The Origin of the Turkey

Virginia, famous for ham, #2 choice today

I grew up in the UK and we traditionally eat turkey at Christmas. It hadn’t occurred to me that the turkey isn’t indigenous to the UK. I hadn’t seen one in the countryside, but I assumed because it is the traditional bird for Christmas that it must have been indigenous at one point.

In fact, the turkey is only indigenous to the US. The first turkey made it to Britain in the 17^th century. They were original identified as guineas foul. Guinea fouls where also known as turkeys because they came through Turkey.

Ben Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national symbol of the US, but the other founding fathers thought that a turkey didn’t really represent their ideas.

This thanksgiving I am not sure if I will have turkey. My husband is taking me out for lunch, but the restaurant is a surprise.

Happy Thanksgiving

Subterranean Homesick Blues

Building a life in a new country has some unexpected experiences.

Where can I get my mail?

On my first international assignment, I was just out of school and I was nesting for the first time. This time, my family and I have returned to a place we have lived before, but we are still waiting for our belongings to arrive.

It seems like it wouldn't matter, but it has made us feel that we don't have a home. The excitement of shopping for new items has worn off and the patience needed to wait for the old ones to arrive has worn out. I find myself longing for my pancake pan, a food processor and the old chair that I love to sit in.

The issue is that you can't live a home life anywhere but home. I love to eat out, but if I want to control my nutrition I can't choose an item high in the nutrients I feel I'm lacking from any restaurant menu. I miss getting out the nutrition books, selecting an item to replenish lost nutrients with and then choosing a recipe that includes it.

I can't set up a reading area with a comfy chair and good light, and I can't arrange our cafe table to eat when TV dinners aren't on the menu!

Understanding Your Lifestyle Needs

To understand your lifestyle needs, ask yourself questions that help you understand how you have created your current lifestyle.

• Am I an adventurous eater? If you are sent on a short-term international assignment where you will be living and eating in the hotel, you may feel unhappy that the city is beyond your reach and you can't explore it in the way you want.
• How important are your intellectual pursuits? If you like to read you won't be able to go abroad with your book collection. This may seem irrelevant, but if you are unable to reference something for work (or for fun) then you may feel adrift and frustrated. It would only take 5 minutes if I had...
• What do I value about being in my home? I value having alone time. This helps me to recharge and engage with people. If I am unable to recharge I become exhausted, which leads to poor mental and physical health.

Tip: When designing International Human Resource Management expatriate benefit packages, consider the well being of your employees and not just the cost of the assignment.

Virtual Explorers

Families that move abroad face identity issues. You may have to dress differently and speak differently. The environment is different and the people you meet are new. How do you establish a connection to the people at home who don’t understand the changes that are happening to you?

doshebu's avatar

Create an Online World to Explore Identity

Games are great learning tool. According to Intrepid Learning, “72% of American households play games regularly.”

Creating a new world in Second Life and choosing an avatar is a fun way for you and your family to explore identity. You can learn about changes to your values and how you build relationship with people who are different from you.

Why Do You Need To Do This?

Families that stay in their home countries often don’t understand why the person who lives abroad changes. They don’t understand the need for the change. Playing an identity game online might help your family and friends understand the personal growth that you experience on an international assignment.

Understanding the People's History

One problem that arises when moving abroad is what to learn about another culture. Your home country leadership created the society in which you live. And you interact with it through school, politics, and business.

On the streets in NYC

The system of your host country isn't as transparent. When you study a foreign country, you study all the aspects that the country wants you to see. These values obscure the way the society functions.

If you study the development of the US national character in a foreign country you get a picture of a country which rejected British rule and promoted opportunity for social mobility. But, the class system that was rejected by the founding fathers is still present in the US. The American middle class and the union system that built it isn't transparent from American values. Reading Howard Zinn’s “The People's History of the United States,” you will get a different picture of America and Americans.

Gaining Insight into Your Host Culture

A good way to understand another countries values and institutions is to read PEST analysis. But, all the information that you encounter is important. The stories that are told to you by the locals are just as important as the values of a countries leadership.

