Women Business Owners Rock the House in Louisville

Posted on Oct 11, 2012 3 Comments

Original appeared in the Huffington Post.

Women-owned businesses currently account for more than 30 percent of privately held companies in the U.S., with more on the rise as women are starting businesses at record rates. Moreover, women are running these businesses on their own terms, creating new standards that affect positive change. We are speaking out on issues of public policy, reducing our environmental footprint, redefining the office atmosphere and creating jobs that fuel the economy. Some of us are even taking our businesses global.

Although I’m an entrepreneur and small business owner now, this is a relatively new role for me. I worked internationally for MNCs for the first part of my career, but I have found this new role much more fulfilling on many levels. Besides running my own show, I value being part of something much greater than just me — a grassroots movement of women business owners and our community of supporters all dedicated to helping one another grow, thrive, give back and leave a legacy. This collective feminine buzz was palpable at the recent National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) annual conference in Louisville last week — an event at which I was invited to speak.

This event is the largest of its kind in the United States, with more than 500 women business owners coming from across the U.S. representing industries and business of all sizes. This year’s theme, “Start Something,” celebrated the entrepreneurial, innovative and adventurous spirit of women business owners connecting and networking over the course of two days. (See pictures below!)

“I was so energized by the stories I heard from women business owners who started their companies — each under unique circumstances — and have pushed forward and grown these businesses despite a challenging few years,” says Diane Tomb, President & CEO of NAWBO. “These women are amazing and continue to innovate, advocate and accelerate for themselves and for all women entrepreneurs.”

Diane and her team put together a dynamic event with top-notch keynote and session speakers, including three amazing women who were honored with 2012 NAWBO Hall of Fame Awards. In turn, they each inspired us with their stories:

As a woman who reinvented herself from super model to super mogul, Kathy Ireland is an inspiration to many. She is chief designer and CEO of kathy ireland Worldwide, a business that grosses more than $1.9 billion in sales and whose brand sells in more than 50 countries around the world. In her uplifting keynote, she shared stories from her life as an 11-year old paper girl, a swimsuit model who was getting older and a woman starting her own business. She spoke passionately about the power of relationships and her belief that business leaders must use their position to advocate for issues we care about. She advised us to “make decisions that are intentional, not reactive” in our personal and professional lives.

 Katrina Markoff is owner, founder and chocolatier of Vosges Haut-Chocolat, which has made Inc. magazine’s list of 500 Fastest Growing Companies. In her talk, Katrina shared her road to success, challenges she faced along the way, and her creative process in taking an idea or inspiration and translating it into a new line of chocolate. She also shared how to taste chocolate to fully experience it.

Karen Mills is Administrator of the Small Business Administration, who has served in President Obama’s Cabinet since January 2012 as a key member of the economic leadership team. NAWBO President  Diane Tomb sat down on stage for a Q&A with Karen, who spoke about the issues and the opportunities that women business owners and entrepreneurs face as they build innovative and successful companies and what the SBA is doing to support them. Forty years ago, women owned just 5 percent of small businesses; today, they own 30 percent. That equals a total of 7.8 million companies generating $1.2 trillion a year in sales.

These keynotes were complemented by a rich mixture of breakout sessions over the course of two days. Topics included work-life integration, building a strong personal brand, using social media to your advantage, creating a powerful mentoring relationship, making public policy work for you, advancing women’s entrepreneurship, and taking your business global, the session that I led.

I love talking about all things global. And I’m thrilled to see that NAWBO and so many other conferences are beginning to include workshops and presentations on the global aspects of business and careers. It is a very good thing because global is everywhere, and we need to figure out how to deal with, manage it and profit from it. Despite 95 percent of the world’s consumers living outside our borders, not everyone thinks about her business as having the potential to be global, and indeed some don’t. But many think only global exports and international distribution, but how about tapping into global talent and resources along the supply chain, selling professional services, setting up R&D and/or manufacturing, and exporting an excellent idea and adapting it to a new market as an entrepreneurial venture. The global economy can help streamline all elements of the supply chain, creating profitable returns for small businesses that work creatively across markets. It’s up to you to figure out how.

In order to take your business global, you must think globally. It can be a daunting task to even think about doing business beyond our borders. In fact, culture and language barriers are the two reasons the vast majority of small business owners give for not going global. Ironically, and beneficially to women, we excel in cross-cultural situations (see my research on this topic conducted for my first book, Get Ahead By Going Abroad). Women are made for going global. Don’t let your inhibitions interfere with your exploration of the idea. Here are a few tips I offered in my NAWBO session:

    • Do your research, including competitive analysis and market research, as well as look into the regulatory climate and banking and tax options of various countries. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Bank publish a report annually on the ease of doing business by country.
    • Take an investigative trip — as a business owner not a tourist — to get a handle on start-up costs, local culture and work ethic. Try to determine if you like the culture and could do business there. Compare it to another market if you can.
    • Identify potential customers and clients based on demographics, industries and relevant infrastructure needs.
    • Network and build relationships with like-minded global thinkers. Organize the list systematically so that if you have an opportunity to travel or receive a solicitation from a potential international partner, you’ll have a quick reference list. Networks are critical to success in going global beginning with the lead-up through global expansion.

