As I mentioned in my last post, I’m going to be micro-blogging about meaningful tools that help connect us with our global environment. Today, I have made what I can only describe as an amazing discovery! One of the main complaints I hear from my clients on global teams is how difficult it can be to pronounce everyone’s name. This is no small worry; people’s names represent a part of their identity. To say a name incorrectly, especially over and over again, can cause strain. As much of my work revolves around India, I see Westerners struggling with embarrassment over mispronouncing their customers’ or employees’ Indian names.

Those days are over if you use this free tool. It’s called Audioname and it’s so simple to use, yet highly effective. Go to www.audioname.com. You can record your name into your computer (or call a toll free number to record it). Then you have the option to add it to your e-mail signature, social media, or your website. And it’s all free! When I think of the stress this can save worldwide team members I am hardly able to contain myself. Click on the play button below to listen to my name, and then give it a try for yourself. Post your Audio Name link here so I can hear your name. Until next time, enjoy!

Greetings, readers! Happy New Year! I hope your 2012 is off to a rousing start. While at an event on trends in China last month, I learned about the term “microblogging.” Twitter, for example, is considered a microblogging site where people can post status updates in 140 characters or less. Here at Highroad we have dubbed 2012 the Year of Connection and Growth. Through our upcoming e-book, webinars, and other forums, we want to authentically reach more people around the world. So in addition to our usual essay-type blog entries, we will now post more frequent microblogs on issues of depth and substance. This week we want to share some world music.

In about three weeks I am turning 40. To celebrate, I am putting on a house concert for my family and close friends. I will play guitar alongside a couple of guest musicians. In the past I’ve played music as a hobby, but since starting Highroad Global Services I haven’t picked up the guitar much. My job is so fulfilling I thought perhaps I didn’t need to. However, I cannot express the joy that music has brought to my life since I’ve reintroduced it. I can see why music crosses cultures so well, becoming a sort of universal language. The music and its meanings vary greatly around the world, but the feeling generated from it has great power to bond us together in a sort of rhythm.

I discovered this website recently: www.playingforchange.com. Their tagline is “Connecting the world through music.” How appropriate! Please enjoy this stunning video of over 75 musicians across the country of Colombia. I wish you all the best for 2012.

How do you sum up a year? I think about all that has happened here on the Highroad, and yet…

How do you appreciate the millions of little moments that made up our 2011? I think I’ll take the Zen approach and keep it undemanding.

Life on the Highroad this year has given me so many opportunities to learn, sometimes discovering that the solutions to our challenges across cultures are deceptively simple.

Here are 4 discoveries I have made this year that I would like to share:

1. Many of our difficulties, misconceptions, and stresses across cultures could be set right simply by asking questions and listening for the answers. This may not sound profound but it’s true. When I went to Germany this year I discovered that some of the German team members had been working in a virtual environment with Americans for years, yet stereotypes and inaccuracies about the culture abounded. While I was visiting they asked me questions and I answered, clearing up some of the misconceptions in five minutes. I did the same, and by the end of our time together we had created a true sense of team spirit. Ask questions. Don’t be too afraid to offend people. If you ask in the spirit of curiosity and authenticity offense will be minimal, but the reward will be great.
2. Most cross-cultural workplace difficulties and mishaps happen not because of cultural differences alone, but because of the misalignment of expectations. For example, in the U.S. if a problem comes up on a project, the team in charge typically informs the customer or stakeholder right away upon discovery of the issue. Then they proceed to work on a solution. In the IT environment in urban India, the more common response is to do everything in your power to resolve the problem first, then inform the customer or stakeholder. Neither of these approaches is inherently better or worse than the other, but imagine putting them together without knowing the difference. The solution? Have “alignment discussions” where you strategize the possible gaps and how you will handle them. Set norms and agreements around mission critical issues. (For more detail, read this study: http://www.vantagepartners.com/uploadedFiles/Offshoring_Study.pdf)
3. Global leaders can navigate the balance between cultural adaptation and authority by looking within. Leaders of global teams constantly face the challenge of how much to adapt and flex to the different cultures on their team. On the one hand they must take different communication styles, preferences, and work customs into account to create an inclusive environment. After all, inclusion creates value for the organization. On the other hand the leader must know when to enforce a decision, especially one involving safety or quality. This balance or integration can give headaches and I’m not sure you ever “resolve” it. Instead you can first look within and define yourself as a leader. What do you stand for? What are your values? How is your culture influencing you? What is your personal mission? Once that core is defined and strong, you can stretch that envelope to include other cultural styles and ways of doing business. You can be an explorer, captaining a ship and open to possibility, yet firmly knowing when you would leave the treasure behind and protect your crew.
4. Try exploring your universe outside of work, no matter how much you love what you do. This was a big one for me. Highroad is not only a company or a job to me, it is my passion. For the last eight years it has captivated me and still does. I wake up excited to come to work. This year, however, I decided that I could serve my clients best if I explored more facets of myself, learning to be more authentic and creative. I have played guitar for many years off and on, but this past October I took up lessons again and am preparing to put on a performance in my home next year. I cannot express what this has done for my soul and my work. I am having the time of my life playing music; the word “playing” is surely appropriate here. Dust off your hobbies and interests. Take one small step to rediscover them again. Let your mind expand through using its different pieces and parts. Your work will benefit, but it’s okay if it doesn’t!

