Learn to see the world thru other people’s eyes

“Developing Global Executives”
By Morgan W. McCall Jr. and George P. Hollenbeck
Harvard Business School Press, 2002



You have bumped into some of them on several occasions — at work, cocktail parties, meetings of chambers of commerce and, yes, at the golf course.

They come in different stereotypes — multinational or transnational executives, officials of international organizations like the United Nations or USAID, overseas mission managers, country directors of funding agencies and executives of global enterprises.

In fact, dear reader, you may be one — an expatriate — or about to be one: You are about to leave the Philippines for Singapore, Thailand or Indonesia — and be an expat there with an expat’s compensation package.

Actually, this is no longer new to many local executives. Since some businesses here are run by expats, we know many of them, some of whom have become friends. We also are aware that, somehow, they have been acculturized (a shortcut to saying they have adapted to our culture).

Many of these expats here not only survive; they thrive. But, some of them fail, too. You hear one global executive saying he replaced someone who “bungled the job.”

What about Filipinos being global executives? That’s nothing new too. Multinationals (more in to say “global firms,” taking off from the concept of a “borderless world”) operating here have, in fact, sent outstanding Filipino managers to run refineries, begin a distribution network, complete a project or lead an audit team in many parts of the world.

Yes, Filipinos are not only OFWs; they are expats. It’s not a case of brain-drain. Our brains are a gift to the world. Viewed from another country’s standpoint, it would be similarly proud of its “contribution” to businesses around the globe.

Whether you are a global executive, if not sending or even receiving one, you will find the book “Developing Global Executives” an insightful road map to understanding a globe-trotting manager.

“What’s happening out there,” we ask — and this book tells us. The authors sent 300,000 questionnaires and made an in-depth study of 101 global leaders. The book also answers the question, “What’s happening in there” — meaning, within the mind of the expat himself — from developing a “global mindset” to finally internalizing it like second nature.

After 259 pages and many interviews plus tables, the book concludes: “The whats remain the same, but the hows are different.” It means that the logic of business is true anywhere around the world from Sarawak to Paris, but the cultures are different.

Many executives interviewed concluded: “Business is business wherever you are.” So, if the executive is already well-equipped with the right mix of business strategies, all he needs is to adapt to the host country’s culture.

One of the key conclusions made by the book is this: “The executives learned to focus on the similarities offered by business purpose, and, when possible, to exploit the cultural differences to create business advantages.”

The authors have also identified universal factors in any business. They point out:

“Strategic consistency across cultures, they learned, could be achieved if they focused on the customer, leveraged scope and scale, tapped shared business values, benchmarked against world class processes, and thought about how to make money on a global (rather than local) basis.”

One chapter is devoted to the “dynamics of derailment” — unhappy cases of global executives who didn’t make the grade. The reasons for failure were varied — from someone who was arrogant to another who focused on the wrong thing, from someone who was made a scapegoat to another who was the unwitting victim of an altered global strategy.

Speaking of risks, this chapter amply prepares global executives for some factored-in uncertainties. Simply titled, “When Things Go Wrong,” this chapter is just one of 10 chapters. It’s the book’s reassurance that things normally go well, and thus devote nine chapters to such cases.

You will better understand the expats running our companies here or helping us with a new technology, with this book detailing to us how these global executives really struggle with language. When you are the expat, back here in furlough or preparing for a great adventure away from home, this book is a great companion.

It’s like listening to 101 global leaders telling you how they soared with success and how some fell crashing down. Invariably, they leave one valuable advice:

“You must learn to see the world through other people’s eyes.”