GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURS
Reducing the Uncertainty of Overseas Expansion

Being a successful technical expert is challenging enough, but moving on to lead a business involves a completely different set of skills. Successful entrepreneurs have built an understanding of their market, developed the “soft skills” to be effective in it, and attracted the kind of employees who will sustain the business over the long term so as to ensure high performance and attract investors.

Expanding that business internationally carries with it an expansion of those concerns. Global entrepreneurs need to understand the challenges they face in new markets, not only in their product market but also in terms of the talent opportunities and limitations they face, and the logistical hurdles of operating day to day. Leadership across multiple markets involves not only the obvious concerns about language and time zones but also more subtle challenges, such as working with remote teams. Employment branding takes on greater importance as the company grows in size and builds for the long-term.

The best way to help entrepreneurs who are expanding into new markets is to remove as much uncertainty as possible from the growth process. By identifying some of the biggest challenges that growing companies face, we can boost entrepreneurs’ confidence as well as their abilities. By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

Identify useful channels for building knowledge about new markets
Recognize the unique leadership needs that will emerge in a global environment, and how to address them
Define and communicate their employment brand in a way that appeals across borders
The overall goal is for business leaders to leave the session with the awareness and understanding necessary to make expansion easier.

EXTERNAL COLLABORATION

– The business value of collaborating with an external network

Improved market intelligence to position products better
Better understanding of the talent market to improve hiring and performance management
Awareness of operational challenges and reputable vendors to overcome them
Learning best practices that improve business performance
– Frameworks for knowledge sharing

Bridging (e.g., B&T)
Shared training (e.g., Wipro)
Formal associations (e.g., Chambers of Commerce, co-working spaces)
Informal associations (e.g., StartupGrind, MeetUp)
Social media (e.g., LinkedIn groups, articles and news feeds)
LEADING AND MANAGING INTERNATIONALLY

– The business value of effective global leadership

Higher employee engagement and performance
Improved strategic planning
Better identification of opportunities and challenges
Enhanced knowledge management
– Critical factors in global leadership

Enterprise view of the business (cross-functional and cross-market perspective)
Cross-cultural awareness (including diversity & inclusion)
Remote team-building (setting expectations, designing processes, communication)
Ensuring a customer focus (maintaining a common goal in diverse, and often rapidly changing, markets)
MULTINATIONAL EMPLOYMENT BRANDING

– The business value of defining and communicating an effective employment brand

Faster recruiting process with lower cost
Improved employee fit leading to higher performance
Reduced learning curve resulting in shorter time-to-high-performance
Greater organisational awareness that improves collaboration
– Framework for global employment branding

Identification of business goals and requirements in the future (based on business’ strategic plan)
Articulating organisational culture (values, priorities, preferred working styles)
Defining job roles accurately (creating job descriptions and job announcements that accurately reflect expectations of working style)
Communicating the brand consistently across multiple channels (e.g., recruiters, job boards, social media, employee referrals)

Proposed timeline for the day

0900 – Opening remarks, discussion of objectives, introductions

0920 – External Collaboration

1030 – Break

1045 – Leading and Managing Internationally

1145 – Multinational Employment Branding

1245 – Review of Lessons Learned

1300 – Session ends