The Millennial Global Edge

By Ayse Oge

Long Description
Ayse Oge's book "The Millennial Global Edge" couldn't be more timely – with the past financial meltdown, the pandemic, and an economic crisis showing the world that we are more globally interconnected than ever in 2020. According to a Digital Commerce 360 analysis, global e-commerce sales came out to $3.46 trillion in 2019, compared to $2.93 trillion in 2018. With the world of international business changing in recent years, sectors such as design, execution, and performance are linked with rapidly evolving technology. New technology must be applied to every stage of the trade process, including sourcing, logistics, cross-border trade, and compliance.
Why is this important for millennials to take advantage? Simply put, they have the power to dramatically improve communication, on-time deliveries, and financial performance. Millennials were raised in the social media era and have never been more than a few clicks away from friends, family, and the entire social network spanning the world. They find tremendous comfort and fulfillment in leveraging these social interactions to seek support and reassurance. It allows them a deeper and more globalized connection.
Millennials can build teams to offer the best functional expertise from around the world. This enables diversity by bringing together people from many cultures with unique work experiences and fresh perspectives. Businesses that want to be more innovative and forward-thinking will rely on this valuable millennial resource to help compete and grow in the industry.
Having a global business is highly dynamic, and it's the perfect environment for millennials to reinvent themselves. Global business careers help workers make good employment choices, learn to welcome change, and face challenges confidently to be leaders on the world stage.

Millennials are being presented with their best chance at becoming successful in this industry - right here, right now. International trade means a large pool of employing organizations, multinationals, non-profits, governments, and companies in need of professionals with specialized skills and experiences, especially those who want to get involved in entrepreneurial ventures and doing business for themselves. Not to mention, world business is currently experiencing rapidly advancing technological innovation, increasing urbanization, and shifts in global economic powers that will shape the future workforce. There is a demand in the profession for qualified people with a global mindset.

Millennials are the obvious choice to fill the gap and generate the needed vitality in the global business environment. Their digital understanding, along with their innate curiosity to drive learning, is a big plus in global business. This often results in transparent and purposeful communication - a great value when it comes to building and maintaining the trust of overseas customers. Millennials favor teamwork and inclusiveness over social barriers, and they value unstructured, fluid chains of command. As a result, they can bring a new comprehensive approach to the industry to re-think what some might consider baggage of traditions.
Going global is not merely a "trend." It is a long-lasting, conscious career choice driven by versatility, and it comes with the flexibility to take on different responsibilities. Millennials are the answer to many dilemmas that this industry has been facing. They are the future, and we need to start building and empowering them to step into these huge open roles that are waiting for them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098324773

Book preview

The Millennial Global Edge

Copyright © 2020 Ayse Oge

Written by Ayse Oge

eBook ISBN: 978-1-09832-477-3

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions or for damages resulting from the use of information contained herein.

Published by Ayse Oge 2020

Dedication: To my parents, Necdet and Nezahat Oge, who taught me to empower the younger generation and led to my belief that I could help unlock their full potential, leading to driving change in our world. I couldn’t have done this without you. Thank you.

Table of Contents

Foreword: The Millennial Global Edge

Chapter 1: Millennials with Global Skills to Command a Shrinking World

Chapter 2: Power of Millennials: The Best Kept Secret in Global Business

Chapter 3: Emerging Markets

Chapter 4: Global Business Assessment & Planning

Chapter 5: Technical Consideration of Global Export Trade

Chapter 6: E-Commerce: Unlocking the Power of World Markets

Chapter 7: Culture Matters

Chapter 8: The Art of Cross-Cultural Negotiation

Chapter 9: International Trade Careers and Jobs for Millennials

Chapter 10: The Art and Science of Global Leadership

Endnotes

Foreword

The Millennial Global Edge

Ayse Oge is an award-winning international trade consultant, speaker and instructor. She is passionate about international business and her new book entitled Millennial Global Edge focuses on the millennial generation becoming leaders in global business and commerce. This book aims at empowering millennials to become bridge builders and connectors of resources and talents across cultural and geographical boundaries—dedicated to finding new ways of creating value and opportunity in terms of entrepreneurial ventures and international trade jobs.

Millennials are open-minded, well educated, and team-oriented. They constantly seek new opportunities and experiences. Unlike the baby-boomer generation, millennials have mastered the new age of technology, which gives them an upper hand in the ability to affect global change and have an economic impact. Millennials’ social mindset is an important factor when it comes to investing their skills and talents in businesses that align with their social and political values—from clean energy and gender equality to water conservation.

Millennials are also in the phase of life that involves increased economic activity as they settle down and start families. This means that they are constantly making purchases and always on the lookout for newest trends. In turn, they know what is desirable and they can provide a fresh perspective on how a company or brand should market their product/service to reach global consumers. Millennials have grown up by being exposed to diverse cultures through school, travel, and even social media; as a result, they are innovative and curious enough to be the perfect candidate for global trade because, simply put, they want to change the world. After all, who better to sell to millennials than other millennials?