Tip: When you feel frustrated or confused by another culture, believe that you are interpreting the situation correctly and don't fall for the trap that you are misunderstood or misunderstanding.

I Can’t Do That, Dave (Feelings Can Influence Computers!)

People coming together

Changes in how we feel are being recorded. The Global Consciousness Project tracks global events and records how random number generators across the world are affected. When an event that impacts the world occurs, the random number generators synchronise.

Different types of events affect the global consciousness differently. Events that provoke compassion (like meditation sessions) create more global connections, while events that create fear (like terrorist attacks) create fewer.

How Can I Use This in an International Assignment?

• You can apply this understanding to your globalisation strategy. Theories like Global vs. Local emphasis difference, while global consciousness emphasises connection. If you use global consciousness to underpin the development of your vision of globalization, you can create a more connected organisation.

• You can shape your own mindset. Culture differences can seem unworkable, but you already know that connections between us exist. Try to connect on an emotional level to bridge the gap between your home and host countries.

• You can create connections instantly. You can setup meditation practices with your colleagues to create a connection to them that doesn't require training.

• It can help you select the right service provider. When you choose a cross-cultural training company look for a company that includes mindfullness, alternative medicine or yoga in their training. These practices promote emotional stability and connectedness on an international assignment.

Comparison of FEM Web Site and the art of the expat Blog

You can use information on the Forum for Expatriate Management web site and my blog to create your international assignment policies and practices.

• The Forum for Expatriate Management provides global compliance information on immigration, taxation, and companies providing services to expats.

• The art of the expat blog helps you understand the thoughts and feelings of people on an international assignment.

The table below compares the information available.

	FEM	The art of the expat
Vision	Industry Coverage	Emotional Entrepreneur
Immigration	Compliance	Political Motivation
Housing	Laws	Wealth Management
Innovation	Corp. Inter. Process	Market-based Value
Family	-	Supporting
Corporate	-	Strategic Analysis
Research	Aggregate	Primary Source
Jobs	Yes	No
Implementation	No	Yes

Couch Surfing

International assignments can be isolating; couch surfing is a new way to share your life. You register online and Couch Surfing verifies your home address by sending you mail. You can then start to share your couch. People ask you if your couch is free and you invite the people you like to join you for coffee or to stay overnight.

Comfortable?

What Need Does This Service Fill?

When you meet people online there is no geographic limitation. Do you really need to invite a stranger into your home to build a community when you can build a community of like-minded people from around the world sitting at your computer?

Is It Just Strange?

In your home country you have friends and family, but when you move abroad you need to make new friends. Couch surfing may be a way to build a life with people who appreciate your wanderlust.

If you use your couch to include others, then you might feel more at home in your host country. Maybe you don't realise how much more you know than a visitor.

Measuring Leadership Legacies

HR departments need to measure the long-term impact of an international assignment. Positioning your company to operate in China and take advantage of the changing economy could take decades. Long-term data should be collected and used to calculate ROI.

A system of measurement?

What Value Is Created?

Here are some questions that you can use to understand the value an international assignment is creating:

• How did the person’s job position the company to do business in the market?
• How much was the government contract we won because of networking?
• What is the value of the market opened by establishing an operation in the host country?

What Are Other Companies Doing?

Some companies measure international assignments by assigning a weighting to feedback (40% to the feedback from your line manager, 40% from your home country manager, and 20% from HR).

When you design your ROI tool, you should: 

• Get input from the person who is on the international assignment and weight it equally with the other feedback.
• Measure the strategic goals of an international assignment (use strategic tools to link strategies and tactics).
• Capture short-term and long-term data and compare the ROI over time.

What Costs Should I Measure?

This paper gives you the elements of an international assignment that will create costs. When choosing a company to work with to build your ROI tool, ensure that you choose a strategic international human resource management company and not a relocation company.

Relocation companies can provide cost analysis, but they don’t do strategic planning and don’t have the skills to link strategy and practice through measurement and analysis of the value created in an international assignment. You should link with a company, like doshebu, which provides strategic globalisation services.

