7 Steps To An Open Mindset For More International Business

by on 2 July, 2010

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iconcatib 7 Steps To An Open Mindset For More International BusinessCulture impacts international business in a wide variety of ways. I’ve been taken by surprise many times by the extent of its impact. It’s difficult to identify all of the ways culture impacts business because culture evolves over time. This means different cultures are evolving at different speeds and in different directions.

The advice given in books written only a decade ago can be counterproductive today. And the cultural insights we picked up on our trips after university may not help us in international business today.

So what can you do in an environment where cross-cultural miscommunication and blunders pop up unexpectedly. Well one of the best tactics to work effectively in an international environment is to develop an open mindset. [click to continue…]

International And Cross-Cultural Career Advice

by on 1 July, 2010

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iconcatis International And Cross Cultural Career AdviceIt’s easy to tell it’s the end of the school year because I’ve had several requests for international career guidance. As it happens, I recently attended my eldest daughters graduation from University and was lucky to be visiting her through the hiring process while she landed her first “real” job.

This reminds me of how starry-eyed life can be when you’re young and how this contrasts with the sometimes harsh world of international business.  But first let me answer the two latest requests for international career advice here.

Cross-Cultural Career

One reader asked me for advice on how to enter into a “cross-cultural career”. To me this seems like a bit of an odd question because cross-cultural skills are essentially strong people skills and can be used in many different careers. I don’t think there is really a “cross-cultural” industry which includes all “cross-cultural careers”.

As many of our country’s demographics change drastically in the next few decades it seems as if most of our working environments will become cross-cultural if they aren’t already so. And we’ll all need strong cross-cultural skills. [click to continue…]

5 Tips For Great International Search Marketing

by on 30 June, 2010

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iconcatiwm 5 Tips For Great International Search MarketingIn international business your clients will look for you online because they expect a certain form of communication online from an international business. But they’ll need to find you online first and this is why search marketing is critical for your international marketing success today.

I recently came back from a trip to Toronto where I attended the Search Engine Strategies Conference. At the summit much of the talk on international search was about language and how many people fail to get the “translation” right for search marketing and this causes businesses to lose money.

But international marketers know that language is just the visible part of the challenge. Mastering the navigation among different languages while keeping your business focus requires a deeper skill set. And beyond this, there are the fundamental cross-cultural challenges of doing business with people who are different to your home market. This is where businesses are challenged to deepen their knowledge of marketing and how to learn about their own markets.

With this is mind, here are five tips for successful international search marketing that go beyond language skills and translation. [click to continue…]

3 Reasons Why I Can’t Help Your International Business

by on 29 June, 2010

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iconcatib 3 Reasons Why I Cant Help Your International BusinessHave you got a great idea for an international business? It’s not always easy to find specific how-to information for international business development and this is why I provide some international business resources here on this blog, simply to help others.

But this leads to my getting emails with all sorts of odd international business requests. You see, I only help businesses at the point of new market entry, which is a very specific moment of time in the process of creating an international business… more about that below.

This is why I thought I’d share with you here the 3 main reasons why I won’t be able to help you with your international business. Here they are. [click to continue…]

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