A Model for Expanding Your Business Into Foreign Markets

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Harvard Business Review, 5/17/24:  It used to be thought that globalization would flatten out cultural differences among countries and regions of the world, making it easier than ever for companies to move into foreign markets. 

According to a new study by the author [Joshua Conrad Jackson] and a colleague, however, cultural differences are greater today than they were 40 years ago, which explains why some major corporations have failed in their recent efforts to establish a foothold in new countries.

Companies need to adapt, the author argues, and to that end in this article he presents a general model for global leadership in the face of cultural divergence.

A Model for Expanding Your Business into Foreign Markets (HBR)

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In May, 2024, it was thought that globalization would flatten out cultural differences among countries and regions of the world, making it easier than ever for companies to move into foreign markets.

According to a study by the author Joshua Conrad Jack and a colleague, however, cultural differences are greater today than they were 40 years ago, which explains why some major corporations have failed in their recent efforts to establish a foothold in new countries. 

Companies need to adapt, the author argues, and to that end in this article he presents a general model for global leadership in the face of cultural divergence.

Joshua Conrad Jack is a Neubauer Family Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.  Other articles by him.

The Gail Adinamis wegg® Award for Exemplary Global Leadership® Ceremony 3/24/25

©Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Please JOIN Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global on Monday, March 24th at 10 AM CT as they honor the next recipient of the prestigious Gail Adinamis wegg® Award for Exemplary Global Leadership® 2025.

To learn more and to register (complimentary), visit: https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/about/the-gail-adinamis-wegg-award/

See you there!

Today in Global Small Business: The Art of 21st Century Global Leadership

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What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• An overview – The Art of 21st Century Global Leadership – of traits and practices required to succeed as a leader today and a look at the factory model that can help aspiring managers ascend.
• Foreign direct investment in the United States (10/1/24).
• Quote of the week: “With 90 percent of consumers living outside of the United States, the biggest economic opportunity for our country is to sell those consumers products that the United States of America makes.” – Senator Maria Cantwell, U.S. Senate
• New export services by the International Trade Administration.
• Why you should export. 
• Go Michigan small businesses who wish to export – funding is available to support your work.

Congrats to Debra Dudley, Recipient of the Gail Adinamis wegg® Award for Global Exemplary Leadership® 2024!

©2024 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

There are woman business owners and then there are global women business owners.  Congratulations to Debra Dudley, Founder, Oscarware, Inc. for receiving the Gail Adinamis wegg® Award for Global Exemplary Leadership® 2024!

Read on to discover what the award is about and why Debra earned it.

Today in Global Small Business: Find International Buyers

©2019 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global™.  All rights reserved.

What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• Is your business open for world business?  There is only one way to find out.  Listen in on wegg's® upcoming wegginar® on Wednesday, October 2 at 11AM CT (free, thanks to wegg's sponsors, but you must register to participate) to hear Monica Toporkiewicz, Senior International Trade Specialist, U.S. Department of Commerce talk about how to find international buyers for your business. To learn more and to register, visit: https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/2019/09/16/how-to-find-international-buyers/
• Quote of the week: “There is only one way to avoid criticism:  do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing." – Artistotle
• Without a clear organizational strategy, most supply chain managers typically revert to creating their own supply chain strategy.  That can be good and bad. 
• Speaking of supply chains ... suppliers are suffering in GM strike.
• State Cashmere, a D2C brand that sells high-quality cashmere products, learned how to navigate their global ecommerce expansion. 
• Is America's global leadership in peril?

Globally, Why Would Anyone Follow You?

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Why would anyone follow you?  That is the question Cari E. Guittard, Principal, Global Engagement Partners and Professor of Global Management, Hult International Business School asked her students during a class she taught on women's leadership at the Hult International Business School in Dubai.

Before we get to how that question was handled (don't want to let the cat out of the bag here), she defines global leadership.

Take a look:  Our World Demands a More Effective Global Leader

And by the way, Why would anyone follow you?  Let me know and we'll post your answers here. Meanwhile, need some help?  Explore the Global Mindset Inventory tool.  And read:  Leading With a Global Mindset.

Global Immersion

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Globalization is causing new and complex challenges for business leaders.  One being  - how do you lead in this new era of a borderless world?

A global leader is someone with the ability to seize different kinds of opportunities and understand the global forces creating them, says Nitin Nohria, the dean of Harvard Business School, who highlights efficiency, local responsiveness and innovation as the keys to value creation.

Learn more:  IESE Insight Bridging the Global Leadership Gap

To develop managers to work in an international context, it is important to make sure that the learning process involves an immersion in such environments, says IESE's Pedro Nueno.

Global Leadership

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A slide show on the concepts of leadership by Sajid Kanner.

On Becoming an Effective Global Leader

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My company is stretching into areas of the world I've barely heard of — we are definitely broaching the unknown. As a leader, what do I need to be successful as globalization changes the rules of the game? Marshall Goldsmith's (pictured) answer:

MG: To help me answer this question, I contacted Maya Hu-Chan of the Global Leadership Development Center at Alliant University's Marshall Goldsmith School of Management. Maya is an international management consultant and certified executive coach who specializes in global leadership, executive coaching, and cross-cultural business skills. Maya and I co-authored Global Leadership: The Next Generation (Kindle edition), from which we learned much about facing the challenges of globalization.

Read more here.

Additional resources:

Marshall Goldsmith is a world authority in helping successful leaders achieve positive, lasting change in behavior. Dr. Goldmith's 24 books include What Got You Here Won't Get You There, an NYT best seller, WSJ #1 business book and Harold Longman Award winner for Business Book of the Year. He has been recognized as one of the world's leading executive educators and coaches in BusinessWeek, the Economist, Forbes and The Times of London. His articles and videos are available online at MarshallGoldsmithLibrary.com and he can be reached at Marshall(at)MarshallGoldsmith.com. His latest book is: Succession: Are You Ready?

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.