Recommended End of Year Activity:

At Highroad several colleagues and I do this every year, and then get together to share the results.

1. Make a list of all of your accomplishments for 2011. Don’t leave out anything. These can be work-related or personal. They can be tangible or intangible. There are no rules.
2. Get together with friends and colleagues and take turns reading your lists.
3. On a separate sheet of paper or document online, set your intentions for 2012. Intentions differ from goals; they focus on the things you intend to bring about. For example, “I will work out of the country at least twice” or “I will take one day off per month for family time.”
4. Hang the intentions in a visible place and look at them often. Small efforts and attention will help them materialize.

Thank You

Last but never least we want to thank everyone who has contributed to Highroad’s growth and success this year. We value our clients, vendors, blog readers, and colleagues more than words can say. We look forward to our partnership in 2012. Have a restful holiday season, a happy New Year, and an authentic life!

Sincerely,

Vicki Hudson and the Highroad Team

Earlier this week I attended an excellent briefing on China organized by the China Research Center (www.chinacenter.net) and the Georgia China Alliance (www.georgiachina.com). I went to the event with enthusiasm, because I am always seeking information directly from country nationals or people intimately connected with an area.

As I’ve said in previous blogs, I wonder how much of the world could be set right if we just talked to people, asked questions and listened.

Here are the critical points I took away from the briefing:

China’s Political Society

Dr. Yawei Liu, director of the Carter Center’s China program, painted a dark but insightful picture of China’s current state. He said that while China has a lot of money, military might, and economic power, the country lacks three things that need to be addressed. From Dr. Liu’s perspective…

1. China has no friends: You need allies in this world but China is being challenged even in places where they have significant investments like parts of Africa and Burma.
2. China has no civil society: Top leadership in China views civil involvement with fear and mistrust, which often translates to the citizenry. Many wealthy people are leaving the country, and no consensus exists on what China should be, or how to sustain its growth.
3. China has no political certainty: No one can be sure what will happen even one year from now. No unifying ideology exists to guide the country into the future.

Although Dr. Liu’s picture cast a shadow over China’s situation, he pointed out that open political rivalry at the top levels has triggered a debate on what model works best for China, the current system or a more open one. That debate in itself is positive.

China’s Education System

The next speaker was Dr. Mark Becker, President of Georgia State University. He focused on education in China, which operates on what he called a “Soviet model.”

Dr. Becker described great changes taking place in the Chinese education system, including universities that have everything U.S. schools have, all the technology and modern equipment. The challenge in China has been around how to innovate with those tools, how to exercise creativity and excel in design.

One explanation for this apparent lack comes down to language. The Chinese language is based on roughly 13, 000 characters, so school children must spend a great deal of time in early education just learning those. They don’t have time for creative activities.

One trend happening today shows wealthy families building universities that emphasize innovation and design. English proficiency among students is increasing rapidly as well. We should be paying attention to China’s youth for a glimpse into how they might shift the tides of business.

China’s Social Media

Dr. Hongmei Li then spoke about internet trends and social media in China. The country has over 500 million Internet users and the divide between urban and rural usage is shrinking. 300 million Chinese participate in micro-blogging (like traditional blogging only focused on small elements of content, short sentences, or individual images). In 2010 that number was only 60 million.

