Tips That a Global Team Can Teach You About Success

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Some of the best lessons in business, people and life come from unexpected places and can shift an executive’s position by suddenly granting the gift of deep and unexpected knowledge. 

Here are four tips that a global team can teach you about success.

Listen to wegg's How She Went Global® Podcast Episode #23

©2023 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Successful women entrepreneurs and business owners share stories about going global, and offer new ways to take on the world, stay inspired and have fun every month on the super successful How She Went Global® podcast.  Haven't listened to it yet?  Well you are in for a big treat – and a lesson or two from a female founder on what it takes to go global.

Listen to the latest episode #23 with Kat Borve on “BrassyBra: Lifting and Supporting Women Worldwide."

About Kat:  Katherina (Kat) Borve, founder and CEO, Brassy, Inc., producers of a unique 97% cotton blend waterproof breast tape that lifts, shapes, and supports so you can rock a low-cut dress with ease and comfort, talks about why she started her company, where her products are made, and how she dealt with global supply chain issues during COVID-19.

Tune in!

The How She Went Global podcast is produced by Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® and sponsored by Bluedog Design and Associated Bank.

Will Automation Impact Jobs?

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PWC UK analyzed over 200,000 jobs in 29 countries to explore the economic benefits and potential challenges posed by automation.  They've identified three waves of automation that might unfold over the next 20 years.

Discover what those three waves are and whether automation will impact jobs in the future.

A Full Stack Global HR Platform

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Easing the HR burdens that come with running any business, let alone those with employees outside of the U.S., is critical in a time when budgets and well-being are top of mind. On-boarding is a crucial area for employers to consolidate technology, especially when hiring a mixed population of contractors and full-time hires. The Deel HR platform, considered a full stack global HR platform, streamlines this process by utilizing Google Suite.  

Learn how to simplify tech tools for global businesses.

Today in Global Small Business: Finding the Way in Your New Global Business

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

• Finding your way in your new global business.
• Why it's important to plant the seeds for entrepreneurs.
• Building a brighter policy future for American entrepreneurs.
• Quote of the week:  "As an entrepreneur, you have to be OK with failure. If you're not failing, you're likely not pushing yourself hard enough." – Alexa von Tobel, founder of LearnVest
• Expert advice and insights for older entrepreneurs on starting a small global business and running it successfully.
• Build your business. Live your dream.

I Scream, You Scream

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

From Wikipedia:  "Ice Cream" or "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream" is a popular song, first published in 1927, with words and music by Howard Johnson, Billy Moll, and Robert A. King.

After initial success as a late 1920s novelty song, the tune became a traditional jazz standard, while the lyrics refrain "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream" has remained a part of popular culture even without the rest of the song. 

Photo courtesy Laurel J. Delaney. Museum of Ice Cream Chicago.

The Best of Yo-Yo Ma

Smartphone Apps for Global Travelers

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Here are seven (7) promising smartphone apps designed to help global travelers break the language barrier.  

What do you use when you travel internationally to communicate with locals?  If we missed any, please share!

Facing the New Age of Constant Disruption in the Global Marketplace

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Normal is over according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Climate change, geopolitical conflict, aging populations, developing technologies and the like are not issues that can be addressed in isolation by any one constituency and must be undertaken through collaboration, which is, of course, the mission of the World Economic Forum. 

The WEF also suggests we move and act boldly while maintaining this bifocal vision.  Increase your company’s recession readiness and position for near-term opportunities.  Keep an eye on the longer-term forces shaping the future.

Learn more about how our world keeps getting more complex.

Globalization Has Entered a Period of In-Depth Adjustment

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According to the "2023 China and Globalization Report" recently released by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), a Chinese non-governmental think tank based in Beijing, it has become a consensus that globalization has entered a period of in-depth adjustment.

The CCG released the report at the beginning of the new year, which summarizes and forecasts the trends and prospects of globalization in the coming year from ten perspectives, including China-US relations, the Ukraine crisis, the international financial system, the Belt and Road Initiative, international tourism, digital economy, and climate change.

Learn more about how China will continue to provide a strong driving force for the global economy in 2023, at least according to the think tank report.

