Global Business Success: Leadership Skills You Need for Global Business

By Michael Wynne

This book's content is about the adventure of an executive with no international experience who is sent to manage an overseas company, it shows business readers how to safely handle these and many other international business challenges. Plus, Global Business Success requires building better international business relationships in different cultures.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781543979107

Book preview

Copyright © 2019

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

978-1-54397-909-1 (print)

978-1-54397-910-7 (eBook)

Contents

Introduction

Want to Run a Business in Another Country?

George’s First Tour of the Plant

How Easy is It to Be Involved with Foreign Corrupt Practices?

Where Do You Find the Truth?

Unexpected Challenges Running Operations in Other Countries

When You Are New, So Is Everything Else

Time to Take Action

The Company Responds

Company Senior Executives

Building an Image

V.A.R.A. and Building Networks

Food and Building Relationships

Another American Company in a Foreign Country

Back to Running the Business – and its Problems

Will Your Name Be Pronounced the Same?

Struggling Against Low-Price Competitors

George Finds Out That Good Enough Isn’t

The Strength of Available Assistance

George and Emotional Triggers

DISASTER!!!

Living Through Disaster

Day Two of Disaster

Disaster Leadership

Disaster Follow Up

Post Disaster Leadership

RESTART

George’s Experience Versus Local Practices

Business Beyond the Disaster

GLOBAL SELF LEADERSHIP

Start of the Brainstorming Day – How to Do It

OFF WE GO INTO THE WILD BLUE YONDER

Exploration of Brainstorming Idea Potentials

Starting to Apply

HEADQURTERS DEMAND!

The New Global Business Leader

George Thanks You for Reading His Book

Professional Background

Introduction

This book focuses on the challenges that companies must learn to manage in global business. The case is that of American corporate executive George Hurley who is sent to manage an acquired business in a foreign country. George has been a very successful production manager in the U.S. corporate operations. However, he had never managed an entire business, nor did he direct operations in other countries. Fortunately, he had built a reputation for developing inspiring leadership skills.

Why should companies want to go global? Our USA population market is 325 million. The Global Market population is 6,650 billion; roughly more than 20 times larger than ours!

TIME to GO GLOBAL!!!

It does make sense to want to go global marketing.

But it is a lot more complicated than just one market!

How? In addition to having to deal with people with very different cultures, every country now has many different laws and regulations as well as unique consumers.

Running businesses in foreign countries requires dealing with consumers who have special product preferences and seek different values. The same applies to employees and managers

Dealing with so many differences in markets, businesses, competitors, laws and regulations can take a lot of learning and tremendous leadership skills. These are the special leadership training, coaching and consulting preparations that are suggested in many of the 20 Questions and Answers that are offered at the end of each chapter of this book.

Bottom Line? The global business experiences that George Hurley shares in this book open readers’ eyes to discover what lessons to look for and how to prepare for them.

Chapter One

Want to Run a Business in Another Country?

If you think that managing a business is tough, wait till you have to run one in another country; it can be painfully different. The following story is taken from the author’s experience running businesses overseas, and coaching over 700 international executives.

What the Chosen Expat Candidate Faced

George Hurley, a very experienced plant manager, was selected by an American company as CEO of a subsidiary in a foreign country. George had never been to that country, knew little about it and didn’t speak the language. However, because the subsidiary had been owned by the company for over seven years, George and his boss felt that by now local employees must be quite familiar with the company’s American business culture which, presumably, should make things easier to manage.

Arriving in the new country, George was met at the airport by one of his new staff members, and taken to the hotel. The staff member suggested that the following morning George rest at least half a day because of the high altitude (over 7,000 ft) which required a change of pace for newcomers. George felt he was in good enough physical shape to disregard the suggested rest, so he told his staff member to pick him up at 7:00 am local time.

At the plant, his office was on the second floor. Eager to get started, he ran up the staircase; halfway up, George discovered that his good sea level physical condition was not enough to overcome the lack of oxygen at that altitude; he ran out of breath and felt uneasy.

That was just the beginning of many more disconcerting discoveries that he would be facing.

During that first day, he tried to get an update of all that had happened in the last few years and what was going on now. After a few hours he was exhausted, somewhat confused and slightly dizzy. Although he didn’t know it, he was still suffering from hypoxia - the lack of oxygen. But even if he had been at sea level, on the first day of a foreign trip you need to give your body and your mind time to adapt.

After a good night’s rest, he felt better. Nevertheless, being surrounded by an entire environment that is strange and where everybody - except you - speaks a foreign language is disorienting.

Upon arriving at the plant - and carefully climbing up to the second floor, he began to work at taking control and starting to manage. He had already met his staff, a total of 11 people, but could not yet remember all their names which, of course, were very foreign. First goal was to get an update on financials and performance in each of the functional departments by reading recent reports.

Regarding financials, he already knew that they were not very good, but was still surprised at just how poor they really were.

Having a manufacturing background, his next step was to begin an in-depth review of production by meeting with the Plant Manager and his crew. Analyzing the statistics, he quickly discovered that production was low. When he asked the Plant Manager why the numbers were so low, the answer was Sales are too low.

