How International Are Your Instincts?

The Good News

Wildly successful entrepreneurs agree that today's business environment is global. Yet for many, Internet access to clients in distant countries limits their development of international instincts.

No longer do we have to spend long hours in flight or endure jet lag while our body adjusts to 8-16 hour differences in time zones. We don't have to acclimate to new customs or unusual food, while we figure out how to conduct business effectively in an unfamiliar culture.

The Bad News

The relative ease of connecting with clients on different continents without ever leaving your home office keeps entrepreneurs in their cultural comfort zone. This lessens the likelihood of us discovering subtle nuances that naturally deepen and strengthen our relationship with culturally diverse clients.

Without a mutual recognition of shared nuances, our appreciation of cultural differences does not translate into international instincts. Without international instincts, heartfelt trust and loyalty rarely emerge in global business relationships. We miss so much when we miss these soul-satisfyingly sweet opportunities to go beyond success to significance and experience the difference we can make in the world.

Leave Your Comfort Zone

If as a thriving entrepreneur you yearn to make a significant difference in the world, cultivate and hone your international instincts. Start by taking a proverbial walk in the culturally different shoes of your global clients.

Learn what they experience, value, and need. Ask what works in their cultural business context and why. Listen carefully...be genuinely interested...notice if subtle nuances appear. Ask permission to hear more about the cultural nuances you suspect have surfaced. If clients are candid with you, their answers may surprise you.

Why?

 International instincts connect us more authentically to the pivotal concerns and challenges of our global clients. Enriching our appreciation of cultural differences naturally cultivates deep client trust and loyalty. In turn we create business solutions with more compassion − spreading and inspiring understanding around the world.