Today in Global Small Business: Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

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

• "He Did His Own Eulogy": An Eyewitness Recalls Dr. King's Final Speech.
• Celebrate the life, legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Metro Detroit, Michigan.
• The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s name first appeared in the Chicago Tribune in early 1956, for his leadership of the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott.
• Quote of the week:  "We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools." – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
• Singing the black birthday song (Stevie Wonder).
• 13 must-see films to honor Martin Luther King Jr.

Winter Wear Is Communal

©Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"I think winter wear is communal. You get some gloves [a mitten] and a scarf from a lost-and-found box, wash them, wear them for a while until you lose them. Then somebody else does the same thing." – Adrian Grenier

2023: New Global Businesses to Be Born and Built

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This is how global entrepreneurship will change in 2023.

• Unprecedented economic disruption in recent years can create the perfect conditions for new businesses to be born and built.
• Young entrepreneurs are bypassing the traditional labor market, while those already in work are looking to side hustles and beyond.
• In 2023, we’ll see a new form of entrepreneurship emerge – more diverse, more socially-minded, and not afraid to multi-hustle.

Read the entire article here.

CALL for Nominations on The Gail Adinamis wegg® Award for Exemplary Global Leadership®

©2023 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Nominate yourself or another woman business owner who is deserving of this prestigious award.  Deadline is 1/31/23.  Learn more and submit your nomination. 

The Dark Side of Artificial Intelligence

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Scientist Gary Marcus for Scientific American claims something incredible is happening in artificial intelligence right now—but it’s not entirely good. Everybody is talking about systems like ChatGPT, which generates text that seems remarkably human. This makes it fun to play with, but there is a dark side, too. Because they are so good at imitating human styles, there is risk that such chatbots could be used to mass-produce misinformation.

He goes on to give a sense of how it works with a specific example using the AI platform ChatGPT.  Check it out.  Making AI stick to the truth remains a serious issue.

Brewing Beer, International Expansion, Innovation and Impact

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Oil and beer.  And so it goes.  That story stems from the innovative conversion of technology used in the oil and gas industry for brewing beer, and it’s one that has since traveled across the globe.

Rome-based Hydro Dynamics’ ShockWave Xtractor cavitation technology allows brewers to extract more of the oils in the hops used in brewing beer. The benefit of that technology is that it cuts down on the use of the hops, which is one of the most expensive parts of the brewing process.

How a local company has made an impact.

Today in Global Small Business: Creating Opportunities For Smaller Competitors to Enter the Market

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

• Big companies often grow complacent and fail to innovate, creating opportunities for smaller competitors to enter the market.
• Has globalization taken over?
• Globalization is not over – but you can read this anyway.
• Quote of the week:  "I think a winner has to be a master of preparation, they have to be a master of connection, extremely competitive and have really high standards for themselves and the people around them." – Maya Moore
• The Nokia Risk.
• Inside Saudi Arabia's coffee shop boom.

Silence is Beautiful

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.   All rights reserved.

"If you listen carefully, silence is beautiful." – Anonymous

Beijing's Global Media Offensive (New Book)

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James M. Lindsay, Council on Foreign Relations, "My sense is that China has consciously decided over the last decade or so, to try to use media power to influence politics in other countries. Can you tell me a little bit about what China has been doing, and why it's pursuing these efforts?"

Joshua Kurlantzick, author of Beijing's Global Media Offensive: China’s Uneven Campaign to Influence Asia and the World:  "Well, I think within the last ten years to twelve years, China, under Xi Jinping decided that the global discourse, both about China and about all sorts of events that relate to China, because virtually every event relates to China, the discourse or the discourse power, as China refers to it, are being dominated by liberal democracies and their media outlets."

Read the entire interview and Mr. Kurlantzick's complete answer here.  

Will Walgreen's Dispensed Abortion Pill Cross Borders?

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Walgreens Boots Alliance plans to seek certification to dispense pills that can induce an abortion after the US Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday, 1/3/23, that it would allow the drugs to be distributed both by mail and at brick-and-mortar pharmacies.

“We are working through the registration, necessary training of our pharmacists, as well as evaluating our pharmacy network in terms of where we normally dispense products that have extra FDA requirements and will dispense these consistent with federal and state laws,” Walgreens said Wednesday in an emailed statement to Crain's Chicago Business.

The big questions are how much control will there be over the shadow (black) market on these pills and how will people who buy them be protected in terms of confidentiality?  Watch closely. 

Here's a look at WBA's global reach. 

Read the entire breaking news here.

A Tough Year Ahead for the U.K.