Culture Shock Through an Emotional Lens

Diversity creates difference

Margarita Gokin Silver talks about how to use emotional lens to describe responding to another culture. Her cultural coaching focuses on understand how you feel and why not to use the step-by-step approach of stages to manage your emotional journey.

Listen to Margarita talk about her cultural tools on Expat Radio.



Here’s my culture lens based on Margarita’s cultural-lens tool.

Emotional Reaction	Expat Journey
Wonderful	I find that I like to cook and I like city life. When I move to a new place I instantly try to find the best place to eat and the coolest bar to hang out in. It’s a fun and exciting time that makes me feel that I am part of the new culture and that it embraces me back.
Frustration	My personal frustration is civil and political isolation. I think that if I was at home and this was a problem I would be able to work for change. In another country I don’t have an outlet for this side of my personality.
Doable	I find that dealing with being an outsider, when I don’t feel like one, is doable -- but not nice. I’ve become more capable of deflecting, coping, and sometimes changing this situation.
Enjoyable	Most of this comes once everything you do isn’t new -- once you can get a bus or take a car, choose somewhere to eat close to home or the office. Once you know the city and the culture you can enjoy your life more.
Longing	When I returned to the UK from an expat experience, I did experience longing for the city I had left and I also experienced longing for my home town.

Meow… “Get me out of here!”

Enjoying a nap in the sun

She was behind the cargo counter when we arrived to collect her at the airport. The US doesn’t have quarantine so our cat was able to come straight in.

We couldn’t see her, but as soon as she heard us talking she started yelling. And she didn’t stop until we got to our apartment.

When we spoke to the people at PetAir UK they said that it isn’t unusual for pets to sulk, but at the apartment she came out and started to explore. She was still yelling, but more of an approving sound than the jail-bust yell she used earlier.

Tips

• Use a pet carrier. They'll provide a pet container and they do all the paperwork and vet checks for you.
• Don’t feel guilty; your pet is ok.
• Find different types of food for them. Pet food tastes different. Your pet has preferences.
• Set up a place for them in your new home so that when they arrive they can own their space and feel at home.

9/11…

9/11 Exhibition at Columbus Circle (NY)

I remember that day. My husband and I returned from Hong Kong the day before and I got up to go to work as usual. When I got there no-one was at their desk. The first plane had hit the north tower on my way from the elevator to my desk.

I remember phoning my mom. I left a message, “You are going to see something on the news later. I’m ok.”

I went to the break room. What is going on?

When you go on an international assignment you need to prepare for conflict.

What Should You Do?

• Call as soon as you sense something. The communication networks will be cut in the country that you are in if there is a terrorist attack.
• Make sure your family knows your location. Are you close to the conflict zone? They will be concerned.
• Buy a torch/flashlight and some batteries to make sure you can get around your apartment in the dark.
• Have a radio at hand. They will be broadcasting.
• Know where your embassy is in case you need to be evacuated.
• Before you go, review your will to ensure that it us up-to-date.

Single, Highly Educated, Looking For...

The cost of international schools is becoming a deal breaker for families and the companies that send them on international assignments. International schools in Hong Kong have debentures of up to HK$10 million, with parents adding their kids to waiting lists as soon as they are born.

If companies start to choose single people for international assignments instead of families what will corporate offices look like, Club 18-30 or singles clubs for the divorced?

The Daily Show spoofs their location

Club 18-30

If you go an international assignment are you really looking for love? Will people start to choose places to go based on how good looking and how young the population is? Everyone wants to go to India where the majority of the population is under 30, but no-one wants to go Germany, or the US, where the populations are aging and the birth rate is declining.

Singles Club

Your corporate office becomes the new version of the French Foreign Legion. The people have gone through bad divorces and have anger related issues. They are choosing to escape instead of talking to their therapist about their feelings.

€50,000 Virtual Treasure Hunt

Dedopulos is the creator of The Great Global Treasure Hunt on Google Earth. He is a digital hobo (and traveller) who surfs the virtual world for treasure. He comes from a line of people who purchased land with a title from a Doge of Venice! Here Dedopulos is, generations later, on a quest for a different type of treasure.

