International Opportunities

I am doing cross cultural and virtual influencing training programs in Singapore over the next few weeks. While I was being interviewed on a business news program this morning I heard a news report about how more outsourced work is moving from India to Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and China. This got me to thinking about the enormous career opportunities available to people who are able to adapt and operate in different cultures as well as the rapidly nature of international business. It is no longer about simply understanding another culture but rather to be successful today requires learning how to understand and operate in any culture where you might find yourself doing business.

Doing business today requires understanding not only the nature of the global economy but the ability to understand and work with individuals from a variety of different cultures. I would recommend to any student interested in business, studying at least one other language and living abroad for a period of time. Opportunities to work in other countries abound. The experience gained from an international assignment is also invaluable. At some point in their career everyone should consider taking advantage of international opportunities whether that be looking for an assignment overseas or working in some form of international trade from your home country. In the future lack of that experience is likely to hold people back in a number of industries.

The key to succeeding when you are working cross culturally, however, is not only to understand another person's culture but to respect their cultural differences. Different cultures have different views of time, relationships, communication and formality. Understanding how those difference manifest themselves can help you motivate someone, with a different cultural background, to want to cooperate with you. Failure to so is a prescription for misunderstandings. So when working cross culturally try to determine the U Perspective of the people you are dealing with-- what they care about and how they see a given situation viewed through the prism of their own background and experiences. Then use that information to facilitate your working together with that individual.