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There are two principle ingredients for success in international expansion. The ingredient is associated with
process of entering new global markets, i.e. do I have a template in place for making most efficient use of my existing and available resources, and have I set realistic timeframes and budgets for achieving profitability overseas, whatever my market entry program?
But that’s not enough in itself. In fact, that’s only half battle. With globalization as a fact of business life, there is an increasing emphasis on developing an effective international mindset within companies. That means making sure you have an international champion in your firm to build international capabilities top down. It means ensuring that HR and personnel strategies are in place to recruit and retain seasoned internationalists, and making sure these candidates have proven international experience and linguistic capabilities they say they do. It also means training and providing your staff with incentives for overseas assignments. Above all, creation of an international mindset comes through a willingness to learn, adapt and change.
The organizational learning curve is steep when expanding overseas. But if your management team and your teams embrace learning, adapting to new environments, recognizing that mindset and process are two interdependent factors of success, you are already responding well to change, and you have basis for overseas success.
Renarc has just published a booklet called 104 Practical Considerations for International Success and can be downloaded from its website at www.renarc.com The busy executive should treat them as observations, a set of practical tips and a quick reference guide for constant referral at every stage of international expansion process.
Trevor J. O'Hara, is the founder and president of Renarc, a consultancy that specializes in helping firms with international expansion. O'Hara is a seasoned internationalist, having lived and worked internationally for the last twenty years. Educated in Dublin, Oxford, Paris and Berlin, and with fluency in German, French and Spanish, O'Hara now speaks and writes internationally on how to achieve global success.