Many white-collar workers see social media as the way to promote civil society, but a lot of money is spent on Internet police. Heavy censorship still exists. The government has a wish that the Internet would be used more as developmental business tool, helping Chinese to develop their management skills and creativity. But the power of the Web has not been totally contained in China. Do an Internet search on Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei for a strong example.

What is next for China?

Global Atlanta reporter Trevor Williams told relevant stories about China’s inequities, stating that the government will need to address them if the country wants to remain a powerful player on the world stage. Much of China’s wealth is still concentrated in the eastern coastal areas, and President Hu Jintao must find a way to deal with one billion people, many of whom are very poor and getting a louder voice.

If you live in Georgia, I highly recommend attending the events hosted by the Georgia China Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting business exchanges between China and the State of Georgia.

Opportunities in China are boundless, but only if we pay attention to the realities.

Last night I attended the third annual AmCham (American Chamber of Commerce) Business Day, hosted by AmCham Germany and Bridgehouse Law. This event opened my eyes and confirmed a motto I’ve been a lot lately: How much of the world could be set right just by talking to people. I’d like to continue on this theme and explore how we can collaborate more effectively on a global scale to solve the economic crisis.

The AmCham event, which took place at Emory Goizueta Business School, consisted of a panel of distinguished speakers (click here for the speaker list http://www.bridgehouselaw.de/en/aktuell.html#1). The moderator, journalist Katja Ridderbusch, posed questions about  the state of the “transatlantic relationship,” with a focus on Germany and the United States. Needless to say, much of the discussion centered around the Euro crisis; after all, what could affect our relationship more?

The speakers and moderator lent so much depth and substance to the subject of the debt crisis; I only wish I had a recording to share with you. Here are some of the lessons learned that I took away:

• Historically, Europe and the United States have been at a low ebb before; Germany is economically robust now, but even ten short years ago they were called “the sick man of Europe”. The U.S. had has its share of the same. We can come out of this crisis, but only if we work together and eliminate finger-pointing.
• Germany and the United States are tied together through strong bonds. In the U.S., German companies directly employ one million Americans; millions more are employed indirectly. Germany is the largest investment of American capital outside the U.S. We only stand to gain by strengthening ties.
• Although the Euro created a common currency, what we are seeing now are divergent fiscal behaviors among the different countries. Neither Europe nor the U.S. can afford another twenty years of living beyond our means. The individual also has the chance to make an impact by eliminating debt and practicing fiscal restraint. We should model what we want to see our governments do.
• Germany and the U.S. dealt with the economic downturn in different ways which point to their cultural roots. In Germany, rather than downsize the workforce, the government implemented reduced hours and other trimming measures. This kept people working, which proved important. Studies show that the longer you are unemployed the less likely you are to get a job.
• All of the speakers highlighted the friendship between the United States and Germany. Hopelessness can contribute to the economic spiral, but this can be countered by collaboration. As Peter Fischer, Minister of the Economic Department of the Germany Embassy stated, Germans and Americans share the values of “liberty, pluralism, tolerance, and democracy.” Those seem like powerful tools against hopelessness, but only if we seek to understand rather than compare cultures.

Last but not least I offer my own interpretation. I wish both Europe and the United States a speedy recovery, but I hope we do not miss the opportunity that lies in this bad situation. We are “in the same boat” now. From that common boat, let us generate empathy for each other and put our fingers down. Let us seek greater cross-cultural awareness and skills so that Europe and the U.S. may leverage their collective resilience and capacity for imaginative solutions. After all, look how far we have come since 1945. Forgive my American optimism here, but if we can make it through that, we can make it through anything. I return to my theme — How much of the world could be set right just by talking to people. Now, I rarely assign homework in my blog, but this is an exception.

Your Assignment: I invite you to write to a colleague, client, or friend in Europe and ask their opinion about the Euro crisis. Let’s start the dialogue. And let’s listen well.

Here is the discovery I made while riding the German trains, staying with a family, building teams, and seeing friends: How much of the world could be set right just by talking to people.

Yep, that’s it. Wait, don’t close your browser yet. Allow me to explain.

As my company Highroad Global Services grows and expands, the world expands and shrinks alongside it. My team and I are constantly challenged by the increasing complexity of global teams, virtual communication, and integrated world economies.