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Economists agreed persistently high inflation, a shrinking workforce, declining trade relations with the EU, and a high exposure to the energy crisis sparked by the Ukraine war were the leading factors behind the U.K.’s comparatively grim prospects.

Economists surveyed predicted a return to normal by 2024 when inflation begins to dissipate, but the rest of this year will likely be a long slog for the U.K. economy.

The U.K. is expected to see the largest economic contraction among wealthy nations due to the Ukraine war and the energy crisis.

Laurel Delaney's Global Trade Trends Report 2023 (wegginar® 1/4/23)

©2023 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

A peek into 2023 and all photos from Ireland.  LIVE wegginar® presentation, "Laurel Delaney's Global Trade Trends Report 2023," Wednesday, January 4, 2023 at 11AM CT.  Free of charge thanks to Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global's lead sponsors:  FedEx, Associated Bank, Global Care Clinical Trials and Bluedog Design.

To learn more and to register, visit here.

Today in Global Small Business: The World Ahead in 2023

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

• Laurel Delaney's Global Trade Trends Report 2023 on 1/4/23 (n/c).
• The world ahead in 2023:  global order continues to reshape.
• Quote of the week:  "An optimist stays up all night to see the New Year in.  A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves." – William E. Vaughan, Journalist and Author
• Four inspirational leaders look ahead to 2023.
• What could tip us into a global recession in 2023?
• What is the forecast for global economic growth?

Happy 2023 from the Global Small Business Blog!

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"Wishing you a new year filled with joy, possibilities, good health, prosperity and a global mindset!" – Laurel J. Delaney

Franchise Brands Wrap Up 2022 More Global Than Ever

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International businesses have learned to adapt and continue to expand into new countries despite nearly 3 years of a business world forever changed by Covid.

This month our international deals roundup reports on expansion from Costa Rica to Eastern Europe, the U.S., Uruguay, Dubai, Canada, Mexico, and more. 

From Arby's to Domino's to Wendy's, find out who's doing what, where.

Map Your Supply Chains!

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Products can contain numerous parts sourced from across the world and are subject to complex supply chains.  This recognition cannot cause the United States to compromise its fundamental commitment to upholding human rights and U.S. law.

“Serious violations such as forced labor could result in termination of the contract with the supplier if mitigation measures fail,” the company said. “That is why we review and actively use our existing processes and seek new solutions to prevent forced labor in our supply chain," says Volkswagen AG.

Learn more here.

Women Business Owners Have Drastically Changed the World of Business

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Women entrepreneurs have numerous opportunities to kickstart their businesses in different regions all across the globe–one of them being in Canada.

The North American country is ripe with advantages for aspiring businesswomen, such as its stable economy, low corporate taxes, equality and multiculturalism, and its access to the United States and Latin American countries.

And if you are a female entrepreneur in Canada, here are some ways to grow your business.  If you are a female entrepreneur in USA, here are some ways to grow your business outside of USA.

Post Christmas: The Sales Will Follow

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With the current economic climate and biting inflation, shoppers worldwide desperately seek the slashed prices and mass discounts offered in the infamous after-holiday and January sales.

Given the exponential growth of internet traffic within the e-commerce space, retailers should expect sales to skyrocket during the busy sales season.

Sounds like a good time to prioritize customer experience capabilities.

Today in Global Small Business: Turning Uncertainty Into Opportunity in 2023

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

• Is your organization ready to turn uncertainty into opportunity? Here's how you prepare.
• Are we in a prolonged sideways trend?
• Quote of the week:  "Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, 'It will be happier.'" – Alfred Lord Tennyson
• The big opportunity behind global small businesses.
• The World Bank tells it like it is – 2022 in review.
• The White House looks back on 2022.

Honor Christmas In Your Heart

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." – Charles Dickens

An Electronic Bill of Lading (eBL) Would Save $6.5 Billion in Direct Costs and Enable $40 billion in Global Trade

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Trade finance can be a huge booster to global trade—to make it accessible by ensuring that importers receive their goods and exporters receive their payments. But the core ecosystem—exporters, importers and banks—is complicated with multiple parties involved in a single transaction.

But according to a CEO of a global trade finance network, there are three factors at play that he thinks will reshape the future of trade finance. 

1.  There are still huge opportunities to digitize trade finance.
2.  Integration between financial institutions and fintechs will be key to future growth.