Author Ayse Oge traveled much of the world, from Asia to Europe, Middle East and Latin America, and worked import business in the USA. The world has given her much. She has made friends and a living, learned about other cultures, and enjoyed working with entrepreneurs to help them be successful too. She taught others about international trade, which included speaking at business forums in the USA and abroad. Working as an advisor for Business Education Advisory Committee (BESAC) and Vice-Chair Woman of Valley International Trade Association (VITA) and Board Member of California Business Education Association (CBEA) gave her perspective on how global business can be expanded through education and by hiring the right people to achieve growth in international trade arena. She is giving back to her community by volunteering at Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), teaching export to existing business owners and entrepreneurs. She believes that millennials are the future and that it is time to build them up and support them to step into huge open roles that are waiting for them. They may have no idea of the impact they could have, but once they get a taste of this life-changing message, there will be no turning back.

In this book, the author shares her own experiences, compiles resources, discusses pitfalls and challenges, reviews opportunities, as well as challenges, and delves into the excitement of doing business across different cultures. According to the author, millennials have been born in one of the best times to thrive in the international trade sector. She wishes them a stimulating and fun journey.

Chapter 1

Millennials with Global Skills to Command a Shrinking World

Worldly millennials are uniquely poised as the rising generation of business and government leaders, and entrepreneurs.

According to a 2015 report by the consulting firm Mercer¹, 91 percent of multinational companies employ millennials in the international mobile workforce, and in total, millennials make up 38 percent of the global mobile workforce. This trend is ideally suited for millennials who, unlike generations before them, prefer multi-careerism.² Millennials are used to travel, and because of interconnectivity and technology, their world has no boundaries; millennials have the perfect international mindset. They are adaptable and expect speedy reaction and results. Above all, they see international experience as integral to their learning and success.

While there has been some disagreement on what constitutes a millennial, the Pew Research Center defines a millennial as a person born between 1981 and 1996.³ They have a unique way of seeing the world, in large part because they are the most culturally and racially diverse generation to date. Millennials appreciate differences, understand the experiences of others, and realize the opportunities of a culture based on inclusion, consensus, and teamwork.

Such qualities make them ideal to serve as successful global entrepreneurs and professionals. According to the 2010 Pew Research report Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change⁴, millennials are more highly educated compared to previous generations at the same age. More than half of millennials have at least some college education (54 percent), compared with the 36 percent of baby boomers. Millennials consider technology use as the defining characteristic of their generation and are leading technology enthusiasts. For example, a recent Blockchain Capital survey found that 30 percent of millennials would rather invest $1,000 in emerging cryptocurrency markets than in bonds or stocks.⁵

And there is opportunity. The recession has hurt all Americans but has been particularly hard on the millennial generation according to a 2012 The Atlantic magazine feature.⁶ As jobs vanished and businesses closed, America’s newest entrants into the labor force have often found themselves among the last hired and the first to lose their jobs. But thanks to global opportunity, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Creating a Value Relationship

The constant stream of interaction nurtured by social media is a defining element of the millennials’ circle of influence. Millennials interact with a diverse group of friends, colleagues, and family via electronic devices on a daily basis. They thrive on the collaboration vital to creating long-lasting relationships. This is also a very prominent characteristic of working globally across cultures.

Globalization is in full swing with rapid technological advancements. Adoption of changing telecommunication and information technology has created a more leveled playing field. Goods and services can be manufactured anywhere, and talent innovation and capital are no longer limited to first world countries.

Innovation and Talent Are Now Global

In today’s economy, innovation is the key to producing valuable products, new processes, and unique business models to respond to the distinctive needs and expectations of global consumers. Consider Chile; the country boasts strong institutions, well-functioning markets, high levels of domestic competition, and openness to foreign trade. It has begun taking center stage in entrepreneurship and innovation hub. Chile, for example, is heading toward a new level of competitiveness through its flagship Start-Up Chile program. The program is aimed at attracting and retaining talent from all over the world (including within Chile) to support start-up businesses. The objective is to support global entrepreneurs and connect Chile’s most innovative and brilliant minds, creating an innovative platform and cross-pollination of ideas similar to hotspots like Israel or the Silicon Valley. Chile is on the path to differentiating itself in fostering innovation and strengthening the power of entrepreneurs.⁷

Silicon-Valley type innovation centers are emerging worldwide. For example, Israel, a country of 7.1 million people, no natural resources, and only 70 years old, produces more start-up companies than the likes of Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The Economist⁸ notes that Israel now has more high-tech start-ups and a larger venture capital industry per capita than any other country in the world. The book Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle⁹ attributes Israel’s economic growth to mandatory military service and immigration. The authors indicate the culture of Israel defense forces provide potential entrepreneurs with an array of transferable skills and contacts. The book also focuses on immigration and its role in Israel’s economic growth, noting that immigrants are not averse to start from scratch; they are, by definition, risk-takers.