Once you’ve done your leg work, seek out advisers who can help take your business global, including many available to you as a U.S. business owner. The Obama Administration has done an excellent job of addressing the needs of small business owners by revamping government resources so as to make them more relevant, efficient and accessible. The Export-Import Bank offers a wealth of information as part of its new Global Access initiative, as does BusinessUSA, a centralized, one-stop platform that makes it easier than ever for businesses to access services to help them grow and hire, housed under the Commerce Department. The Small Business Administration offers plenty of information on new financing, insurance, loans and tax incentives.

Plus there are many qualified companies and consultants who can help prepare you to — among other things — work successfully across cultures, conduct a successful market entry, and establish relationships with partners on the ground. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce site and local AmChams offer a wealth of information and an international network to tap into in hundreds of cities around the world. At the end of my presentation, women were swapping global contacts and starting something right in that room.

One of the reasons I love women’s conferences: We share information. We’re not only focused on growing the business and the bottom line, but we love to connect and share stories. You can learn so much about a woman’s business and her values when she shares her journey whether it’s a super model turned super mogul — or a global corporate exec turned entrepreneur.

Applying to College? Make Sure You Have Options to Study Languages

Posted on Oct 2, 2012

Original appeared on the Huffington Post.

It’s that time of year when high school seniors across the country start thinking about where they will go to college. Many seek input from family and friends to complement their guidance counselors’ advice. Some turn to popular rankings like U.S. News & World Report, Kiplinger’s and Princeton Review as they visit campuses and begin the application process.

As an advocate for greater global awareness, I challenge students and their parents to look at things a little bit differently. Look for a curriculum that offers you an international perspective and an opportunity to study languages. Although college is about learning, it’s also about acquiring the necessary skills to land a job when you’ve graduated. World language skills have increasingly become a differentiator for hiring managers among graduates. Even if you’re not proficient, a solid working knowledge of another language indicates an openness to and appreciation for other cultures, a critical 21st century skill.

A recent study by the National Security Education Program via its “Language Flagship,” involving surveys and focus groups among more than 100 senior U.S. executives, concluded that increasing language and cultural skills is “critical” to American business, for everything from developing and keeping new deals, to overseas marketing, to winning the global war for talent. As one survey participant said, “the lack of language skills among U.S. business[people] is an enormous barrier to increasing U.S. participation in overseas markets.”

But it’s more than business leaders demanding an increase in language speakers to fill jobs. The U.S. Department of Defense’s own recruitment site notes “an urgent and growing need for Americans with foreign language skills,” especially in high-demand languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Dari, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, Pashto, Persian, Farsi, Tagalog, Russian, Somali, Turkish and Urdu/Punjabi. Congressional Subcommittees on Defense, Intelligence and National Security regularly hear reports on how our security and intelligence efforts are stymied by a lack of qualified language professionals among U.S. citizens.

Universities value language skills, too. In a report on National Defense Education, the American Association of Universities ranks foreign language education as highly as “STEM” (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning for both national security and economic strength. Most competitive colleges look quite favorably on applicants with four years of secondary school classwork in one language.

There are jobs for people who speak more than English, but not many Americans do. So here’s your chance, as a high school student ready to embark on your college career. Make languages an integral part of your academic experience regardless of your major. Whatever your language level is – experienced to novice — keep studying or start anew. If you have a strong command of French or Spanish from your studies thus far, keep it up, but also consider adding Arabic or Chinese. If you’ve studied one language but haven’t mastered it yet, don’t switch. The merits of sticking with one language all the way through are great, unless you think it’s not going to be particularly relevant. Many times switching can lead to no proficiency at all, and so work at mastering one. Above all, don’t give the languages you’ve learned up – keep at it even if it’s difficult to fit it into your schedule – it will pay off.

Consider choosing a college based partly on your language needs. No matter what career you’re considering, language proficiencies matter to employers. Make sure before you matriculate that the institution will meet your personal and career goals when it comes to language learning. To advise you on how to do this, I’ve included tips below that Marty Abbott, the executive director of the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL), gave me to include in my latest book, Go Global! Launching an International Career Here or Abroad.

