Business survival in 21st century will depend on just how much firms are willing and able to compete in global marketplace. Where at one time international expansion was a “desirable” element for senior executives of mainly large corporations, firms of every size can now no longer afford to ignore consequences of remaining a domestic player. They realize that they must change, and accept reality of becoming an international player.

The big question now is not whether to go global, but when. And that poses an enormous challenge for every Chief Executive, President, Managing Director, Partner and Entrepreneur. The clear message is – make steps to take your company into new international markets, or risk erosion of your own domestic market share by foreign competition and face prospect of diminishing competitive advantage.

Of course, companies have been responsive to this reality. Many have succeeded, but many have also failed, realizing just how complex international expansion can be. On one hand, there are those executives who fear just thought of taking their company overseas – they believe they are a liability to their organization, and prefer to put off that task for another day, conjuring up any number of valid reasons as to why firm should continue to concentrate on domestic business. And on other hand there is overconfident executives who bullishly take their firm into new markets, come what may, and with simple philosophy that what works back home will surely be a recipe for success in new markets.

Both extremes clearly run risk of failure – one through fear and procrastination, and other, even worse, through blind arrogance. And in between these extremes there will be normal corporate politics, errors in judgment, long lead times to market, failure to win contracts, spiraling costs, an “us versus them” attitude between headquarters and local subsidiaries, and so on.

There is a small community in Britain and Benelux that prefers to indulge itself in a curiously eccentric pastime called “plane-spotting”, a hobby best described as photographing or noting of aircraft registration numbers, normally from an airport perimeter fence. Some avid enthusiasts even tune into radio frequencies so that they can note down aircraft call signs. But this sport recently resulted in arrest of 12 British plane-spotters in Greece. 8 of them were subsequently found guilty of espionage and sentenced to three years in a Greek jail.

The Greeks were baffled – even miffed! Firstly, this pastime was more than odd to them: they simply could not understand it. In their eyes, why would anybody want to spend hours on edge of a military airbase photographing planes? Secondly, how could foreign guests, in their country, simply overlook huge warning signs telling them clearly that photographing in vicinity was a punishable offence, and still carry on photographing regardless? Thirdly, Greeks were becoming increasingly impatient with constant jibes that were being made in British press about Greek military, their justice system and their fear of spies.