By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Globalization has become the norm in all spheres of life, from cuisine and entertainment to, of course, business.
Local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are branching out overseas, no longer out of choice but out of necessity ― and Simon Bureau, the chief of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Korea and CEO of consulting firm Vectis, provides some tips in a book.
Bookshelves overflow with business knowhow guides, but ``Global Business Mind-Set'' (Chungrim: 245 pp., 14,800 won) is the first to be written by a foreign businessman in the Korean language, for a Korean audience.
During his 10 years in the consulting business, Bureau has helped foreign companies tap into the Korean market. The book reflects his passion for facilitating the opposite process, of local businesses going abroad, and more importantly, achieving success.
The French-Canadian aims to help workers revamp their global mindset, and the secrets lie in the hyphenated term MIND-SET: Mobility, Independence, Novel approach, Diversity, Hyphen (looking for values of links), Situation awareness, Equality (creating equal relationships) and Two-way street (two-way business deals).
Furthermore, the author argues that Korea must diversify its export products and industries. Korea's export-oriented growth model is dependent on only a handful of industries dominated by the conglomerates, and one way for the country to survive and sustain its export performance is by enhancing the global business capabilities of SMEs.
Globalization however should be more than just about exports. Since exchanges need to flow both ways, he says, ``Korea possesses some of the best technology but there is no point if she cannot sell it.''
The book provides detailed guidelines from developing marketing strategies to recruiting valuable employees.