For example, one area is digitizing documentation and the bill of lading (BL). According to McKinsey, an electronic bill of lading (eBL) would save $6.5 billion in direct costs and enable $40 billion in global trade.

3.  The next wave of innovation in trade finance is in digital assets.

Read more here.

'Tis the Season To Global Travel

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AAA estimates 112.7 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more away from home from December 23 to January 2. That’s an increase of 3.6 million people over last year and closing in on pre-pandemic numbers. 2022 is expected to be the third busiest year for holiday travel since AAA began tracking in 2000.

For purposes of a forecast, the year-end holiday travel period is defined as the 11-day period from Friday, December 23 to Monday, January 2. This period is the same length as the 2021/2022 year-end travel period.

Safe travels.

Global Rock Star Dolly Parton

©2022 Unsplash

Look out world!  Now that Dolly Parton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she wants to prove she is worthy of the award.  Somehow thinks she isn't.  Well in 2023, proof will be in her output.

Parton's upcoming album, Rock Star, will include covers of famous tracks from the genre's most beloved acts, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Prince, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.

Go get'm Dolly!  Can't wait.

The One and Only Johnny Mathis For the World to Enjoy – Merry Christmas (Music Video)

Today in Global Small Business: Why Study Global Business?

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

• Why study global business?  Five benefits to consider.
• Why developing a global strategy is important.
• Quote of the week:  "We must ensure that the global market is embedded in broadly shared values and practices that reflect global social needs, and that all the world's people share the benefits of globalization." – Kofi Annan
• An excerpt from Euromonitor’s Q4 economic forecast 2022.
• How Alibaba, Amazon, and Mercado Libre compare in the global marketplace.
• While a significant downturn is forecast for 2023, the labor market remains strong and consumer spend elevated — suggesting that any recession hitting the U.S. will be mild.

Enjoy Every Idle Hour

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour.” – John Boswell

McDonald's Global Menu Restaurant in Chicago

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A former New Yorker's take on the McDonald's Global Menu Restaurant in Chicago, covering where it is located (e.g., positioned right near its Hamburger University), when it was opened, what it offers, and what her favorite selections are.

Calling All Female Founders Based in Africa

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Are you a female founder or co-founder of a business based in Africa? Do you want your business to reach the next stage? Do you aspire to grow your business reach? Do you aspire to achieve substantial growth? 

If so, the Female Founder Program is the right place for you! You've got until today, December 15th to apply.  Go for it!

The program aims to help you to develop your entrepreneurial mindset, acquire adequate skills, understand the market, grow your reach, and pitch your business to investors.

In addition, the program is designed to holistically support African female founders in their entrepreneurial journey, using the lean and agile methodology as a driver, focusing on running experiments to facilitate growth, and allowing a safe space to fail and to learn along 3 months.

Birdwatch Becomes Community Notes and Goes Global

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Twitter's Community Notes, which was previously known as Birdwatch, is the social media giant’s crowdsourced fact-checking system and now visible around the world. 

The feature allows users to add context to tweets and takes an open source approach toward debunking misinformation. Moderators who are part of the program can add notes to tweets to add context and users can then vote if they determine the context to be helpful. Prior to this global expansion, Community Notes were only visible to users in the U.S. Twitter plans to add moderators from other regions soon.

If Elon Musk is correct, he says it "is a gamechanger for improving accuracy on Twitter."  We'll see.

Do the Benefits of Globalization Outweigh the Geopolitical Problems It Has Helped Create?

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Economic Counselor and the Director of Research of the IMF Pierre Olivier Gourinchas’ warning from the IMF’s World Economic Outlook in October 2022 underlined the significant slowdown in the global economy – and the reliance on global trade to function.

It raised questions about whether the many benefits of globalization outweigh the geopolitical problems it has helped create.

Read on to learn more.

Today in Global Small Business: The Big Opportunity Behind Global Small Businesses

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

• The big opportunity behind global small businesses.
• Reducing our waste’s impact on the planet requires new technology and materials — and, more importantly, a complete rethink of how we incentivize the production and use of resources.  It requires we upend how global business works.
• Quote of the week:  "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
• YES, YOU CAN!  Go global according to Canadian trade experts.
• Chinese startups have challenges going global.
• Big cities drive half of global economic growth.

