After reading a book by a successful commercial developer who moved his family to France for two years, I wanted to learn more about setting up shop in a foreign country.
That's because the real estate developer faced obstacle after obstacle because he wasn't used to the vast cultural divide between his home country and France.
Accordingly, I felt I struck oil when I found the book, The Business Accidental Nomad by Kyle Hegarty. Kyle shares his experiences in building a marketing and sales presence in Asia based on data and humorous and engaging stories. I'll go so far as to say this book has a Liar's Poker feel to it; it's that good.
Some of the big ideas we hit in this conversation include:
- the 70% failure rate in starting an international operation
- stereotyping vs. data-driven generalizations
- calibrated storytelling - evidence and anecdotes
- "Treat people the way they want to be treated"
- TOR - trust, openness, and respect
- The communications contract
- The role of DISC for hiring new staff