  •  Check not only language offerings but levels as well. Many universities offer majors in some languages, but not others; languages like Chinese and Arabic may only be available at the introductory or intermediate levels.
  • Check language offerings for alignment with your career interests. If upper-level courses focus only on literature you may be limited in developing proficiency related to specific career interests; look for expanded language offerings that go beyond just literature.
  • Check the availability of options to study abroad and how credits are transferred from study abroad programs. A college or university that is preparing students to live and work in a global environment will encourage students to study and participate in international internships.
  • Check faculty backgrounds. Faculty members should reflect many backgrounds and academic areas of expertise, not just literature.
  • Ask about options for majoring in a language or double majoring in a language and another field. The institution should encourage students to continue to develop language proficiency through double majors/minors.
  • Ask about study abroad options and scholarships. There should be a dedicated international study office with staff knowledgeable about scholarships.
  • Ask about summer and academic year internships where you can use your language expertise. The institution should make an effort to place students in situations where they are able to use their language skills.
  • Ask about the number of adjunct instructors in the department and the role of teaching assistants. Be wary of a significant number of adjunct instructors or too many courses taught by teaching assistants.
  • Ask about faculty involvement with students outside of class and extra-curricular activities of the language department. There should be an active presence of the foreign language department on campus with guest lecture series, cultural activities and service learning projects in the community.
  • Ask about placement procedures and credit options for AP/IB and dual credit programs. You should be placed appropriately in a language class so you don’t waste time reviewing materials you have already mastered or sell yourself short by repeating coursework. The institution should also grant credits for college-level work completed in high school for Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) or dual credit programs.
  • Ask about language-specific houses or floors where the language is spoken by the students. Most language programs have a designated living space for majors and interested students where they are immersed in using the language.  This is an excellent opportunity to accelerate the language acquisition process and improve your communication skills.
  • Ask about resources for language students. Institutions should have robust resources available to students in the target language from library holdings to magazines and videos.
  • Ask to visit a language class and the language lab. Attending a class will give you important information about how language teaching is approached at the institution and how actively engaged the students are in the learning process. It will also let you speak with students involved in the language program.
  • Ask about graduate programs and career services for students who major in languages or have high level of proficiency. It’s important to find out the track record of the Career Center in placing students in positions or graduate programs where they can use language talents.
  • If you are interested in teaching at the K-12 level, ask if there is a program that prepares you for state certification to teach languages. Ask to speak to seniors in the program or recent graduates. This is important if you want a teaching career; you should also ask about the student teaching experience to ensure teacher candidates are placed with highly qualified K-12 teachers.

As ACTFL’s tagline suggests, “Discover Languages, Discover the World.” Good luck in your pursuits!

Get Ahead By Going Abroad!

Posted on Sep 21, 2012

Five years ago, Perry Yeatman and I started talking about how the workplace had gone global and the value of building a global career.  We focused predominately on women. Why? Because our research and our own lives had shown that women were the ones most likely to excel overseas and most likely to benefit from doing it, in terms of raises and promotions.  They were also the ones least likely to actually raise their hand and think they could succeed.  So, in 2007, we began our quest to spread the word, debunk the myths and provide women around the world with the confidence that they too could get ahead by going abroad – and return home to keep reaping the benefits too.

Thousands of books, hundreds of talks and stacks of media clips later, our ground-breaking premise has been proven correct.  Women are successfully going overseas to study and work in record numbers.  And they are reaping the rewards – be that more money, faster promotions or more options and greater control of their careers.  Indeed, today when we speak to women at elite universities across the country, the majority of female students we meet tell us they are at least considering going overseas at some point.  That’s astounding given where we were just five short years ago.  And we’re very proud of the part we’ve played in taking this conversation mainstream and in inspiring women to just do it!  The number of emails we’ve received from those who have taken our advice and made it happen have been so personally gratifying.  But instead of resting on our laurels, these stories of triumph have only inspired us to want to do more.

So today, we are delighted to announce the launch of a new paperback version of our award-winning book Get Ahead by Going Abroad.  This paperback will help us take our mission from raising awareness to actually helping even more women with the practical, hands-on information they need about how to determine if going abroad is right for them and how to do it successfully.  The paperback is critical in taking this message further, faster, because it is even more accessible to everyone.  It costs less.  Weighs less.  Travels better. Whether for yourself or as a gift for that aspiring career woman in your life, for just $14.99 the paperback edition of Get Ahead by Going Abroad is a must have, must read.  Get your copy today!

If you’re interested in sharing your global success story, send an email to StacieandPerry@getaheadbygoingabroad.com and Perry and I will consider it as we post a new featured woman every month!

Tone Down the Rhetoric: Time for a Business Pivot in Washington

Posted on Aug 15, 2012

A version of this opinion piece appeared in the Wall Street Journal on August 9, 2012.

Much has been made of the Obama Administration’s self-described policy “pivot” eastward, increasing diplomatic outreach and most visibly, rebalancing and repositioning a range of military assets in the Asia-Pacific region.

What is missing though from this shift, and perhaps what is most needed today given a slow-to-no growth U.S. economy, is a “business pivot” – one that ends the anti-business rhetoric coming from Washington and recognizes the business opportunities and importance of Asia to the United States, and vice versa.

From a defense perspective, the signs of change, in boots on the ground and ships at sea, are evident.  In April, the first of 2,500 U.S. Marines began arriving in Australia under an agreement increasing the U.S. military presence.

And in June, in Singapore, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced plans to base 60 percent of U.S. naval forces in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020.  He also became the most senior U.S. official since the Vietnam War to visit the deep-water Vietnamese port of Cam Ranh Bay, once a key U.S. logistics hub.

The visit signaled warming ties between onetime adversaries – at a time of growing tensions between China and its neighbors, including with the Philippines, a U.S. ally, over territory and sovereignty in the resources-rich South China Sea.  The Asia-Pacific region is home to some of the world’s most important shipping lanes, production bases and trade routes, and some of the U.S.’s largest export markets.