Saving a National Treasure

On the treasure hunt you use the clues in the book (and your constant connection to the Google Earth website) to find the location of the treasure. The treasure hunt ends on the 31^st March, 2012.

Help Us Out Here George?

If George Clooney, in Up In The Air, can’t convince us that we only need a backpack and not a home, can Google convince us that we only need a computer and a wired mindset to find treasure?

I like this game. I like that it is about the world and that I need to figure out where, why, and what I’m looking for to find the place I need to be. In the virtual world we get limitless potential for adventure and exploration, but can we put a pin in the virtual space and feel we found treasure? A great quest in the style of Don Quixote.

Crossing Borders Emotionally

Rosetta Stone’s new advert, Understanding, decodes how language skills help you give and receive emotions.

In the advert, the people explain how they’ve reached hearts, given relief, flirted, and felt more creative after using their new language skills. Many of the real people are holding photographs of themselves, and the things they have seen, expressing visually their connection to people and places.

Need Help?

An international assignment is an emotional journey. The more you prepare for the emotional transformations that you will experience, the more likely you are to manage them. You can learn about what you need to know on my before-you-go training course.

Making Days Out Fun

Moving shots

You can prepare your family for a move to a new country by learning about pop culture. If you are moving to India you can start watching Bollywood movies with your kids. If you are moving to Australia you can start learning about the indigenous people.

When I travel, I try to create experiences before, during, and after.

Before	I get books about the life of a famous people in the country and give it as a gift to the person.
During	When I take pictures I use my cultural knowledge to create visual commentary, not just snapshots of the buildings you visit.
After	I try to integrate the experience into our lives. The most fun we have had with this is creating fictional days out being the characters we researched.

FIGT is looking for proposals for presentation at its conference next year in Washington DC. The conference is in March from 29-31th.

The Sword of Damascus

India has the capacity for greatness. Damascus steel, originating in India before the technique moved to Persia, was legendary in the Middle Ages when warriors used the steel to create swords. But, the technique was lost and other metals where discovered and used, but if past performance is the best indication of future performance then India can innovate again.

Global Strengths

India is a large country with a young, educated workforce. They can leverage this drive to create growth. A growing middle class can create optimistic entrepreneurial ideas and a demand for consumer and lifestyle goods.

New ways of delivering products

India lacks formalisation, which can enable innovation and growth more easily than mature economies that have always done it that way and don’t want to change!

Despite this, the hotel sector in India is hiring expats to standardise the sector and compete internationally.

India’s ties to English imperialism left an underdeveloped state and an unhealthy population, but it also left English as a global language for business.

The outsourcing of call centres leverages global economies of scale, language skills and Indian trained business leaders, like the Banga brothers, are getting CEO jobs in Western companies.

The proximity of India and its developmental focus on technology has made it different in character from China. India has a huge mobile phone sector. Any ideas on internal development of India should integrate products and service designed to be delivered on mobiles.

Ordering Abroad

One of the first things you need to learn when going abroad is how to order.

European or American style?

The easy way to do this is to learn the country's signature dish. Countries like to showcase their cuisine and if you know what to ask for you can easily order the local delicacy (even if you don’t know the language).

If you are on an international assignment in the UK go for a Chicken Tikka Massala – an Indian dish invented in Glasgow. If you are in Singapore, ask for Laksa – a spicy noodle dish.

This method works for drinks too. But, if you’ve done some research into a local beer, don’t be surprised if you can’t order it in a local bar. You may have better luck asking for artisanal bars and local breweries.

Tips on Ordering in a Foreign Language or Foreign Country

• Use one well- known word that enables you to communicate
• Understand cultural style and difference in the things you already know (French fries with ketchup in the US and mayo in Belgium), use phrases like “I want that European style”
• Expect to dislike some adventurous choices and be bold
• Ask how people order. Are they polite, or do they order quickly… and then practice the method so that you feel confident when you go to order.

How Would You Reinvent Peckham?

