Carry a Chicken in Your Lap: Or Whatever It Takes to Globalize Your Business
When companies embrace global commerce-which veteran businessmen Johnson and Ayres believe is, in most cases, the right choice-much can go wrong. To keep that from happening, Johnson and Ayres delve into the economics, legalities, culture shock, personnel and travel practicalities (including the permutations of jet lag), to demonstrate the right way to get your business a global footing. Relationships are paramount, as is the right attitude: "The international arena is no place for the weak in character." Although some advice seems simplistic-"No matter what country you are sent to, reach out to the local people with humility"-there's plenty of easy-to-overlook common sense tips that should help develop a reader's perspective: "American companies should shed their previously strong sense of exceptionalism," and simple transparency can "keep your company out of a lot of trouble and limit the damage" when mistakes occur. Further tools include a useful foreign phrase-book and time conversion charts, which one might not think are so important; Johnson and Ayres's discussion of what can go wrong, however, will convince otherwise.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.