Basketball is Global

The National Basketball Association, the N.B.A, like other U.S. enterprises is becoming increasingly global. Once a group of teams whose players came only from colleges and universities in the United States, it's now home to seventy-five players from thirty-two countries including Argentina, Australia, Cameroon, China, Latvia and the United Kingdom. The N.B.A has a global initiative (www.nba.com/global), a venture in China named NBA China and sends teams to play around the world.

Now at least one N.B.A team in the United States is about to become global as well as local. That is the New Jersey Nets (www.nba.com/nets). On September 25 the New York Times featured an article by Harvey Araton titled "N.B.A.’s Global Outreach Turns Around to the U.S. Shores”. The article discusses the planned acquisition of a majority stake in the Nets by Mikhail Prokhorov, a Russian billionaire and its implications for the team and US basketball. Will his experience owning a team in Russia influence the future of the New Jersey team? Will there be other owners from outside the U.S. in years to come? Unknown. But we do know that basketball being global has a new meaning. Our world increasingly connected.

Trade is Global, Local and Regional

Last week India eNews (www.indiaenews.com) announced a ‘breakthrough” stating, that after a meeting in New Delhi the World Trade Organization officials agreed to restart the Doha round of trade talks. At the same time The Economist magazine (www.economist.com) included an article “Doing Doha Down” about the increase in regional trade agreements in Asia. That article argues that the growing number of regional trade deals are the “enemy” of the Doha effort to create a multi-lateral trade agreement.

India the host to the meeting that led to the agreement to restart the Doha negotiations and a key player in the WTO also recently signed a bi-lateral agreement with South Korea. India is a key player in both efforts. This is an example of a country searching for the most advantageous way to manage, organize and regulate their trading relationships. (According to the Economist bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs) have grown from 49 in 2001 to 167 in 2009.)

What’s best for the world’s economy is hard to know. Experts argue each perspective with passion. The only thing we can know with certainty is that regardless of the agreements we are connected through our trading activities which are local, regional and global.

Business is People Connecting to Each Other

Business is about people. Reading the Women’s Wear Daily (www.wwd.com) article title “Tough Financial Times Call for Ingenuity” I was stopped by a quote from Doug Jaeger, innovation director for the creative agency Taxi Inc. (www.taxi.ca). His statement read “There is a real need for social interaction as people become more about computers and less about people.”

This struck me as yet another reminder, from a different perspective, that our connections with people are critically important today. Especially as we extend work around the world, linking with people whose approach to doing business differs from our own, the direct connections is essential. How can we do that? Sometimes it’s as simple as calling instead of sending an e-mail, reducing the opportunities for misunderstandings and allowing time for a real conversation instead of a curt message. Sometimes its taking time to share a meal or visit in person rather than by e-mail or phone. No matter how you do it, remember Linked In messages can be useful but aren’t as powerful as a direct connection one person to another.

Did You Know?

Did you know that Sri Lanka is the sapphire capital of the world? The largest manufacturer of solid rubber tires? I didn’t and if I’d checked the basic sources
Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) or read through the CIA World Factbook (www.cia.gov) I wouldn’t have discovered this information. I learned these facts and more at a presentation by A.M.C. Kulasekera the Deputy Director General of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

Even though this information isn’t critical to a current project it was a great reminder that when researching a country it is important not to stop with the easy sources, on line or in print. Look around and expand the search. Set a Google Alert and read current news. Send a Tweet, check for Linked In groups and ask for information. Make some phone calls and find someone who has been there. Remember to reach out to people who know the place. It’s easy to feel we can find all the answers on a nice neat web page but sometimes its only through a personal connection off line that we can find the information that’s truly important for our needs, our project.

Traveling a Scandal?

The headline on page A5 of the August 11, 2009 Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com) reads “Lawmakers on Recess Take Wing for Distant Shores”. Under the headline are photos of 5 Senators and Representatives along with maps showing their destinations. After listing the travelers and destinations the writers (Brody Mullins and T.W. Farnam) ( http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124995134528621263.html) point out that these are “among more than a dozen taxpayer-funded trips” being taken during Congress’s summer recess. The implication is clear. These are holidays funded by taxpayer dollars at a time when many of us, the taxpayers, can’t afford to vacation. Another scandal. Or is it? I don't think so.

If you take the time to read through the article you learn that the destinations relate to the work these lawmakers do - on behalf of us, the taxpayers. To me it seems we should be relieved that the people who vote on our behalf about matters relating to places far away do go visit them. It's their job to be informed. I am glad they wish to learn something about the places where we invest money, send troops, expand trade, do research and try to sell our products and services.

As I read this article it seems to send a message implying that international engagement (travel) is wasteful, unnecessary. Further suggesting that our lawmakers can get all the information they need in their home district, off the internet, from U-Tube and CNN. Do you really think so?

The only way to understand the world is to be connected, to see, feel, touch the reality of another place. If we, the people of the US, want legislators who can serve us well let us be sure they are educated about the world we live in. Let’s celebrate and encourage their travel. The time is now to explore the world and report back - for us, for our lawmakers. Remember, years ago Marco Polo explored the world and look what happened. New ideas, new products, new possibilities. Let’s make that happen again.

Take Some Questions with You

Whether you’re visiting someplace you’ve never been or returning to a favorite destination, take some questions with you. Ask yourself - What’s new? Different from home (or the last time I was here)? What looks like home? What surprises me? How are the people walk, dressed? Do they smile easily (like Southern California) or appear cool and reserved (Paris)?

The questions will help you move through the jet lag, the challenge of reading a map, finding a cab. Better to focus on the environment. Think about what’s going on around you. Don’t just pack clothes, computers, Ipod, blackberry, and assorted chargers. Add in the questions that help you be where you are, remember more than what you see in photos, understand something of the place and the people.

I wonder - What will Paris be like this 4th trip in 8 months? Will the Eiffel Tower appear welcoming and will there be a new restaurant, new the hotel or will another store that I love have disappeared? What will I discover as I ask some questions?

Food from Home

Hard Rock gift cards ease the homesickness of California students in Paris. Chinese businessmen are served Chinese food when attending a training program in Los Angeles. American tourists seek out Starbucks in Beijing, McDonalds in Moscow, Krispy Kreme in London. There’s Indian food everywhere in London, Sometimes it’s a novelty to find “your” food when you’re far from home but familiar dishes also helps overcome bouts of homesickness, offset the stress of coping with a new environment.

But today the definition of home food is shifting. Local (US brand) chains are expanding searching for new markets, some profits. It’s not just KFC, Starbucks and McDonalds that are popping up everywhere. Dunkin’ Donuts, Chilis’s, Romano’s Macraoni Grill all plan international expansions. (www.wsj.com) When home food is everywhere what is the food that symbolizes home?