So, what could a business pivot look like – even as businesses clamor for less government involvement?

First, from a trade perspective, the United States would benefit from an explicit government recommitment to free trade and to Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).  During tough times, the default position of government is often inward-looking, seeking to shelter domestic businesses from competition.  Ultimately, though, protectionism stifles productivity, and the economy and consumers suffer.

For the past three years, too little has been done to advance a free trade agenda beyond agreements initiated by prior U.S. Administrations.  In the Asia-Pacific region, the United States has FTAs with Australia, Singapore and South Korea – the latter after much delay and hand-wringing.

Negotiations do continue toward a regional Free Trade Agreement – the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) – between the United States and several Pacific Rim nations.  Yet, the U.S. commitment to this agreement, while welcome, again pre-dates the present Administration.  In September 2008, the then U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab under President George W. Bush announced the United States would begin negotiations with Chile, New Zealand, Singapore and Brunei to join the TPP.  New initiatives are warranted.

Free trade agreements can further open Asia’s markets to U.S. businesses that have the drive and the commitment to succeed.  Negotiating them, however, requires tough bargaining, strict implementation and government leaders willing and able to explain the benefits.

Second, from the perspectives of transport, U.S. businesses would benefit from additional Open Skies agreements in Asia, further expanding passenger and cargo flights to and from the United States.  While not as prominent as FTAs, Open Skies agreements drive the liberalization of rules and regulations, help eliminate government interference in the commercial operations of airlines and play a key role in increasing travel and trade.

As of late-2010, the United States had more than 100 U.S. Open Skies partners.  Conspicuously missing from the list, however, are several Asian nations.  The Philippines and Vietnam each could provide future opportunity for partnership agreements if governments on both sides understand the benefits of greater cooperation and competition, and of encouraging the building of businesses across borders.

Third, and perhaps most critically to a business pivot would be not just actions, but words.  We need government leaders who do not talk down U.S. businesses for succeeding overseas, particularly in Asia.  Businesspeople are understandably frustrated by the lack of vocal support beyond calls for greater U.S. exports.  The position of U.S. Commerce Secretary remains sadly vacant – with an acting secretary filling the job and no prospects for a permanent replacement anytime soon – and the U.S. Trade Representative decidedly low profile.

To her credit, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been traveling the region, most recently bringing attention to opportunities for U.S. companies – including such iconic American businesses as Coca Cola, Ford Motor Co., General Electric, General Motors, Goldman Sachs and Google – in the once pariah state of Burma, also known as Myanmar, and elsewhere.

From a U.S. commercial perspective, a significant U.S.-Asia economic and trade foundation exists that can be built on, above and beyond in China, India and Japan.  2011 U.S. exports to Southeast Asia, for example, alone exceeded US$76 billion.  The United States, Secretary Clinton noted, also has more than twice as much investment in Southeast Asia as it does in China.

Americans and their elected leaders should take pride in the success of U.S. businesses in Asia – regardless of where the jobs are based or products made.  From Beijing to Singapore to Delhi, the directories of American Chambers of Commerce are filled with U.S. businesses, large and small, working to sell products and services.

Here in Southeast Asia – where I am based after having stepped down from the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank – the Ford Motor Co. is investing some US$450 million in a manufacturing plant in Thailand.  Some 2,200 workers will build vehicles for the Asia-Pacific region.  Ford is reportedly the second-largest automotive investor in Thailand, after Toyota, with cumulative investment totaling more than $2.5 billion.

Despite the U.S. presidential campaign rhetoric, the success of a company such as Ford in Asia is neither bad news for Detroit nor the United States.

U.S. businesses are facing growing competition from companies from Brazil, Russia, India and China – the BRIC – and elsewhere. U.S. companies also continue to face a new lower-cased “bric” that poses an even larger challenge – bureaucracy, regulation, interventionism and corruption.

Inefficient or ineffective bureaucracies, regulations that are unequally applied or enforced when they exist at all, interventionism by government at the expense of market forces, and crony capitalism, if not outright corruption – all persist in Asia and the United States to varying degree. Yet, American companies still succeed despite the odds.

U.S. businesses operating internationally should not now also have to contend with a business-unfriendly government of their own.  With the present policy pivot eastward, understandable attention was paid in Washington to the words describing defense and security moves, given national sensitivities in Asia.  Yet, actions followed words.  It’s exactly the same for a business pivot – we need both words and actions from Washington.  It’s time to rebalance the rhetoric.

Curtis S. Chin is a senior fellow and executive-in-residence at the Asian Institute of Technology, and a managing director with RiverPeak Group.  He served as U.S. Ambassador to the Asian Development Bank (2007-2010).  He is a frequent commentator on Asia and development issues.

Why Corporate Boards Should Be Looking for a Few Good Women

Posted on Aug 10, 2012 1 Comment

Co-authored with Anna Catalano, this piece originally appeared in the Huffington Post.

