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Looking back, my interest in international trade began when I first crossed the U.S./Canada border as a six year old in the back seat of our bright red Chevy. This was the beginning of a lifelong passion for international travel that led to my successful career in international law.
Just how long will it take for international trade to be seen by business as not only an activity of exchanging products and services across borders, but a true occupation and profession that takes a specialized set of knowledge, skills and abilities to perform?
While we have placed international trade in a position of national importance, making every effort to expand and grow our trading relationships globally, our domestic trade remains limited, blocked by interprovincial barriers that cost our industries billions of dollars through their inefficiencies.
Over the course of our International Trade Competency Standards (ICS) Project, we’ve had many international trade experts talk about the skills that global trade professionals need to master, and why. Here are seven of the skills that came up most often.
Canada is a trading nation. Roughly 60% of our GDP is generated by international trade. It’s therefore important to get an accurate picture of international trade in this country to highlight trade stats which matter in a meaningful way. So when we’re talking about trade stats which matter, which of the international trade statistics available really matter and why?
Learning about other cultures before attempting a business relationship can make all the difference between success and failure in that venture, and help you avoid unexpected cultural differences.
While the traditional bottom line will always remain a crucial part of business, some companies are expanding their view and building their business to focus on the Triple bottom line (3BL/TPL): Profit, People and Planet.
Culture is complicated. Developing relationships and business across borders may be challenging, but developing relationships and business across cultures is where the real art lies.
As an avid runner, I see a lot of opportunities to equate efforts to expand into new global markets to running a marathon. Here are five lessons I’ve learned from my experiences in marathon running and managing the global business expansion of various entities.
Even though the majority of the yellow brick road is polished and smooth, the road has areas where many bricks are broken or have been uprooted from their foundation. When I look back on my own journey to a successful international career, the road that I followed looped by steep cliff edges, and was riddled with its share of missing bricks and potholes.
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