If we didn’t have evidence to the contrary, we might start to assume that with all of this globalization we don’t have to worry about dated problems like stereotyping.

Let me tell you, everywhere I have worked in the world I have found misperceptions about different cultures to be alive and well, even in multinational companies where cross-pollination of nationalities is common. (See this blog’s previous post for more on perception).

You might say though, that stereotypes are not only still with us, they have become more dangerous. Why? Because we are more dependent on each other now in our teams and in our ability to solve the world’s crises.

So back to my discovery. How much of the world could be set right just by talking to people.

This is easy to imagine but it takes willingness and risk to execute.

My week in Germany provided many opportunities for dialogue, but only because I was willing to be uncomfortable sometimes. Here was my journey in a nut shell, and the lessons learned.

• Get an Expat Perspective: In Frankfurt I visited an old friend, an American expat living in Germany. As we strolled the streets of the city past an Appelwein cart, Goethe’s house, fountains, stained glass, street musicians, and churches, I asked questions. What did she miss about the U.S.? What did she not miss? What was it like to raise a child in Germany? She described the flexibility of the work environment and being off for one year with her child. She came back to her job which the company kept for her by law. This is called “Parents Time.” People get temporarily replaced while they are away on maternity leave. I was fascinated by her adjustment to her new home.

• Talk on the Train: I took about eight trains in one week in Germany which provided ample opportunity for learning. I met a couple going from Stuttgart to Aulendorf in the south of Germany. They both university professors and spoke fluent English. I asked them about their home town, and the biking trip they were about to take. Stereotypes about Americans in Germany are not uncommon (and vice versa, of course), and this simple dialogue could have helped to assuage them with little effort.

• Stay with a Family: There is nothing more exciting, life-changing, awkward, and wonderful than staying with a family overseas. I was invited by a former client of mine to stay in his family’s home in a rural village with his wife and four children. I learned more about Germany in those four days than in all my previous years there. We discussed how much private and work life are separated in Germany, what terms were offensive in the U.S. which were innocent in Germany, how the people in the village often had visible struggles but refused to talk about them, how women are treated in the workplace, and so much more. I visited my client’s daughter at school and we talked about stereotypes between our two countries. We each asked questions and were willing to hear the answers without defense.

• Build a Team: My final piece of the journey was a teambuilding event for a client near Koblenz. I gave a short presentation, then the team split into groups of eight or nine for geo-caching, a kind of scavenger hunt with a GPS. I was the only American on my team, but my colleagues spoke English and I understood enough German that we communicated well. We spent the whole day on the scavenger hunt, learning to work as a team, laughing a lot (the stereotype about the serious, humorless German is quite humorous to me!), and once again asking questions. I found out that Americans can be perceived as superficial in Germany. Rather than get defensive, I asked questions around that and gently corrected misperceptions where needed. We openly discussed politics, family life, and the social ills of both countries. Most of all we spent time together face to face, engaged and willing to have fun.

How much of the world could be set right just by talking to people. And you don’t have to travel to do it; just look around you and you will find people who are different from you. Ask questions. Stay with a family. Visit your clients when there’s not business to be done.

Don’t be so afraid to offend people that you don’t take any chances to get to know them. Let’s have a dialogue. We can start right now.

Stay tuned for the new series of Highroad webinars “Ask A (Nationality)” where we will be interviewing people from different countries about common misperceptions and realities of their culture. Which countries would you like to see first? Post a comment here and we’ll listen.

Much of our success in managing life and global business comes down to perception. Several years ago I stayed for two weeks in a very basic monastery dorm room in Southern Thailand. One night at bedtime I climbed onto my mat and tucked in my mosquito net around me. Just as I was about to close my eyes I saw a spider on the wall – it was the size of a large man’s hand. I knew that my decision came down to perception management. I could choose to perceive the spider as a threat and run screaming from the room waking everyone else up, or I could accept its presence and just go to sleep. The spider remained the same no matter what I chose. I chose to go to bed. He never moved the whole night.

Years later perception management still fascinates me. As many of you know I help onshore/offshore teams build collaboration between India and the U.S. Not long ago Vantage Partners released a study (http://nearshoreamericas.com/outsourcing-relationships-new-study-2509/) saying that cultural differences posed the number one challenge to offshore contracts. I was not surprised, but here’s what did raise my eyebrows a bit: The challenges did not come so much from the cultural differences themselves, but in the way they were perceived by both offshore providers and their clients.