More women on corporate boards? The question is not why but, why not.  As organizations adapt and prepare for success in the global marketplace, they need the best and the brightest at the helm to overcome obstacles, create opportunities and contribute to the development of a sustainable future for the planet. Women in the boardroom provide a competitive advantage for businesses’ bottom lines by providing input from diverse backgrounds.

Yet despite the public commitments made by many U.S. companies for greater diversity and female representation, there has been very limited progress made in moving women to the top ranks in recent years. As a result, the lack of available senior women has a direct impact on the available pool of women for boards of directors for US companies.

According to a new report, Fulfilling the Promise: How More Women on Corporate Boards Would Make America and American Companies More Competitive, produced by the business-led Committee for Economic Development (CED), U.S.-based companies are failing to meet the career needs of half their available highly skilled labor. By not providing the opportunity for more women to succeed at all levels of the company, including the board, companies are falling behind international competitors that are taking aggressive action to increase the number of women on their boards. In fact, over the past decade, the percentage of women on boards of US companies has remained stagnant at 12.1-12.3 percent, and for Fortune 500 companies it remains at only 15-16%. At this rate of no growth, the number of women directors will never represent the percentage of women in the workforce.

Unfortunately, stagnation seems to be readily accepted in some industries. Some, such as petroleum, heavy-capital goods or technology, believe their industries are just not naturally attractive to females. Others blame the lack of women in the pipeline with senior management experience. Regardless of the excuse, it is obvious that without a significant intervention, the status quo is destined to remain unchanged

Some countries, such as Norway and France are mandating a percentage of board positions to be held by females by a specified date.  However, doing this could be tricky as it may lead to a feeling that the bar is being lowered just to bring more women on boards. The solution lies in “enlightened leadership” at the Board Chair and Nominating Committee – people who recognize that without women at the table, the business will suffer.

What does it take to convince leaders that having female representation on boards will enhance their bottoms lines? Here are a few good reasons:

Women make up the vast majority of global consumers. The power of women as global producers and consumers has been compared to that of China and India because, over the next decade, the impact of women the world over will be at least as significant as that of those two growing global powerhouses. Women make more than 80% of consumer purchase decisions, and control 65% of global spending today. Yet surveys consistently find that women feel underserved and patronized by many of the companies trying to sell to them. Companies must understand and meet the needs of these 1 billion women around the world because researchers estimate that by 2014 women worldwide will control $28 trillion in consumer spending, up from $20 trillion in 2009.

Women lead with a different style. Many studies have outlined the qualities associated with feminine leadership, some of which are flexibility, collaboration and good communication and relationship-building skills. According to a recent survey published in the Harvard Business Review, women are considered better leaders by employees, peers and supervisors on 15 out of 16 traits – and sometimes by 10 percentage points higher. Boardrooms that are under pressure to address difficult topics such as compensation, governance and complex strategic planning require diverse yet collaborative thinkers.

Women’s issues are global issues. Lack of education, maternal health and childcare, violence against women and girls, and health, wellness and nutrition are just a few of the global issues that are women’s issues. Women are committed to advancing the rights of women and girls around the world. In a recent study by the nonprofit research firm Catalyst, organizations with three or more women sitting as members of their board of directors donated an average of 28 times more than corporations with no female board members.

Women are more risk averse. A study conducted by the Credit Suisse Research Institute suggested that mixing genders has the potential to help boards rethink or even reduce risky investment moves and increase return on equity. The study established that companies with women on their boards performed better in challenging markets than those with all-male boards. Companies with women on boards outperformed when the global financial crisis began in 2008.

Women raise the issue of diversity by simply being in the room. When a company has a woman on the Board, she is more likely to ask the question, “Where are the women in this company?” Female board members will more likely put the topic of diversity on the board agenda relative to succession planning and leadership development.

Corporate boards must broaden their understanding of who makes a good board candidate. The objective of any nominating committee should be to have candidates with a wide range of experiences and perspectives sitting around the board table. Entrepreneurs, small business owners, those with international experience, as well as management and line experience all add tremendous value and go beyond gender and race. Diverse thinking is required to take companies forward today.

It’s going to take a lot of work to push for more women on boards. Thankfully the advocates are growing. The not-for-profit group “2020 20% Women on Boards by 2020” created a national campaign in 2010 advocating to increase the number of women on boards to 20%. The group pressured Facebook to name a woman to its board using social media prior to the IPO and celebrated when it did. The group serves as a watchdog of sorts as it recently launched its 2020 Gender Diversity Directory, which quantifies companies by the percentage of women on their boards and rates them.

Business schools recognize the need to step in and assume a leadership role at this critical time. The George Washington University School of Business has partnered with International Women’s Forum, announcing the creation of OnBoard, an innovative, one-year long program to advance women’s leadership on corporate boards. The fellowship program aspires to expand women’s participation on corporate boards globally while also creating a positive change in the lives of women leaders. Program participants receive advance training in board-level leadership knowledge coupled with strong mentoring and coaching.

More women need to be elected to corporate boards. Successful companies embrace board diversity by drawing on a wide range of viewpoints and backgrounds and are much better positioned for future success. Understanding the different ways in which women lead, think and participate is key to convincing US boards that things should be different.  By doing so, they will realize the pool of qualified candidates is actually not as small as they think…..and that the conversation can be enriched quickly by including some different voices at the table.

