Going for the gold in an unstable and often dangerous world climate can be daunting, yet business must continue to expand, managers must continue to negotiate, and employees must continue to travel across national and cultural frontiers. "Working conditions and methods are moving much faster than the bureaucracies and systems that traditionally formed the framework for business. Suddenly, we are living global, and all our institutions, governments, and agencies have been left standing, while struggling to cope with a world that has burst the banks of their control and flooded their power base," says Michael Hick, a forty years veteran in the international insurance industry. Author of GLOBAL DEALS (Skyward Publishing, www.skywardpublishing.com), Michael unleashes the secrets to negotiating, selling and managing in thirty-one countries. Packed with personal stories, this highly readable book explains how the world's culture groups think and why they act the way they do. GLOBAL DEALS demonstrates how managers can navigate the complex culture conundrum to achieve profitable, long-lasting results and relations with employees and customers overseas.

1.    Innovate or die. In July 1995, the Australian Manufacturing Council held a groundbreaking seminar with some of the most successful firms in Australia. The intention of the study was to discover the reasons and methodology for innovation in business. The major conclusion developed from the study and seminar was that international business and creativity were closely intertwined. Those firms of any size doing global business were leaders in the innovation process. The cycle to innovation is driven by continuously looking outward.
2.    Fish in international waters. Casting your net into global waters, charting its depths, its reefs, and safe havens provides a whole new supply of trade routes and contacts that feed your business. Realize that international traders are close-knit and that it's important to know how to become part of the family. Learn the customs of those you are dealing with and have ultimate respect and appreciate for them. Deals are born every second. The multi-million dollar question is "Can they stay together? Can they stand the test of cross-culture interaction and continuation?" If you mutually accept diverse culture's values and beliefs, your deals can thrive even in unstable economic times.
3.    Understand the new frontier. The remarkable opportunities for increasing business through international expansion can only be understood by getting out there and getting on with it. There are horror stories of firms and individuals encountering serious problems when they go global. Certainly doing business in the international marketplace is not for the faint-hearted. In the new frontier of business, there are social upheavals that can cause difficulty and anger as people believe and fear the disappearance of their culture and the homogenizing of humankind. Learn the new frontier as well as you know your own territory. You will then be well equipped to handle situations as they arise.
4.    Keep it simple. It is not important for most international business people to get into culture behavior details. Just be aware of customs and traditions and respect and accept them. Few deals will be lost if you shake hands rather than bow or kiss. Most overseas executives are aware of the general behavior of different nationalities and are highly forgiving of goof-ups, gaffs, and faux pas. Just relax and be yourself, but always be professional and respectful.
5.    Understand the time divide. The time divide is one of the most important issues that lead to culture collision. The differing attitudes toward time can frustrate, misinterpret, and often destroy perfectly good deals. In your international deals, you will make many schedules, time charts, and deadlines only to have them fall short, causing frustration. We had better get into the right frame of mind about time before we end up with major stress.
6.    Know how religion and culture are intertwined. Religion is culture and culture is religion. The two are inextricably intertwined. In the twenty-first century, religious conflicts and hate between people will be the dominant issues for successive governments and the cause of wars and terrorism, as they have been for decades. But global business will continue despite diabolical events committed by a handful of madmen because people of goodwill will seek to trade with each other across religious and cultural frontiers.

7.    Find common ground. Often when we're sitting at the table in the global workplace, we believe, on first impressions, that the people we're facing think and act just like us. Certainly, they have the same emotions and feelings as we have. At a certain point, we all come under the influence of our learned background beliefs and behavior that we move into automatically. Sometimes, if we have spent many years as an expatriate, we can slip effortlessly into a familiar, local culture whenever we move into its environment-like an actor moving into a variety of roles. Now, deviations of attitude and view come into play, subtle codes emerge, and we have to be watchful to avoid irritants and offenses. We must look for similar traits between us and find common ground. Cross-culture collision at the negotiating table can wreck a deal before it ever gets started.

To interview Mr. Hick, contact Best News at info_bestnews@yahoo.com

GLOBAL DEALS, ISBN: 1-881554-30-9, by Michael Hick. With terrorism increasing, the world is less safe, but Hick's advice can help you conduct business in an unsettling international climate. http://www.skywardpublishing.com

THE HIGH COST OF DOING NOTHING, ISBN: 1-881554-21-X, by Hank Moore. Conducting Think Tanks for five U.S. Presidents, Mr. Moore knows why good companies go bad and why they start with much energy and end up mired in bureaucracy and plodding toward mediocrity and failure? Mr. Moore's client list includes 90 of the Fortune 500 companies and many public sector entities. http://www.skywardpublishing.com

SURVIVAL KIT FOR LEADERS, ISBN: 1-881554-25-2, by John C. Kunich, J.D. and Richard Lester, Ph.D. As Kenneth Blanchard, author of THE ONE-MINUTE MANAGER, writes, the authors "have loaded SURVIVAL KIT FOR LEADERS with powerful methods not found in any other leadership and management book known to me."
http://www.skywardpublishing.com

HOW TO BUILD A WINNING TEAM, 1-881554-14-7, by Peter A. Land, is a must-read when building business teams. If teamwork is the destination, HOW TO BUILD A WINNING TEAM is the roadmap. http://www.skywardpublishing.com
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