Let’s all be mindful of how we express our feelings, recognizing the diversity within our team.

And there's more.  Even though the outcome is clear, we still face a prolonged period of uncertainty. Acknowledge the tension and confusion, then pivot to your business needs.

Read more about what to say to your team after the election.

Three Common Obstacles to Scaling Innovations and Ways to Overcome Them

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According to authors for the HBR, innovations — including new products, new HR policies, and new production processes —developed in one part of a business stay there. Other groups that could benefit from them don’t know they exist. 

This leads to lost revenues and higher costs, since teams around the world often end up duplicating (or triplicating, or quadruplicating) investments in solving common problems. 

This article identifies three common obstacles to scaling innovations and describes a way to overcome them. 

Global Small Businesses Are Essential to American Supply Chains

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Global small businesses are essential to American supply chains, but they lag in productivity and technology adoption. If government and industry can help these smaller supply chain firms upgrade their technology, it would make supply chains significantly more resilient by enabling data-sharing and collaboration. 

Read more about how global small businesses play a big role in supply-chain resilience.

Turn Up Your Imagination

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By force of habit, most executives tune down their imagination when strategizing. This is counterproductive, the authors of the article below argue.  Instead, they offer an alternative: Design fiction. 

A design technique that immerses executives and employees deeply in various possible futures, it uses artifacts such as short movies, fictitious newspaper articles and imaginary commercials to generate transformation roadmaps. Rooted in the future but helping to act in the present, design fiction results in concrete actions taken to adjust companies’ visions, strategies, and activities to create a better future.

Read this so you don't miss out on important opportunities to envision, and design, possible futures the world over.

Thinking of Abandoning Globalization? Reconsider.

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The coronavirus pandemic exposed the vulnerability of our global supply chains, interrupting the flow of critical imports into the U.S., and triggering calls for American multinationals to reshore production.

Coming on the heels of the trade war and Washington’s push to de-couple economically from China, this has brought widespread predictions of deglobalization. The U.S. Special Trade Representative even wrote a recent op-ed calling for the end of offshoring.

Ultimately, we will see changes in the way the global economy works.  According to Thomas Hout for HBR, "the fundamentals of our globalized economy — and China’s role within it — will not change."  Here are the four reasons why in his article: Abandoning Globalization Will Only Hurt U.S. Businesses.

Here's What Works in Entrepreneurship Across the Globe

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This is a phenomenal article by Daniel J. Isenberg in the June 2010 Harvard Business Review. One of the best I've read in a long time on entrepreneurship. Well researched, good case study references, excellent country specific examples and terrific insight into the nine prescriptions for creating an entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Isenberg is no stranger to entrepreneurship with international wings. He also authored, "The Global Entrepreneur," December 2008 for HBR.

Please take the time to read, "Start An Entrepreneurial Revolution," in its entirety. The best part is near the end where Isenberg challenges us by posing the question:

Do you have a strong entrepreneurship ecosystem?

Do you?
Note: added 5/24/10 at 9:35 p.m. CDT, an audio IdeaCast:

How To Create An Entrepreneurial Economy (Daniel Isenberg, professor of management practice at Babson College and author of the HBR article "The Big Idea: How to Start an Entrepreneurial Revolution." Copyright 2010 Harvard Business School Publishing)

How to Make Yourself and Your Business a Success Overseas

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Listen to the podcast: Mansour Javidan, dean of research at the Thunderbird School of Global Management and co-author of the HBR article "Managing Yourself: Making It Overseas." Copyright 2010 Harvard Business School Publishing.

We've written extensively about what Dr. Javidan refers to as developing a "global mindset" (a major prerequisite to moving ahead in our world) and characteristics needed to achieve success as a leader in the global marketplace. So we are glad to see he's "on it."

Find out if you have a global mindset here (immediate download):

Are You Ready? Take The Global IQ Test To Find Out

And remember, even McDonald's was a small shop at one time. Why just click on the 1940 button and you'll see what I mean!

Posted by: The Global Small Business Blog

Global Leadership Development

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Employees are less likely to jump ship during a recession so whether you run a global small business or local big business -- focusing on how to develop people to ensure you are not caught short of strong managers when the economy recovers -- is a smart notion.

Here's what some of the big guys are doing. I see a lot of ideas in this article. Webinars and executive coaches are a good way to train and counsel high-potential employees on a tight budget. Even ordering a simple HBR case study and discussing it as a group at one of your regularly scheduled meetings shows you're on it and care. More ideas can be found here.