‘Yeah, Carr, This Trip Is Great And Everything, And I’m Looking Forward To It And I Am Glad Cal Poly Does This, But It Won’t Really Impact My Future That Much As I’m Not Going To Work International’

May 1st, 2008

Oh really?

And let me guess … all the products you buy are made in America and there is no value in seeing where the products we buy are made, right? Or the investment funds your stock broker dumps your money into will have no cross-border asset investments tied to China or India, right?

Hmmmm.

In any event, I think most folks get it, but I do overhear this comment a few times each year. In fact, a few weeks ago I had someone in my office making the very argument that is the heading of this post and that if they had to go on the trip and “bear” it in order to graduate on an accelerated basis, they would buck up and make it through.

Double-hmmmm.

I understand where people are coming from and they mean well when they make such statements, and I am pleased they remain outward looking enough to still enroll in the course and undertake this field trip. Perhaps what they are really saying is, “I have no desire to be an expat.”

Fair enough, as the expat life is not for everybody. But I still push back against said statements, and will continue to do so, because I think said statements miss an important point and shows a disconnect with what is happening in the world and about what the term “international” means in the year 2008.

To reiterate what I noted in our early informations sessions — the goal of the trip is to not turn you into an expat, although that may be the natural result of this experience for some.

Rather, some of the main goals are:

1. To better understand how the world’s business, economic, political and social puzzle fit together. You can’t do that from a book or by having coffee at Starbucks in SLO town, LA or the SF Bay area.

2. To better understand how, even if you/your firm elects to focus inward and continue to emphasize only California or US markets, there is a high probability your competition will use and leverage China and/or India against you. Thus, if you remain on the sideline, in time, your competition will kick your butt, there, or here. For every person who has made the above statement, I can point to one of their competitors who are somehow leveraging China or India to their detriment.

3. This is a big one. You can/will return to the US and … surprise! … you will be better at your business here at home because you traveled to places like India and China to study business, to see what is happening there first hand which will in turn help you separate fact from urban legend, and you gain a deeper understanding of why. If you really pay attention and ask lots of questions and go into both countries with total humility (meaning let them do the talking and you just listen), you might even pick up some best business practices from the Chinese or Indians.

4. How do you know the day won’t come where your boss walks in your office and says, “I need you to take the next red-eye to Guangzhou or New Delhi” and he/she picked you because he/she heard you have been to one of these places before on business? Will you jump at the chance and opportunity of a lifetime and in turn become the firm resident expert on China or India, or, will you run for the hills and miss an opportunity that may never come your way again?

5. Finally, one day you might decide you hate your job and working for “the man” and decide to start your own business. You will need capital to do that. You will find that if your idea is decent, potential investors will look at your business plan and ask, “why is there nothing global or relating to global expansion or strategy or how to respond to the global competition here?”

So, I could go on, but in summary, read this post, “Top Ten Reasons Why China Matters To You” from pundit Thomas Barnett. He says it better than I ever could (or have tried).

His list highlights why in the year 2008, an educated person cannot convincingly argue, “I am not international” or “I am not going to work international.” If you make such a statement, be aware that there are a number of people in the world that will look at you askance and even question your Cal Poly degree and/or what you learned here (as an undergrad or grad student). At least I would ….

To close, here is a great quote from Coca-Cola’s current CEO, E. Neville Isdell (Biz Ed, May/June 2008, pages 19-20):

Question by interviewer: If you were to come into a business classroom for a day, what would you want to say to business students?

Answer: I would want to teach students to understand different backgrounds, cultures, religions, and perspectives, even if those perspectives are antithetical to their own. If student’s don’t listen to and understand other people’s points of view, it creates misinterpretation and confrontation. It certainly will cause them to lose business opportunities. They should never give up their own principles, but they need to be able to find common ground. It’s what all good business leaders do to move business forward. Its’ what all good negotiators do to come to solutions.

Prof. Carr May 5, 2008 addendum: See this related article that just appeared in the NY Times, In Inner Mongolia, Pushing Architecture’s Outer Limits. The money quote in the article:

Indeed, Mr. Ai said, pointing to the architects who had traveled thousands of miles looking for work - “These days, it’s the architects, dressed in black, who are the tribe of nomads.”

Entry Filed under: China, Pre-Departure, Beijing, India, Pre-Departure, New Delhi