My friend Bruce Dorskind of The Dorskind Group–"Minds That Matter" is a human think tank. He always gives me incredible ideas and business advice when we meet for our weekly breakfasts. His remarks this week can help anyone in business today understand and grow just by implementing a few marketing ideas. Read below and take action.
If you would like to learn more, write to: [email protected]
Globalization Is No Longer
A Foreign Affair
The causalities from the current financial crisis continue to mount. Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, WAMU, Wachovia and perhaps GM, Chrysler and Citigroup. Legendary American icons that crumbled in a world too complex, too global and far too out of balance for anyone to understand, never mind manage.
Whilst, we have hopefully learned a great deal from the current crisis, there is little doubt that the major difference between this crisis and those in the past is the recognition of how deeply intertwined our economy is with the rest of the world.
In fact, it appears that the only ones who believed their businesses were isolated from the impact of globalization, were the very captains of industry who steered their ships into a virtual sea of Titanics.
The truth is that whatever you do for a living you are affected by the globalization of your suppliers, competitors and/or customers.
Regardless of whether you run a book store in Boston; a publishing company in Peoria; call centers in Columbus or an ad agency in Austin, you have little choice but to understand what is going on in the rest of the world.
Think about this. The Chinese are the largest sovereign holders of US treasuries; IBM will soon employ more people in India than they employ in the United States; the growing influence of influence of Christine Lagarde on American monetary policy: or the billions of dollars that the Russians have invested in US commercial and residential real estate. At nearly every turn of the economic equation there is an important foreign component.
What does all this mean to you as both a business professional and individual investor? It means you must understand what is going on around the world.
Recommended Three Step Action Plan
(1) Subscribe to The Economist (weekly) www.economist.com
(2) Join at least one organization which addresses the impact of another region on the global economy – i.e. The Asia Society or The Council on Foreign Relations
(3) Dedicate 20 minutes each day to reading the front page (and perhaps one or two articles of interest) from nine different newspapers around the world. Focus on those markets which are most likely to impact your business, your customers and your investments. There is no cost to do this. Our list includes:
Australia http:// www.theaustralian.news.com.au,
Canada http://www.theglobeandmail.com,
France http://www.lemonde.fr,
Hong Kong/China http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP,
India http://economictimes.indiatimes.com,
Japan http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/FR/TNW/index.htm,
Russia http://www.moscowtimes.ru/index.htm,
United Kingdom http://www.ft.com/home/uk,
So, remember even when you act local, you still must think global
Bruce Dorskind
Chairman and CEO
The Dorskind Group
Minds That Matter
(212) 734-7362 or [email protected]