A few words on my fabulous co-author:

With more than 25 of corporate experience, Anna C. Catalano manages a diverse board portfolio, serving as an independent director on the boards of Mead Johnson Nutrition, Willis Group Holdings, Kraton Performance Polymers, and Chemtura Corporation.  In the not-for-profit sector, she is deeply passionate on the topic of senior care and aging, and is a board member of the Houston/SE Texas Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.  She is a renowned expert on the topics of marketing and strategic branding, international business development, and is an outspoken champion of women in business.  Having held executive positions in Asia, Europe and North America, she holds a broad perspective on the challenges of operating in a global environment.

Global Mindset Survey Launched – Take it Now!

Posted on Jul 10, 2012

My writing colleague Rebecca Weiner and I are conducting a series of surveys with teachers, parents and successful internationalists on the topic of raising global children. The results of these surveys will help inform a book that we are writing, but all answers are anonymous.

If you are someone who is interested in and involved with international affairs, who has had or is launching or is amidst a successful global career, and/or who is a parent who has raised young-adult internationalists or is seeking to raise children with exposure to the world — I’d appreciate your taking this short, anonymous survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GlobalMindsetSurvey

You do NOT need to be a parent — just someone with global awareness. I’d appreciate it if you forwarded this survey link to 2-3 others you may know who fit any of these categories as well.

If you’re a teacher/educator (geared toward K-12, but not exclusively) we have a 5-minute survey for you here: Click here to take survey

YES, you can take both if you’d like!

Bottom line: our desktop research into studies done by others, from Johns Hopkins/SAIS to McKinsey to the Institute for International Education to the US Department of Defense provides ample documentation of WHY global mindset is increasingly important for Americans.  But we have found few to no in-depth studies of HOW parents can go about strengthening global mindset in their children.  This quantitative survey, which we will follow up with in-depth qualitative interviews with a smaller number of respondents, is a step toward filling that gap.

Thank you for your interest and support!

Global Careers are Hotter than Ever!

Posted on Jul 8, 2012

Global careers are hot and getting even hotter! Go Global! and I were featured in the Careers section (again) of the Wall Street Journal on how “young workers can jumpstart their careers by taking jobs abroad.” And although there are a few misquotes (expat packages still do exist), the article sheds light on the importance of thinking beyond your own borders when looking for a job. Read it here: Work Abroad, Get Ahead.

In UpstartBusinessJournal, formerly portfolio.com, recently relaunched featuring a three-part series bylined by me on global entrepreneur ventures. Going global is not just for big biz but small- and mid-size companies AND for those daring entrepreneurs looking go big! Check out this great online business source, and read the 3-part series here:

Global Marketplace Beckons US Entrepreneurs

Where are Today’s Global Entrepreneurs Going?

Want to Grow Your Biz? Think Internationally.

And since global careers are for everyone, not just Americans, today’s edition of Fabulous magazine features advice and tips from me on how UK women can get ahead by going abroad! If you’re in the UK, check it out — it’s in the Sun — and I’ll post the link when I get it. (I love being able to write that I have been featured in Fabulous magazine!)

GO GLOBAL!

 

Why Summer Learning Needs to Include International Studies—Even for K-5 Students

Posted on Jun 14, 2012

By Angela Jackson

Tangerines and lemons are two things that are great to enjoy in the summer but did you know the origins of these words are Arabic?

This is just one example of how we can help young people understand and appreciate different languages and cultures. It’s important to realize that these lessons can happen outside of a classroom and that summer is a great time to bring them to life.

Research shows that all students lose, on average, about two months of math skills during the summer. In reading, low-income students typically fall behind by more than two months on average.

We also know that 21 of the 25 industrialized countries begin the study of world languages in K–5. By starting in middle school or later, we are unfairly preventing our young people from succeeding in the 21st century economy.

So the 90 days or so of summer are a great time to make a difference in a fun way! Here are some ideas:

  • Encourage your children to check-out bilingual books and learning materials from libraries. There are many online as well. Let them know that you are engaged in the world by dusting off your French lessons from years ago or sitting down beside them ready to learn as well.
  • Create a game or contest to see how many kids in the house or neighborhood can learn a phrase from another language and use it. Again, many of these learning resources are available at a library or online.Summer Learning Day, sponsored by the National Summer Learning Association, is June 21. See what events are taking place near your home and find out if they can add an international component: http://www.summerlearningdaymap.org/
  • Older kids could research how children around the world spend their summer vacations. For instance, in Chile, summer vacation lasts from mid-December to early March. Kids interested in geography will have fun figuring out why.
  • While too much TV is a bad idea, the upcoming Olympics in London will be a great way to bring the family together. During the Parade of Nations during the Opening Ceremony, have your kids find the nations on a map. Maybe make different foods from each nation during each night of the Olympics. Try to have them learn a new word in Mandarin Chinese or Spanish when athletes from these countries compete.