For example, customers in the U.S. overwhelmingly believe that their offshore provider tends to communicate indirectly. Providers interviewed, however, tend not to perceive those differences. After all, what is “indirectly?” For the providers in India or China, their communication approach seems natural. These perception misalignments  cause a loss in the offshore contract value, some customers reporting a loss greater than 30%. Perception then becomes reality.

I began to wonder if so much of what plagues us in global business is just a matter of aligning perceptions and expectations. This is not an easy task, and a recent business trip to Memphis, Tennessee proved that once again.

Blues music makes my heart and soul swoon, so when I found out I would be fifteen minutes from Beale St., the center of Memphis’s music scene I immediately set aside an evening for rocking out. Since I would be out late as a woman alone, I went on a couple of travel websites to make sure that the area was relatively safe. Before long, however, I was in the perception trap.

Descriptions and reviews of Beale St. ranged from “smelling like a urinal” and “filthy and not for families” to “everything I expected and more” and “music to my ears.”

I thought back to my time in Nepal where I spent a year living right under the glory of the mighty Himalayas. Many tourists that visited there described it as “dirty,” “poor,” or “fourth world.” Though living there drove me to tears from time to time, Nepal’s beauty and complex culture defied description. The streets, porches, and shops were always swept clean, and many of my colleagues had thriving businesses. Again, perception.

So I decided to go to Beale St. and I had the time of my life. I listened to live blues until midnight and let the sounds of guitars, bass, and harmonica permeate me for hours. I made sure I stayed in well-lit areas with lots of people, just as a common sense practice.

The question is, what do we do about this perception challenge? If perception misalignment is the ailment, than communication is the cure. Global teams must discuss not only processes and procedures, but how they are going to work together. They must design protocols around communication which include agreements they make as a team. They should ask the “W” questions (who, what, where, when, why) about cultural differences, project management, deadlines, and giving feedback. We can no longer afford to leave these aspects of teamwork to chance.

On an individual level we can check our perceptions consistently simply be being mindful of them on a regular basis. When they come up, we can acknowledge them as perceptions, and then ask inquiring questions: Is this true? Can I be 100% sure that it’s true? What evidence can I provide? How do I react toward my colleague when I have that perception? What options do I have for checking my perception? (These questions were adapted from Byron Katie’s The Work.)

Just remember the spider on the wall in Thailand. You may always choose how you perceive something, and how you seek to understand others’ perceptions of you.

So you wait. Another server passes by and says “She’s coming soon.” Who is this mysterious woman keeping you from sitting down? You wait, and you wait. Your legs begin to twitch from standing. Yet another staff member passes by and says, “She’ll be right with you, sorry.”

By this time it’s worth the wait just to see this Grand Master of All Seating. Finally she comes. She looks at you and says, “Oh! I was so busy chatting I didn’t see you there.”

Really?

Then she asks if you have reservations. No, you answer. You are just passing through town. The Seating Master looks at a paper chart and says, “Well, I just don’t think I have anything. Oh, wait, I spoke to soon…” But before she can finish her sentence she spots someone she knows, someone local to that small town. Turning away from you she begins talking animatedly to this gentleman and seats him right away. By now your jaw has dropped to the floor in astonishment, but she doesn’t notice as she comes back and seats you at last.

You think it’s over? Not quite. Your server comes to the table and begins to fill your water glasses, looking at you with confusion as if to say “What are you doing at this table?”

She smiles, but still looks confused. “The hostess will be right with you, ” the server says. What?

At last the server realizes that the Seating Master has already given her approval to the choice of table, and the meal proceeds as normal.

Can you guess the whereabouts of this strange locale? It is not a galaxy far, far away? Nope, it’s Lincoln, New Hampshire, a town just outside the White Mountains.

My husband Jay and I recently returned from a three week trip through New England. For the last two summers we have traveled within the United States to learn more about our own country and culture. Though I was born in the Northeast, I grew up in Los Angeles and moved to Atlanta, GA about sixteen years ago. I had only been back to New England once or twice since birth, and never for long. I had much to learn about the culture.

