January 31, 2014 Reflection is incredibly important for this training as we covered many topics including: Global Communications, Logical Thinking, Strategic Thinking, and Global Leadership. In Global Communications our goal was to learn techniques and create a mindset that: Recognizes, Respects & Overcomes Cultural Differences. In Logical Thinking our goal was to improve our reasoning both Inductive and Deductive but more importantly extract appropriate messages and organize support in defense of ideas which challenge conventional (average) thinking. In Strategic Thinking our goal was to use well established frameworks including: 3 Cs (Company, Customer, Competition), SWOT, PEST, 4 Ps, Industry Analysis and techniques for market segmentation and positioning. AND then use Michael Porter's definition of strategy "To create a unique and valuable position using a different set of activities" In Global Leadership our goal was to understand and develop a global mindset which enables us to generate results by influencing people and organizations anywhere in the world. This included: Communicating values and goals, Understanding various communication styles such as Low vs. High Context, Pro-active self-disclosure and developing a management perspective suitable for solving conflicts. We also touched on cross-cultural negotiation: Re-framing, Expanding the pie, position versus interests, out of the box agreements. During the program the 25 participants formed 8 groups and delivered final presentations which addressed how the company could or should tackle "globalization". Competition was intense as the winning teams could go to Singapore. The main objective of the program was to develop a higher level of thinking and communicating to generate business results by being better able to influence people of any culture and organizations located anywhere in the world. In closing the program I offered a few of my favorite Albert Einstein quotes for further reflection. These messages continue to have a profound impact on my work/life which has kept me motivated these past 25 years in Japan when I face challenges in a multicultural context. “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.” “It is not that I'm so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer.” “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” “If I had an hour to solve a problem I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.” ― Albert Einstein |
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