All of this focus on international study, especially languages, can have a big payoff down the road.

The National Institutes of Health has released new research that found children who grow up speaking two languages are better at multi-tasking than children who speak one language. Researchers asked the children to switch between different tasks and found that bilingual children made the change faster than students who learn only one language.

Most of all, have a good summer! Or, as we say in Spanish, “¡Que tengan un buen verano!”

Angela Jackson is the founder and executive director of the Global Language Project www.globallanguageproject.org, which seeks to bring the study of international languages to elementary schools. She is fluent in English and French.

Globally Competitive Does Not Mean Globally Competent

Posted on Jun 4, 2012

Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on May 22, 2012.

There’s a translation error in the ongoing debate on education reform across the country, including the state where I live, Connecticut. Governor Dan Malloy has talked a lot about the need to produce globally competitive students in the “STEM” fields (science, technology, engineering and math). But he hasn’t said how his recently-passed plan will prepare students to work in the global marketplace — to be globally competent.

Of course I applaud efforts toward global competitiveness. I sit on the CT CASE Committee for Workforce Alignment, and on a personal level, my twin daughters in the Glastonbury public school district excel in STEM subjects. But based on my history as a global business executive and a writer and consultant on international careers, I question whether Malloy’s plan will produce Connecticut students ready to compete in the global marketplace.

America’s schoolchildren today are regularly out-tested on math, science, history and even English scores by students from around the world. Those global students also often graduate bilingual or trilingual, armed with what experts have come to call a global mindset: the ability to operate comfortably across borders, cultures and languages. Many times they have the best of both worlds: multicultural upbringing with post-secondary education here in the U.S. Competition is fierce. By the time today’s toddlers join the workforce, the ability to work globally and cross-culturally will be mandatory — not just the “nice to have” it was years ago.

The world our children are growing up in is changing with dizzying speed. Just the last few years have witnessed a global financial crisis, China overtaking Japan as the world’s second largest economy, the Arab Spring and political meltdowns across Europe. Here at home, Connecticut businesses produced more than $16.2 billion in goods and commodities for export in 2011. Our leading trade partners are China, Korea, Germany, France, Canada and Mexico. Today’s successful workers must understand global supply chain economics, international trade and regulation, and be able to work as successfully in Hanoi as in Hartford, including managing a global team or possibly reporting to an international boss who may sit in an office thousands of miles away.

Foreign language and other types of global education are crucial for our children in the 21st century. Yet we don’t seem to be heeding the call to revamp our education systems to create globally-minded graduates who will be able to compete with multilingual, multicultural international peers. This is a country whose own Defense Department called foreign language education “an essential component of U.S. national security in the post-9/11 world,” but whose Congress has cut funds for the Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP), a national program that cost only $25 million, the same cost of one submarine.

How can this be? How can Connecticut, the state that, more than 50 years ago, developed a cutting-edge Russian language program in Glastonbury that has been heralded as critical to US success in the Cold War, not require any foreign language teaching at all? Thankfully, many districts take it upon themselves to include foreign language but must face potential budget cuts every year. It’s short-sighted, especially when research shows early language learning works best, and aids cognitive development beyond language arts, including STEM subjects. Why miss that window?

It seems that perhaps national security just might shake up things in education so that we may begin to properly prepare our workforce for the future. On Monday, the Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee held a hearing on Federal Government Foreign Language Skills by Senator Akaka. The two-hour hearing was alarming to listen to: The FBI, the Departments of Defense, State, Education and Homeland Security, and a variety of experts including foreign language teachers and the Institute of International Education all agreed that we do not have enough foreign language speakers now nor in the pipeline to meet our national security needs, which includes economic stability in an increasing global marketplace. Expert after expert testified to the benefits and the long-term solutions for this is not an overnight shift. Learning a second language and embracing an international education — one that teaches all subjects through a global lens — will take a fresh start, beginning as early as Kindergarten. It’s often too late to begin in secondary school or even college.

As students graduate over the next few weeks, the vast majority are woefully ill-prepared to work in an intercultural, global economy. I have witnessed this lack of international skills first-hand having spoken on university campuses across the country for the past four years. I have had countless discussions with administrators, faculty and staff about their inability to convince students to take a broader look at the world. Many worry about being able to enforce foreign language requirements because not enough students arrive on campus with enough proficiency to build toward fluency in four years. I’ve also had many discussions with business leaders who demand a globally competent workforce — which they’re not finding in abundance in American graduates. So they’re looking elsewhere. In other words, good jobs in the U.S., with U.S.-owned companies, are going to foreign nationals because American graduates lack the needed skills.

But it’s not our students’ fault. They haven’t been prepared properly by elementary and secondary school systems, systems that haven’t been able to keep up with rapid global changes. And so we must plan now and start earlier to help students before we pack them off to college. As parents, teachers, administrators, politicians and businesses, we must work together to revamp our school districts and curricula so that we graduate globally competitive and competent students who are prepared to work in the global marketplace. As one expert witness testified yesterday, “We cannot say that we’re preparing our students for the 21st century if we don’t include foreign language study.” Let’s get with the program. Our students are counting on us.