George already knew that, but didn’t think it was the only reason. He had the Sales Manager brought in, and asked why sales were so low. The answer was, Production is too slow.

George now knew that this cross-blaming attitude was going to be a problem. Years ago, he had run into a similar problem between a plant supervisor and a maintenance chief. At that time, he knew a lot more about what was going on and who was not sharing the whole story. In his new position, he didn’t have that kind of knowledge yet, so he couldn’t tell who was right and who was wrong. Further, although both the Plant Manager and the Sales Manager spoke English, the way they expressed information was different which made it harder for him to read between the lines.

Later, on his way back to the hotel, he thought about the cross-cultural training his company had provided for him. It was enlightening to some degree, but couldn’t have possibly brought him up to speed regarding the real-world cultural proficiency he needed in order to find out what was going on.

Companies often purchase cross-cultural programs for expats; they offer about 6 hours of cultural training and an hour and a half of business culture coaching. It does help, but what many companies don’t realize is that expatriates have the greatest need for coaching and guidance during their first months in the new environment when they are facing real problems and challenges.

Back at the hotel that evening, he had dinner and later went to his room where he turned the TV on just to see what was available. None of it was in English. One of the channels was showing an American movie but it was dubbed in the local language which made it hard - if not impossible - to follow the story. After a day of hard work, there was no entertainment to help him rest. He was able to get his email on the Internet, which was helpful but, for the most part, it too was about work.

Life was hard and boring. He really missed his family. He felt lonely and kind of helpless. He felt he had no one he could talk with about his current situation. Could he have called his boss and shared his feelings and concerns? Of course; but his boss was an incredibly busy man. Plus, George didn’t want to come across as out of control and frightened.

Being CEO, especially of a foreign operation, is one of the loneliest jobs in the world. There was nobody George could share his thoughts with. His staff had narrow, mostly technical, experience and would not have understood George’s concerns.

He didn’t know any senior executives in the area that he could discuss such confidential matters with and ask for guidance.

Such isolation is not only painful but can also have costly results. It takes anywhere from 6 to 18 months for most expatriate executives to reach full operational speed (some never do). During that time, they can make huge mistakes the cost of which many companies never discover or recover.

The mistakes new expats make while going up the learning curve can cost the company millions of dollars!!!

Ways to Prepare for a New Overseas Assignment

These Questions and Answers will help you to think through how to apply these lessons. The answers provided will start your thinking along the right lines.

Why should you go on the Internet to read the newspapers of the country before you intend to visit?

Even if you don’t speak the local language, by just looking at the newspapers you will pick up words that will become an important part of your daily business language.

What if the majority of the newspapers are in the foreign language? What can you do?

Keep a dictionary at hand. It will help you to understand some of the words in the newspaper accelerating your adaptation. Further you will become aware of what is going on in the country.

Why do you need to watch the daily news on local TV?

Most countries have at least one newspaper that is in English. If you can get it, it will update you on the key issues that may affect your business

Why is it important to build networks in the various countries where we want to do business?

It will also help you identify key people that you may want to connect with. When you are very connected to your desk, you tend to be disconnected with reality.

How do you build good relationships with the foreign employees who will report to you?

Don’t start referring to them as YOU. From the beginning always refer to WE and US. You want them to see you as someone who wants to be like them. The image you want to create is that you are there to help and protect them.

What might be the first place to start building relationships?

The most effective way is by following Tom Peters’ method: Managing by walking around. You need to be seen by them and to also greet and engage them in short conversations. Show that you respect them.

What if you want to visit key local clients of your company but don’t speak the language? What can you do?

Greet them in their language then use an interpreter. Prepare the interpreter for the conversation by explaining what you are hoping to do. Important: when the interpreter is translating your comments, don’t look at him (or her); look at the person you are speaking with

Where should you keep your passport during the day?

Keep it with you all the time in your jacket or shirt pockets. Women can keep it in the purse or briefcase but put them in a jacket pocket, or either in a purse or a briefcase that they have with them full time. Important: always make 2 or 3 copies of your

What would be the latest you might want to go for a walk?

Walking alone in the dark whether on a street or a beach is always dangerous. Avoid staying out late.

Where should you sit in a restaurant in a foreign country?

Choose the nearest seat to the main exit. You never know when you might need to get out fast, plus other exits may be locked to keep thieves out.

Chapter Two

George’s First Tour of the Plant

The manufacturing process, although somewhat antique, looked familiar. As George walked through the production area, he began to make mental notes about things that needed to be changed and improved.

There was a section where a few of the workers were cleaning out the empty barrels that had contained the solvents used in the production process. George noticed the workers seemed a little bleary eyed and uncoordinated. Initially, he felt the smell of the cleaning liquids they were using was familiar but he couldn’t identify it. When he asked the Plant Manager what liquid was being used, he almost couldn’t believe the answer.

WHAT? Is that what they’re using? How long have they been using it? he asked.