A Gift of Love

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Some Christmas tree ornaments do more than glitter and glow, they represent a gift of love given a long time ago." – Tom Baker

Putting You in the Mood for the Holidays (Music video)

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.

Slowing Global Demand and a Strong Dollar Pushed U.S.A. Goods Exports to a Seven-Month Low

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Slowing global demand and a strong dollar pushed goods exports to a seven-month low, suggesting that trade could be a drag on economic growth this quarter (fourth quarter 2022) if the trend persists.

The recent report from the Commerce Department, which followed on the heels of recent upbeat news on the economy ranging from consumer spending, the labor market to the services industry, did not change perceptions that the economy had got off to a solid start in the fourth quarter.

Read more about how the U.S. trade deficit has widened.

What's Holding Businesses Back on Sustainability? (wegginar® 12/7/22)

©2022 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Devry Boughner Vorwerk is a well-known global C-suite food executive and corporate officer, having served as Chief Communications Officer and Global Head of Corporate Affairs at Cargill and as Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Grubhub. 

More importantly, she is also a sustainability global entrepreneur, founding DevryBV Sustainable Strategies, her own strategy and advisory company; serving on the Advisory Board of Culinary Sciences, Inc.; and co-founding PermanentFarming, a company focused on closing the energy gaps in the animal protein supply chain.

She has also served in roles at the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Office of the US Trade Representative, the World Bank Group and as a member of APCO Worldwide’s International Advisory Council.

Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global will be hosting Devry in their upcoming wegginar, "Enhance Revenue By Growing a Sustainable Global Business," on Wednesday, December 7th at 11AM Central Time.

Devry will help you adopt sustainable business practices and understand the "why" behind it.

To learn more and to register, visit here. 

Today in Global Small Business: Scaling Up For Global

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

• Scaling up for global.
• When and how to scale up your startup internationally.
• Quote of the week:  "Scaling is multidimensional.  Different methods address different things." –  Fred Ehrsam
• Scale and innovation keeps Amazon Web Services humming.
• How to scale sustainably into a global brand.
• Choose the right partner when going global and getting ready to scale.

Sun Shines In the Hearts of the People

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"We may have bad weather in Ireland, but the sun shines in the hearts of the people and that keeps us all warm." – Marianne Williamson

Photo taken in Ireland  – November, 2022.

Embrace the New Way to Work Globally

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Technology has enabled collaboration across borders and time zones, and workers and companies alike are embracing remote work like never before. 

In fact, according to Gartner, by the end of 2022, 31% of all workers worldwide will be fully remote or hybrid. The U.S. is leading the way, with remote employees accounting for 53% of the U.S. workforce.

Read on to learn more about the new set of challenges for leaders.

Rolling Stone's List of the 100 Greatest TV Theme Songs of All Time

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The Rolling Stone (RS) says theme songs are a crucial part of the TV-watching experience. The best ones put you in the right mindset to watch each episode of your favorite, and can be just as entertaining in their own right as any great joke, monologue, or action sequence. 

That said, RS decided to pick the 100 best theme songs of all time — technically 101, since there are two as inextricably linked as peanut butter and jelly — and attempted to rank them in order of greatness.

Discover some all-time greats – from Seventies sitcoms with expository jams to modern prestige classics with experimental scores, from 'Sanford and Son' to 'Succession,' from 'Match Game' to 'Game of Thrones.' 

Letting the world know what moves and grooves Americans when it comes to TV-watching.

Global Trade Surprisingly Strong Despite Recent Shocks

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The recent DHL Trade Growth Atlas, which maps the most important trends and prospects of global trade in goods, is published by DHL and NYU Stern School of Business.  The report covers 173 countries, providing valuable business intelligence for policymakers and industry leaders. It shines a positive light on the resilience of global trade – despite recent shocks and market pessimism.

Read more to better understand global trade and its opportunities. 

Japan Airlines (JAL): Ready for Takeoff Post Pandemic

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When the pandemic hit, the global marketing team at Japan Airlines (JAL) saw its budget disappear overnight.  They saw the whole thing disappear.  Poof.  There wasn't a whole lot to promote during the pandemic – back then JAL was operating between the US and Southeast Asia, routes without any stops in Japan itself.

Back in 2019, the airline’s plan was to streamline its global marketing efforts across regions, develop a more integrated approach to marketing, introduce new marketing-related skill sets and break down internal department silos.

Discover what they did, and how they are now ready for takeoff.