Guest Blogger: Moving to Beijing After Graduation – A Year in Review

Posted on May 29, 2012

Early on in my senior year of college, I faced the same question that just about every 22 year old is expected to answer: “What are you going to do for the rest of your life?”  It’s not a question I was afraid to answer, but at that point, I simply didn’t have one. Unlike many other 22 year olds, however, I was comfortable with this because over the course of the previous year or so, I had come to the realization that it’s hard to know what you want to do in this world if you’ve never seen it.

Nate Nault on the Old Course, St. Andrews, Scotland.

I spent my junior year of college studying abroad at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and had the experience of a lifetime. I met some great friends from around the world, traveled to countries all over Europe, took some interesting classes on topics like the Mongols and Melanesian anthropology, and for the first time, I was exposed to a world that wasn’t solely focused on life in the United States.

Among the many things I learned that year, that are a few that stand out from the rest:

1. The world is absolutely enormous and extremely diverse, and the only way to understand this is to experience it firstnhand.
2. You can do just about anything you desire in this world as long as you’re comfortable with occasionally being uncomfortable.
3. As I said above, it’s hard to know what you want to do in this world if you’ve never seen it.

As an Asian Studies major who loved traveling, I considered these points carefully, and decided that after graduating I would continue learning Chinese while studying abroad in Beijing, China.

Studying Abroad: The advantage of learning a language

I couldn’t be happier with my decision to continue studying a foreign language, especially Chinese. For one, I have no doubt that it has had a huge impact on both my social and intellectual development. Speaking a foreign language is a skill, often requiring you to think about and analyze exactly what you’re trying to say, as well as the correct and most efficient means to say it. Of course, as a sought-after asset in today’s global economy, it will also increase the number of future job opportunities.

It also allows one to communicate with people from a different country, and in my case, not just people from China. I’m able to use Chinese to talk with someone in my class, from Japan for example, who might not speak English very well — and I think that’s pretty cool.  Applying this to the bigger picture, using language to improve communication between businesses, governments, and peoples, as well as breakdown cultural and ideological barriers, will be the key to future world progress.

Work: A tale of two twenty-something’s

Although not always the case, working in China usually falls into two categories with regard to recent college graduates:

A “Traditional” 9 – 5: The recent college grad that lives better than his parents
I use quotation marks because working in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world at age 22 is really anything but traditional, and while I don’t have much experience in this area, many of my friends here do. Most of them are in China with the goal of being exposed to the international working environment – some with the intention of returning to the U.S., and some who plan on having an international career.

Quality corporate jobs are not necessarily the easiest to find in Beijing, and the cost of getting hired is usually a three-month unpaid internship. Job hunting difficulties aside, these internships usually come with the understanding that if you perform well, you’ll be heavily rewarded in the long run. As the cost of living is much lower in China, working for an American company that pays an American salary is ideal; however, one can still make a decent living and acquire valuable experience working for a reputable Chinese company.

Still In School: The not-really-struggling student

The other category is the English teaching and college admissions consulting route, both of which I do have some experience with. As a student, my staggered 20 hour-a-week class schedule doesn’t make me a viable option to most of the larger companies, domestic or international, and although my Chinese is getting better, it’s not good enough to secure a part-time job in smaller shops and stores where the majority of the customers only speak Chinese.

Teaching English is another blog post topic in itself, but if you’re willing to run around a bit and you understand that it’s more about pleasing parents than actually teaching the student (I know how bad that sounds), you can make a full time living working between 10 and 15 hours a week.

Beijing, China: Expectations and impressions

To be honest, I didn’t have many expectations about Beijing before I came. Even as an Asian Studies major with a background in Chinese, most of what I had learned was from pre-1990, so trying to conceive of what it would be like in 2011 was pretty hard. I will admit though, that when I first came to China and the euphoria had subsided, I was slightly disappointed by the lack of “culture” and shocked by the excess chaos and confusion that this city operates under.

In my opinion, Beijing is unique among the big cities of the world. I’ve said before on my own blog, it’s a combination of the American Wild West circa 1875, modern technology, long-standing (and outdated by U.S. standards) traditions, and just general ridiculousness, all of which I mean in a good way.

It challenges you to stand out while still having to seamlessly live and work among a population of over 10 million people that won’t budge just because you say so. It reminds you of how lucky you are to have clean air, enforced traffic laws, and non-smoking restaurants. And most importantly in my mind, living in Beijing helps you sift through the garbage (both figuratively and literally) to find the beauty in things you would’ve previously overlooked or ignored.

I’ll also add that I’ve learned to appreciate and embrace the challenges of everyday life, the struggle to make a name for yourself and gain necessary work experience in a country located literally half-way around the world from where I grew up, and the effort to understand a culture and language that are totally opposite of my own. I have really come to love it here, and plan on living and working here for a while to come.

Nathan Nault has a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies, and is currently studying Chinese in Beijing, China. He is the creator and editor of The Study Abroad Blog, and the author of The Ultimate Study Abroad Guide. Connect with him on Twitter, Facebook or via email at nate@thestudyabroadblog.com.