Written by There was a time when doing business outside your town, state, country, or continent meant taking a car, bus, train, or plane to get there. Endless hours of being “on the road”, preparation time like calling a travel agent, or even worse, doing it all yourself. Then we had to lug all our materials in a briefcase..or two for the big presentation.
That was then… and this is now…
Almost every company world wide is going global. How?
1. Technology – Technology such as online meetings and web based training, internet based communications have opened up a new world of business beyond our imaginations in 1985… (So I am dating myself) Companies have a new business model – a global one, and the successful businesses utilize these technologies daily.
2. Training – Keeping up with the Smiths and Jones has become keeping up with latest competitive edge of technology that allows for and provides a global out reach, bridging oceans and deserts, ending in a little Cat5e line to the back of their computer. More and more often I find that anyone is more available and more accessible for an online meeting than in person…most often with amazing results. People of every walk of life eat this stuff up.
3. Tactic – What is your plan to meet the global needs, and demands of the new century? Has your organization invested in the latest technology to survive or compete? More importantly, have you invested to succeed? Your target market knows what it wants, but do you know what it wants? First and foremost, a global presence today is needed to survive, a global command to succeed .
4. Timing – Global organizations knew when to go global… and it’s now. This is not the internet boom of the late 90’s… this is reality, and to survive at a minimum you need to look and feel like a trusted global organization. I see it more and more as off shore companies compete for my business. This begs the question of why not compete for theirs on their home turf? We will all be competing globally before you realize it. Catch the wave early.
5. Teamwork – The essential part of any new business model is team work. There is “no army of one” in a global market. Organizational knowledge is one of the key factors in a global initiative. Together the parts of an organization that makes the whole should work together to create a global strategy that works for each and every department, slowly weaving the parts together for a solid foundation to a global business model.