Multinational tech companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft all have research centers in Israel.¹⁰ The new start-ups are emerging in sectors such as drones, cybersecurity, and autonomous driving technology. Mobileye, an Israeli autonomous driving technology company, offered such an attractive business model that it was acquired by Intel. Many such startups get acquired by big U.S. companies, and most split their teams between Tel Aviv, Boston or Silicon Valley.

Another example is Alphabet’s (Google) recent decision to open an artificial-intelligence lab in Beijing in a bid to attract China’s best and brightest tech prodigies. The location gives the company access to mathematicians’ eager to move into AI and to connect with China’s massive consumer market. The AI China Center, launched in December 2017, will host engineers conducting basic research and aims at luring top Chinese talent in a competitive field. As Google Cloud executive Fei-Fei Li said, We need to recognize the opportunity and leadership that China has already displayed in the area of technology and AI. By opening a lab here, we come here to extend our hand out, and show this part of the world we would like to listen to them, work with them.¹¹

Capital is Also Global

Over the past 30 years, venture capital has become a dominant force in the financing of innovative American companies. From Google and Intel to FedEx, companies supported by venture capital have profoundly changed the U.S. economy. During the tech bubble in the late 1990s and the early 2000s, venture capital was an American institution. Its existence centered in California, and not so much beyond the U.S. But during the past decade, as global venture capital and startups spread from Asia to Europe, new capital markets are emerging. Foreign direct investment reached $73 billion in 2014, up from $14 billion in 2004. Large companies in utilities, transportation, and health care have achieved double-digit revenue growth in local currency terms between 2008 and 2014.¹²

For example, Uber Technology Inc. is a global transportation company headquartered in San Francisco, California, operating in over 600 cities worldwide. The ride-hailing company allows anyone to work as a driver to serve customers in need of access to a car service on demand. Uber Technologies Inc. raised $3.5 billion from the investment arm of Saudi Arabia, disrupting the longtime cab for-hire sector.

The Need for New Global Ideas

Because millennials view global diversity as an advantage, they are not afraid to take risks—even if it means learning through failure. Consider Microsoft in China. When Microsoft first entered the Chinese market in 1980, it suffered huge losses owing to the lack of solid cooperation from Chinese Government and failed to establish strategic partnerships with local firms. It took some time for Microsoft to build a highly profitable and mutually beneficial relationship based on hiring Chinese engineers and promoting China as a research and development partner.

Millennials enjoy learning. They keep an open mind and rely on new information to build strong relations. Unlike baby boomers, millennials, owing to their early adoption of technology, expect faster results and enjoy consistent stimulation. Millennials have a huge appetite to act, grow, and move up professionally. The global market provides incentives they seek. However, there are a few things that millennials should keep in mind about multinationals and entrepreneurship.

Think global about markets from day one. For example, Tesla’s electric cars have a significant edge over its competitors in the race to bring electric cars worldwide. The company had $7 billion in global revenue in 2016, including a little over $1 billion from China.

Venture capitalists want to see entrepreneurs think globally. Financing is slim without a global plan/team in place. For example, a start-up manufacturer should have manufacturers from low-cost countries, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, India, or China.

Most buyers are beyond the U.S. Globalization is here to stay and over 90 percent of population lives worldwide. With two-thirds of purchasing power located overseas, millennials cannot afford to overlook the international marketplace. The longer a start-up is out of world markets, the more opportunities the company loses to local and foreign competitors.

International credentials give millennials an edge. The fastest growth is overseas. Businesses are looking for professionals with a global view and work experience in several countries. International credentials help a candidate get hired and promoted to the top ranks within a multinational company.

English is the language of international business. While being multilingual is an advantage, any American CEO working overseas will attest that their business partners almost always speak English.

The need for highly qualified multicultural managers will increase as more organizations globalize their operations. A successful global manager has several key skills according to the Harvard Business Review:¹³

They consider change as normal, positive, and a source of opportunity.

They rely on creative, outsider thinking and adaptation to confront new situations.

They are able to reinvent themselves and experiment with new identities as they move into new settings.

They become experts at the subtle and emotional aspects of transition.

They easily learn and use new ways of thinking, taking risks that lead to self-efficacy.

For many millennials, the important question is not whether to go global but how to survive and prosper outside the narrow confines of a deceptively comfortable and familiar domestic market.

Reasons to Go Global

Build sales and profits

When a company faces depressed sales in its local market, international markets can punch up sales and achieve revenue stability. In her book, Go Global to Win, Ayse Oge cites the experience of Chris, Export Manager for Gruber, a company involved in the international trade of cast polymer production. Based in Valencia, California, Chris said, We would be out of business if we had not gone global when the domestic market was not doing well. Sales are sales regardless of where they are coming from. Export can help companies generate additional revenue in domestic downturns, as well