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Thank you Pat!

Yes, people do have different job functions, responsibilities and boundaries in different cultures. This would be an interesting series. I would probably see this as a series of interviews though – to stay away from stereotypes and generalizations.

This reminds me…

Occasionally someone will ask me how to find out how to say “This Ultra Specific Job Title” in a different language. And it is really amazing. People don’t realize that the more specific the job title, the more you will have to describe the job function in the same way you would for a 3 year old… and then ask who does that in the other company. This also has further complications, because although many people know what “This Ultra Specific Job Title” is, they do not have a clear understanding of the job function to describe it so others know what they mean.

Some interesting thoughts…

Hi Martin,

What a coincidence, I just read your latest article on the Open Forum – a good read for everyone in international business!

Thank you for 2 great suggestions.

I just had a conversation with a French social media expert about how the French are having a hard time understanding what a “Community Manager” is. I think a few French companies are beginning to wonder if they might need one – but no one knows what the job involves. “Community Manager” does not translate well. The preferred translation among the people I spoke with is “Attaché de Presse Web”. …I have to work on the international business words – My brain is set so wide open to understand everything anyone could say, that lots of these misused words do not stand out any more.

Also really like the gallery idea too. That is a good one to do during the holidays.

Thanks for the book recommendation. Sometimes I wish we could peek at people’s bookshelves. The “What I’m Reading” widgets are only good if you read a few books – it would take too much time to enter in everything from the interesting bookshelves.

Hello Alexis!

Yes, a series with lots of visuals is a good idea.

I mind map often (a huge mind mapping fan), and I know that mind mapping is a great way for international teams to work together. I just got MindJet 8 with the mind map player. I’ll have some fun with it on the blogs as soon as I get some free time to play around with it… and sort out the technical challenges of working on a French computer with American software and anything that needs any Adobe product.

Hi Jeff,

Thank you for so many good ideas!

I do have a second website specifically for businesses just beginning to enter international markets (with market research resources too): Get International Clients
But, it is true, I can easily adapt something for this blog and should do that… now why did I not think of that myself?

I also like your idea of treating only a few countries and providing some resources. I actually like to talk more about the process of finding the right resources, because I hear from so many people who do not do anything at all themselves. The image of a McDonalds drive-in always comes to my mind with these requests. You can get this work done for you – and it costs a fortune. (I often think that’s what many big company executive did to avoid taking a risk.) But you can also do quite a bit by yourself, or in house and this will bring you tremendous knowledge about your markets. But most people seem to be looking for a “McDonalds drive-in” solution. And this is a very bad attitude to have when starting an international business – you are giving a huge competitive advantage to anyone that actually does the work. But I can see something combined with current news and suggesting avenues to research for business opportunities. That would be fun.

The web penetration and how different cultures use the different channels is of great interest to everyone. There are not many free statistics out there though, and it also depends on your industry and client profile. Internet users do not go across all of the population in many countries. I would not put my money on anything based on generalizations, you can really get it wrong. And I personally would not spend much time trying to establish these generalizations for businesses. It is just not worth it. You need specific information. But I would start the other end: first product, then country, then marketing channels. Having said that, let me think about it some more. There must be a nice angle for a series here too. Do let me know if you can see something I can’t!

Hi Kent,

Thank you for the great idea. I’m having fun with Twitter for my business.

There are only a few people that tweet to teach others their language, and I have not seen many that really work on Twitter. I think you need more space. But I’m not the expert here – I do not teach languages. That is not the angle that interests me. Mine is more about showing people that it is easy enough to go out and do the things that usually stop them from developing their international business. Languages come into it as a barrier.

You can easily do a Twitter search to find people that tweet in other languages… and then make the first step to become friends, just as in face-to-face situations, it’s best to seek out people you can talk to on subjects that interest both of you.

I have had a few people approach me on Twitter saying that want me to teach them French on Twitter. They sort of hang around and say “oh this is a wonderful language and I want you to tell me how to say things”. They forget to ask why I’m on Twitter and if I want to have those sort of conversations and even if I want to Tweet in French. My answer would be no to all three. It’s the wrong approach to just think about your desire to learn a language when you approach people on Twitter. Find someone who is interested and is already tweeting about the things that interest you… and is already tweeting in the other language. Yes it is a little work with Twitter search and a dictionary, but easy enough to do. You will soon find friends and conversations that interest both of you.

I have a few website resources listed that are fantastic though – they are on the Language Skills page under Useful Resources in the right side bar. Take a look at them, you can study for free and at your own pace. And I’ll keep adding new ones as I stumble across them.

But it’s true, this could be a short and fun series. Let me try to think of a way to keep it more business focused…

Hi Jackie, Thank you for your suggestions.

Let me give it some thought. Do you already follow the UK market closely? How much do you feel you “get” them? Coming from a former British colony and growing up with American television, I am often struck by how much the UK is influenced by it’s class society origins. Many people fail to see this and yet it can give you a clue as to how to approach certain markets.

Social media? Apart from the gadgety aspects, don’t forget it really is just another form of communication… with a new set of standards, or rules, or etiquette (or something like that).

A couple of good ideas for series.

Hi Dean,

Thank you for such thought provoking suggestion. It’s true, I really do not know of any cultural resources for visuals. I usually impregnate myself with cultural environments to pick up “cultural design”, this was enough for me to choose different designers work for different international marketing projects. But it is not a very good approach. I would expect cultural design to be quite difficult to assess culturally – dealing with both the design and the words to explain the difference makes it easier to get it wrong.

Interesting, isn’t it?

Hi Dan,

You are lucky! My work schedule ate into my blogging schedule again. I did not get a chance to officially end this contest until now. So your submission is included.

Nice idea – Not sure if I’d like to talk about myself for so many days though

I’ll be over to see you on Twitter shortly too.