Global Business: Decoupling or Convergence?

Fascinating piece, "Trading Places" by Frances Kim for the Yale Economic Review.

Highly controversial and greatly overused, the term “globalization” generally characterizes the phenomenon by which multiple economies have apparently begun to move in sync with one another. The pundits may all have their own opinions on the merits of global inter-connectedness, but statistics tell many different stories regarding whether international economies have really converged to move in a synchronous global business cycle.

Read the entire article here.  Agree or disagree? We'd welcome hearing from you!

Illustration credit here.

Should Every SME Become a Global Business?

We sure hope so. Yet according to Brendan Murtagh, speaking at the 28th annual Caribbean Accountants Conference, he said:

"I'm not suggesting every SME needs to become a global business, but to be the best they can be, they have to understand that there are going to be opportunities out there in the current climate whereby they can get together and leverage what they have together with other partners, and actually make a stronger, better business that's going to add to the economy as a whole. We are saying if you are going to recognize these opportunities, you have to step back and ask how are we going to do it?"

Read more here.

Note: IASB Issues Accounting Standard for SMEs

Become a Certified Global Business Professional

The NASBITE Certified Global Business Professional provides a benchmark for competency in global commerce. The CGBP designation demonstrates an individual's ability to conduct global business including Global Business Management, Global Marketing, Supply Chain Management, and Trade Finance.

At the NASBITE CGBP (logo pictured) site you will find information regarding how to become a NASBITE Certified Global Business Professional, the background to the project, training resources, test overview, and a practice exam. There is also a forum in which you may ask questions and share your thoughts regarding the NASBITE CGBP credential.

Regular registration closes March 31.

Take action here.

On Becoming an Effective Global Leader

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?

It Ain't Easy Operating in the Developing World

And the first thing you must remember to do is to throw out your traditional global business strategies because they won't work in the developing world.

Let's take a look at why and capture some answers along the way on how to find success in these important new environments where hundreds of millions of potential customers live.

Lessons From the Developing World

Additional resource:

Can world economy count on developing countries?

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