Local knowledge of Peckham in symbols

One of the places that I lived in London was Peckham. I watched with sadness and a little shock to see the kids rioting at the end of our street! When I lived there I noticed that there are a lot of butchers, people playing football, small but interesting boutique shops, the people are kind (the animals aren’t scared), and that people need money. From the riots I leaned that what they really, really want is a flat screen tv!

If Peckham wants to create wealth and compete in the world then it should try to create a cluster (from its strengths). Learning about globalisation and competitiveness shows that the countries that can grow the fastest and sustain their lead have clusters of people drawn together to work in an industry; Detroit for cars, silk in China, medicine in Edinburgh!

So far the ideas from me and my business partner are:

• Rio Ferdinand’s Twitter Football Academy
• A recreation of Gangs of New York tweeted on someone’s mobile!  
• An Argentinean soccer team relocated to Peckham for the meat and boutique shopping.

What do you think you can create in Peckham from these already existing powerful components?  

Bad Global Bosses

Need a getaway car?

If your job isn't working abroad it's a different conversation. At home you can leave the company and get another job without being deported! Many international assignees have visas linked to their company; if you leave the company, you lose the right to stay.

How Do I Spot a Bad Global Boss?

Before you go on your international assignment you should ask the people who work in the host country what the corporate culture is like. Is it aggressive, paternalistic, or collective? You can use Hofstede to understand different countries' approaches to culture. Create questions designed to find out how you will be treated. Are there bad stories too?

Warning Signs

Corporate cultures vary from place to place. Here are some red flags:

• Favoritism to local employees
• Erratic hiring and firing practices
• Headquarters-driven culture
• Short-term international assignments. 

Negotiate an Exit Strategy

Under these circumstances you need to work together with HR and your manager on an exit strategy. You may need to start the negotiation and explain your needs. Try to explain the problems in terms of culture or circumstance and ask for a relocation package. If they won't provide any support then you can feel confident that you spotted a bad global boss!

Finding Channels...

Twitter provides a way to understand how countries are linked together.

Connecting with who?

You can learn about how ideas, people, events, and products are viewed by large groups in different parts of the world.

A large trend in one country isn’t on the list in another. Follow the path through the topics and build a mental picture of the flow of information.

If you want to promote a global brand and you are looking for a way to get the greatest impact from your efforts, research into the channel and use it to build momentum and growth.

Who Does Captain America Owe?

Check out this list of creditor countries. Capt America owes money to China, Japan, the UK and several other countries. Important to know that Captain America owes the most debt to himself.

JP Morgan Unmarked Building (right)

If America hadn't reached an agreement to raise the debt ceiling what would have happened in the global markets? Would Captain China have asked to repossess California? Would Japan have bailed out the US?

The Panic of 1907 has interesting parallels with the global banking crisis and the negotiations on the debt ceiling today.

J.P. Morgan helped create and resolved these issues. He raised million to keep banks and the stock market open. He died with $80 million and at the end of his life, Rockefeller said, “And to think, he wasn’t even a rich man.”

Learn more about the current systemic global banking system in this paper by the Bank of England.

Can You Use Storytelling?

Storytelling can be an outlet for you to describe your personal journey.

War-Torn Assignments

Egyptian Protests © Mosa'ab Elshamy

If you are assigned to parts of the world where there is conflict, how do you reconcile your home and host culture?

Jon Amiel, the movie director, recently talked about war and its representation in film at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

Sometimes war films are more light-hearted and sometimes they are more realistic. Amiel talked about how our emotional relationship to war changes over time and how movie executives and film makers reflect these changes in the movies they make. 

Storytelling in Business

Being able to tell a great story adds a dimension to your ability to communicate. Dramatisation of information can be more interesting and more memorable than written reports.

Fiction can also tell a story and reach a person when the real story doesn’t. If you need to create change in a global team, storytelling skills can cross cultural boundaries and help you create understanding.

Need Some Help?

There are lots of teach yourself books for writing. I read several before I wrote my first screenplay. I was influenced by the History channel and my travels, which I used to create the scenes in the screenplay.

If you need a coach to help you write about your stay in another culture, Jo Parfitt has a course that helps you write your life story. Send me a copy, I’d like to read it.