What happened with the Seating Master was not a one-time occasion. It happened again the next morning in a different restaurant. We walked in and no one greeted us. Finally we flagged down a server and she told us to see “The Man with the Chart” over there. He smiled and asked us how many in our party, but then ignored us for several minutes while he talked to someone he knew. At last we were seated.

Jay and I began to wonder if we were not picking up on some cultural cues. We felt out of our element, in spite of being in our country of birth and residence. We didn’t know the rules, therefore we didn’t know how to behave.

Along our trip we noticed other differences from the language (a soft serve ice cream was called a “creamy”) to the less obvious communication modes used for certain groups. Traveling in your own country you don’t expect to find differences that drastic, even though you are aware they exist. Everyone talks about the variety of cultures in the United States, but when you don’t know how to act in the place you call home, this can be disconcerting.

We must exercise caution as we encounter these differences because evaluations and judgments can creep in. If you are from the U.S., you expect things to be different in India, but in your own country? No, that’s just “not right.” If we heighten our awareness of these cultural variations before traveling, our expectation will better match reality.

Then something magical happens. You begin to see all the differences that open you up to new ways of living or seeing the environment around you. In Vermont, we ate at several restaurants which served food locally sourced from farms down the road. In Maine we saw how the lobstermen formed strong communities. In Connecticut we experienced a quieter life and got to slow down for once.

If you work virtually or in person with folks from the U.S., even if that is your country of origin, be sure to account for regional differences when building your team. Do not assume that you will have common rules and cues, but rather ask, verbalize, and discuss those rules.

We had a glorious time in New England and found the people helpful, friendly, and lively. The landscape glowed with green trees and inky blue rivers. The rugged coastline inspired us and the lighthouses delighted. Most of all, we got to be culturally confused right in our own backyard. That’s the only way you grow and thrive in today’s global economy!

Check them out here: http://www.tagonline.org/TAG-International-Business.php

UPS was kind enough to host the event at their headquarters in Sandy Springs, GA and I wandered down in the evening to listen to the speaker. I had no idea what I was in for.

One thing I’ve seen time and time again in both my professional life and in the personal sphere is what I call the Deficit Model – the study of what’s wrong. Think about constructive criticism, performance reviews, the constant need to identify our weaknesses, and gap analyses. While value lies in all of these things, I don’t see enough of us studying what’s right. What are the root causes of our successes? What does it look like when a global team is at its best? How does it feel when you are using your strengths and talents?

As my husband puts it, why berate an eagle for not being a better swimmer? Why not help the eagle soar?

In my work I see a lot of people struggling with cultural differences, time zones, language, and more. I can’t count the number of times that a participant raised their hand and said, “Vicki, can you give me some examples of companies that got it right?”

Of course that’s a tricky question, because even companies that struggle through all of the above still may be doing things right.

Every so often, however, I hear a story that gives me inspiration and let’s me know what is possible. I heard such a story from the TAG IBS speaker, Thomas Topp, Senior Vice President of Heidelberg (www.heidelberg.com). I only wish I could tell it with the color, richness, and detail that he did. The event was moderated by Karl Pearl, Vice President at Aventis Systems, a key sponsor of the event  (http://www.aventissystems.com/). Karl did an excellent job of asking just the right questions and raising poigniant issues for the audience the ponder.

First of all, who is Heidelberg?

Heidelberg, based out of Germany, creates high-end print items such as advertising, packaging labels, and print media. There is a 50 percent chance that if you’re holding something printed in your hand it’s a Heidelberg product. They not only make the products but they sell software to people who want to run a print shop. They even have a training academy where they give courses to their 200,000 customer base.

The company is big on R&D, with over 5000 patents and 5 percent of their sales spent on research and development. Heidelberg is a truly global company, with 81 percent of their sales recorded outside of Germany. They have 250 branches in 170 countries, and only ten percent of their customers are in the U.S.

What do they do right?