The Plant Manager seemed surprised by George’s question. He replied, We have always used that liquid.

What surprised George was that because of its powerful toxicity that particular liquid was illegal to use in the American plants. No wonder the workers looked groggy; they might have already suffered serious health damage. This was unacceptable. How could the company still be using illegal materials after seven years of owning this operation?

George immediately ordered the Plant Manager to stop that operation, replace the liquid with a different one that was known to be acceptable, and have the workers examined by a doctor to determine if they had suffered any damages.

Why were you using that liquid? It is too dangerous.

The Plant Manager shrugged his shoulders and said, It is cheaper than the other cleansing liquids.

Didn’t the previous American CEO know this was dangerous?

I don’t know, the Plant Manager replied. He knew the name of the liquid but didn’t seem to be bothered by it.

George knew he had to brief his boss back in the U.S. about this unacceptable practice and its potentially very costly damage to the workers.

Continuing his tour of the plant, George made it a point to greet each of the workers. This seemed to make them uncomfortable; in fact, one of the workers seemed almost outraged. George asked the Plant Manager, "What’s going on with that guy? Why does he look so angry?

The Plant Manager smiled and said, Oh, he’s the union leader. He probably thinks you are trying to lure his members away by being nice to them.

The union leader? What union?" asked George.

Our company’s union, replied the Plant Manager. Nobody had told George that there was a union.

George was angry. He thought, How could my boss not tell me that the workforce was unionized; I’ve never worked with a union before? How am I supposed to handle this? I am going to really give my boss a hard time on this one.

This plant is a mess and no one at headquarters seems to either know or care about it, or has been hiding it intentionally. If I don’t get a reasonable answer from my boss about this, I could sue the company for this unethical behavior and its inadequate and definitely unfair communication with me.

Later that day, George called his boss back in the U.S. All he got was a voicemail recording saying that Frank, his boss, was on vacation and wouldn’t be back for 10 days. George dialed his boss’s administrative assistant’s number and got another voicemail recording asking him to leave a message.

Still angry, George thought of calling his boss’s boss, Vice President James Kellogg, but decided not to. He wasn’t sure how to present his situation. What if Mr. Kellogg was unaware of what was going on? Or, even worse, what if he was and hadn’t done anything about it?

Frustrated, but now calming down a bit, George decided to email a carefully worded description to his boss of his discoveries as well as their potential impact on both the operation and his performance. He did it because the situation and its probable consequences needed to be documented. He really wasn’t thinking of suing the company, at least not yet; the purpose was to protect his own career.

Now, he began to consider what would be an appropriate action to take if medical examinations of the workers exposed to the dangerous liquid indicated that they had suffered permanent damage. He also wondered why the workers seemed so uncomfortable when he greeted them on his tour of the plant. And, finally, he began to explore how to deal with the union and its leader.

By now, George was beginning to feel depressed; his discomfort was enormous. My God; I’m only in my first week here. What else is out there that I haven’t discovered yet? And how am I going to handle the obvious blaming game that the Plant Manager and the Sales Manager are engaged in?

On the way to the hotel that evening, he realized that he had left his passport on the coffee table in his room. Oh, oh; I hope it’s still there. I don’t know what I’ll do if it’s gone.

Chapter Two.

George’s First Tour of the Plant.

What Headquarters May Never Have Told You.

These Questions and Answers will help you to think through how to apply these lessons. The answers provided will start your thinking along the right lines.

How can you find out if all is well or not in the new overseas assignment?

Talk with people who may have been there before even if only as visitors. Talk with Human Resource people regarding any information they may have dealt with.

What if it isn’t? Should you blame your predecessor? How should you report it?

Find out who has dealt with that operation in previous years and ask them what might have happened. If headquarters provides supplies of any type, ask if there have been any abnormalities with the foreign operation’s orders. Investigate which local bank in that country works or has worked with your company’s operations there, then call them to ask about the bank’s experiences and impressions.

Or should you simply fix it and not report it? Why?

Get more information from more people at different departments and locations to develop a helpful basis of data and perceptions. By all means, headquarters should be made aware of what you have found and what has been done. For example, George discovered that some of the production employees had been using a chemical that was dangerously unhealthy. He told headquarters about it and also informed them that the better chemicals would be more expensive but definitely safer.

If you have never worked with a union how can you learn?

Learn about local labor laws. Talk with a local lawyer and with human resource experts at the U.S. embassy. Study the union contracts of the last few years. Meet the union leaders and treat them with respect. Build a relationship of cooperation and mutual information. Start planning the next union contract negotiation.

Should you document negative discoveries, or not? Why? What are the concerns?

Definitely document negative discoveries but before you pass them onto headquarters find out if there are any legal (U.S. or foreign) concerns. Once things are documented it may not be possible to change them if the issue could be legally delicate.

Should you have explored the labor laws of the new country you will be working in?

Yes, but you also need to explore laws and regulations regarding importations if you are bringing in supplies from other countries.

Should you explore the financial reports of previous years before you go there? Why?

Definitely. As many financial and other reports as possible. You may want to also check