Roam If You Want To...

Don't remember the words!

How do you build excitement for an international move, especially if you have kids? Try building a playlist of your favourite travel songs. It doesn’t have to be about the place that you are going to, it can be about movement, the emotional journeys of moving, or symbols of movement like a river.

My favourite road trip song is "Roam" by the B-52s. You might like Bob Marley, or Aerosmith. Here’s a list of 30 moving songs to help get you started.

If you are listening to a song somewhere and you don’t know the name, you can download Shazam for your iPhone and use it to identify the song. You could also go online and sing the song you know. Midomi, an online music site, lets you sing to it and then it searches for the song you are signing (but, you might be recorded!).

What Channel Is This?

Looking for something to talk to your colleagues about? Check out our slideshow about Great Movie Bars on MSN.com.

Does the Media Create Global Culture?

If we believe that Rupert Murdoch’s judgment (or support) is a green light for success; how does he create global culture and can he really make (or break) you as a global icon?

Murdoch’s influence is fading; how effective has he been?

By’eck, You Smell Gorgeous Tonight Pet!

Cheryl Cole was the first from the modern British cultural icons who rose while Murdoch’s tabloid culture was mainstream in the UK and who tried to make the crossover. She brought with her a blueprint for success built in another culture.

Her lack of understanding of the creation of culture and her British class attitude led to a spectacular failure in her international assignment.

US HQ for Tabloids

Murdoch Isn’t Responsible for Tabloid Corporate Culture!

Tabloids in the UK have enabled and empowered dysfunctional behaviour. Tabloids are anti-immigrant, anti-feminist, angry, and create a culture of pride and shame.

Murdoch’s is the man who brought Page 3 to Britain, but he told the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in the UK Parliament that he is unaware of the actions of the people who work for him.

Dude; This Aggression Will Not Stand!

Piers Morgan a former Editor of the News of the World has made the transition in to the US. With the culture at the global empire in question; can he survive the house cleaning?

He has been helped by big name stars like Oprah, who have endorsed him and he has also used local talent in his US team. These are both good steps for an international assignment and globalising your company.

Piers Morgan’s succeeded in the tabloid environment. Will his learned behaviour succeed in a therapeutic culture like America which doesn’t empower dysfunction?

Old Rivalries?

Looking into history

An understanding of European history gives you a great insight into modern politics.

The current European rivalries can be seen in the current European crisis. Read Kim Khan’s column, Continental Breakfast (subscription required) on RealMoney from The Street.

Kim Khan is a co-founder at doshebu. He lived in London covering global markets from there.

What Do I Need in My Short-Term Contract?

You know that failure is a possibility; you know that most international assignees leave their organisation soon after they return home. How do you prevent a difficult role becoming a life failure? 

What Should I Do First?

When you are asked to go abroad on a fire-fighting assignments it probably means that the situation in the country you're going to is volatile.

Flying home

Do some research into what the problem is and not just what the brass tells you it is? Is it the relationship between headquarters and the affiliate? Is it an operational problem? Is it a cultural problem?

Once you understand the assignment and the internal political situation, you should negotiate with your employer about what happens if you need to come home. 

What Should I Ask For?

• Return flights for you, your family, and pets
• Corporate accommodation on your return
• Guaranteed job on your return
• An option to take a lump sum to end the relationship.

Global English?

English is the language of business. 55% of people use English every day in their work lives, but English is only the third-largest language in the world.

How do you get information?

How can you break down cultural, political, and social barriers to improvement communication?   

How do you make learning business English part of the everyday routine? 

Team Building Exercises

• Reward employees for increases in innovations like reduced global lead times that can be linked to improvements from better business English.

• Create fun ways to learn on the job. Get native speakers to share fun translations like Spanglish and Japanese English.

• Use instant messaging translation tools and get native speakers to rewrite them explaining what's funny about the tools translation.

Learn more about GlobalEnglish and why you should improve communication skills in the free white paper from GlobalEnglish.

Why Go Into an EFGM?

Drivers for Emerging and Fast-growing Markets

Top Driver: 82% of companies surveyed cite market growth opportunities.