When Heidelberg started to expand outside of Germany, they developed a number of interesting best practices, many of which are still in place today. Here are just a few:

• They listened to their customers, and still do: The company recognized early on that the printing industry in emerging markets had a unique profile and set of needs. In mature markets, the focus of the print industry, especially in a down economy, is about efficiency and cutting costs through more efficient machines or processes. In emerging markets the industry is always growing. People don’t care about efficiency as much as getting up and running as fast as possible. Heidelberg’s consistent practice of staying in contact with the customer’s needs and localizing those needs allowed them to grow their business abroad relatively quickly.
• They use time zone differences to their advantage: People all over the world support Heidelberg customers. If someone in the U.S. calls from a 24 hour print shop at 2:00 am with a print emergency, someone in Germany can pick up the support call and help the customer. If someone in Europe calls in the middle of the night then someone in Asia can help. This is a great example of using the “follow the sun” cycle to serve your business rather than detract from it. Most of their machines are accessible though the internet and they can resolve customers’ problems from all over the globe.
• They established a solid brand and standards without ignoring local practices: As Mr. Topp shared with us, Heidelberg is very strict on their branding. In other words, their machinery is highly standardized as is the brand material and quality. They used the brand, however, to create a common culture while listening and learning from the subsidiaries they acquired, leaving much of their culture intact. They established global Human Resources systems but local HR practices. They used SAP worldwide but used it in the local languages of their branches. As Mr. Topp said, “We don’t push our German-ness onto the global business.”
• They addressed cultural differences and encouraged collaboration: What impressed me the most about the Heidelberg story was how the company brought people together to learn from each other as they were expanding the business and acquiring subsidiaries. They held global executive meetings where leaders came from all over the world to share best practices, address concerns, and generate ideas. They applied the same practices to other levels of personnel and created forums where people could listen and learn. The most amazing thing I heard was that Heidelberg held seven or eight of these global meetings over the course of two years! No wonder they are so successful. Can you imagine what global business would be like if more companies made this kind of investement?

I am sure that Mr. Topp shared more of his company’s amazing business practices that I cannot recall, as I was furiously writing my notes. But I invite you all to study what does work in your professional sphere, and what stories could inspire you to capitalize on your strengths even further. With so much bad news in the world today, it pays to think about what is going right sometimes.

Thank you to Mr. Thomas Topp of Heidelberg, and to the TAG International Business Society for a great evening! Comments on this blog are welcome. What is the root cause of your success?

At a recent industry conference in Denver my colleagues and I were discussing the following scenario: A company finds one of us on the Internet. They call, interested in cross-cultural intelligence initiatives. Within the first five minutes they ask about the cost. Then they issue challenges about the value of the programs. “How do they impact the bottom line? Can you do a two-hour program on cultural competence? We don’t have much time to invest in this. Can you help us?”

The leaders of these companies seem to be standing on the border between the Old Paradigm and the New. They see the value of cross-cultural intelligence in theory, but they haven’t found a way to reconcile that with their Old Paradigm of “soft skills” not adding value to the bottom line.

Of course studies are rampant now that prove that intercultural agility is not a soft skill, it is a skill that costs hard dollars if not addressed, but that is beside the point.

The point is that global leadership requirements have undergone a drastic change out of pure necessity, and many leaders are struggling to even recognize the change has occurred.

So what are these Old and New paradigms of which I speak? Glad you asked, because I’ve made a handy chart. The information came from various sources, but I encourage you to seek out others, to make your own chart based on your experiences. I thank the leaders that inspired me to fill in the right side.

Why are some leaders today struggling to shift into the new paradigm? Because it’s incredibly difficult to do. The shift can be scary and uncomfortable. Sometimes there is a resistance to reality. Leaders might believe, for example, that their Indian counterparts should be as direct as their German team leader. But if that is not what is, suffering will occur. Instead, that leader would be better served to find ways of increasing collaboration among differing communication styles. Leaders resting in the Old Paradigm may feel pressure to react only to what is urgent, or they may lack exposure to viable alternatives.

Whatever the reason, a lot of great role models exist out there to help us take one small step toward the New Paradigm of global leadership. You probably know one or two (or more) yourself.

• Why not ask them to mentor you if you are struggling?
• Watch a You Tube video about leadership in India or Austria to give yourself ideas.
• Read A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink or any book by Malcolm Gladwell.
• Think of your best success story as a leader and share it with your employees. Encourage them to do the same.
• Ask country nationals to define leadership in their culture and give you tips on being effective there.

Whatever your small step, it is enough. You may just find that it leads you to another step across a bridge you never knew was there.

What is your definition of a great global leader? Comments are welcome!