What is Culture? How Cultural Differences Impact International Business

Interested in expanding your business internationally and learning more about culture? Pick up a copy of my latest book, Business Beyond Borders: Take Your Company Global. As I mentioned in my post Bridging the Cultural Divide, culture has visible and invisible layers, just like an iceberg. The visible aspects of culture include the way people […]

Bridging the Cultural Divide

bridging-the-cultural-divide

Interested in expanding your business internationally and learning more about culture? Pick up a copy of my latest book, Business Beyond Borders: Take Your Company Global. I know from experience that one of the key challenges that companies – small and large – face when it comes to international expansion, is bridging the cultural divide. Adapting […]

Cultural Awareness, the Cure to Failing in Germany

Cultural-awarenessa-the-cure-to-failing-in-germany

Expanding overseas is an expensive task. Companies invest in logistics, lawyers, new marketing campaigns, sales strategies and the list continues. Having invested heavily, you do not want your market entry to fail. Yet, for three out of four overseas subsidiaries, failure is the reality. A core reason is that companies overlook the human aspect: the […]

Five Top Tips on Creating Trust in International Business

creating-trust-in-international-business

This week, I’ve been reading a great book by Stephen M.R. Covey (son of the author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) called The Speed of Trust, and this has prompted me to think about the importance of trust in international business. Too often, trust in international business is low. This is apparent in the way […]