Positive Drivers

• 45% EFGMs’ lower cost base
• 42% access to other nearby major markets.

Negative Drivers

• 49% competitive pressure in home markets
• 51% cite the economic slowdown in home market.

Is It Worth It?

PwC reported that “eighty percent of respondents report average annual revenue growth of more than 5% in EFGMs in the past three years, while 40% enjoyed annual growth of more than 15%.”

How Do I Get This Information?

Go to PwC site and download their report, “Building a presence in today's growth markets”. It contains research from The Economist Intelligence Unit and market reports from PwC Leaders of Private Company Services in EFGM market.

Congratulations Kim!

Kim Khan, cofounder of doshebu, has been shortlisted by The Forum for Expatriate Management as a Rising Star.

Kim is a talented global manager, writer, and editor. He currently lives in New York, but has worked managing global teams in London (UK) and Singapore (Singapore).

Can You Invest Abroad?

If you want to invest in the next online grocer in India, a global consulting company founded in the UK, or a cell phone mobile charging station company based in New Port Beach in the States you can invest before the company becomes a national player.

Grow VC is an online global community of entrepreneurs, experts, and investors where you can invest in any startup anywhere in the world.

You can invest from $20 or give your expertise for a percentage of the company.

Vote in the Startup Battle!

I voted for Cell Cubby. It’s a great concept that has the potential to serve a local and a global market. I always end up forgetting to charge something when I’m at home, and I usually need to charge a cell when I arrive in another country. 

I Want To Raise Money - How Does it Work?

It’s a simple interface. You create a pitch telling people about your idea and then ask the community to invest (either time or money) for a stake in your company.

Look out for opportunities to invest in doshebu via GrowVC.

What Makes a Great Reward When Your Are Abroad?

What a great reward! Blowing up your boss's car just looks like a fun thing to do, but on an international assignment the dangers involved in your life might make this type of fun impossible.

When you go aboard you need to think about the type of rewards that you want from an assignment. What if someone blows up your car, what if someone targets you as a foreigner to take your stuff! After living in London and having many items stolen I recommend good insurance (or a slush fund) for replacing cameras, bags, wallets, phones etc.

Good insurance on an international assignment helps you get back to your life. Make sure that you check when your insurance will pay out. When I called to ask about my insurance I was told that unless I kept my bag in my lap at all times when I was out that my insurance was void! No new phone for me! The cost of living in another country rises rapidly when you need to replace your technology every other month.

Is There Really a Globalisation Penalty?

When I first moved abroad I was highly effective. I made three times the national average salary, I got a job without any problems, I managed my finances in two continents and I was optimistic about the future.

But it all stopped one day and I was left wondering what I did to stop the progress of my career (and then my global finances)! I moved aboard. I moved home.

I feel now that I have a better understanding of my life than I ever did when I was more successful.

How do you reach the next level, is it like the Black Swan - should I fake it? Or is being able to integrate before and after helping me to be boundaryless? Could I now reach something I didn't plan on in a way that transforms others too?

I just read an article in McKinsey talking about how global companies and leaders are less effective. What! They aren't. It's the way you measure it that's wrong...

Often the timescale are too short for people who move abroad to be effective. And, are the people you are measuring really global? I never met a global leader who wasn't spiritual; why is that?

Three Stages of Leadership Development for Global Leaders

There are three stages when a leader becomes global:

1. Effective - You arrive and your training and skills help you make things happen that everyone else wants. But also, if you are sent abroad by your company, no-one wants to undermine your power (or their career) by sending the multinational HQ champion back as an emotional wreck.

2. Outsider - Somehow you end up trying to understand who you are. Not a question to answer and nobody else understands. You're a stranger at home and a stranger in the country you chose to live in. This is a tough stage.

3. Leader - Underneath your consciousness is a route to synchronicity. I don't understand this stage, but I know it is there. This is the highest level of our interaction with the way we live.

Business understands clusters. We as a group, for some reason, are good at something in one place! This type of grouping of us creates effective statistics, but not real growth. We have to try to learn from the group, but not be the group.

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