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.

Visit doshebu.tv for more articles about leadership, strategy, and globalisation.