Six Quick Questions:

1. You work with a Colombian guy and you have heard that he has a very sick cousin. Should you inquire about this, or is it none of your business?
2. Three people come late to a meeting. One is an American from San Diego, one a Venezuelan who has lived in the USA for five years, and one is a visiting Chinese businessman. Can you guess the order in which they will arrive, simply from knowing their cultural background? Why?
3. What one extra feature would probably significantly have helped the sales of US vehicles, in Japan, in the 1970s -1990s?
4. You meet a client from the UK. She orders a beer at lunch and uses some language that makes you blink. Is she a bad woman with an alcohol problem?
5. African-American culture tends to be higher-context or  more ‘diffuse’ than Caucasian American Culture. True or False? What would this mean to your sales process with an African-American client?
6. If someone asked you for the percentage of household spending done by disabled family members, or for the approximate spend of the disability community in the USA, what would you reply? (www.EnableAmerica.com)

Five Strategic Questions:

1. New York culture is lower-context or more ‘specific’ than Florida culture. How would this affect your customer service training if you have many more customers in FL than in NY?
2. You are in retail and your IT is outsourced to an applications/data storage management IT company. Most of their team is Indian and they seem to deal unusually well with confusing, ambiguous situations. Is there some sort of cultural advantage operating here? How can your company develop a competitive advantage from examining this factor?
3. One of your new sales reps reports a sharp downturn in business from an account that was previously a steady stream of income. S/he describes the (Lebanese) customer as “from one of those South American countries.”  Your senior manager wants to see your coaching plan for the new sales rep. What does it include?
4. A major client company has recently gone through a merger. Their new head office will be in Paris instead of San Francisco. What are you going to do about retaining this account and the flow of business from it?
5. Your customer base is getting younger. A new check shows that the median age is eight years younger than your last measurement.  What should you do about this change in customer demographics?

You are invited to schedule a CPS workshop on Finding and Keeping Multicultural and Diverse Customers: glynis@c-psolutions.com or 813 598 9184.

CPS apologizes for any hitches  in our new, evolving but extra-safe website. IT security is one of the three major issues that futurists predict will affect business in the coming decade.

https://picasaweb.google.com/solange.benoit1/TBIBCInternationalBusinessSummit10Mar2011?feat=directlink

The TBIBC Summit was a wonderful showcase of inclusive and international business. I deeply appreciate the contribution of our

Dr. Michael Fountain

sponsors, speakers, panelist and the hundreds of participants who attended. The entire Rusty Pelican (Grand Ballroom, and all five function rooms) were a great setting for this event, and I congratulate the other Board members who also worked very hard to make it a success.

The audience burst into spontaneous applause during the NASA plenary breakfast presentation by Kelvin Manning, and the “meet 60 people in 60 minutes” speed networking was a huge success.

Dr. Mike Nastanski of St Leo let the most intellectually challenging breakout session, Strategic Partnerships. Many participants chose to Meet the Presidents of the Eleven Chambers, and Mark Yegge’s negotiations class was very popular. Morgan McGrath’s lunch time keynote presentation had many people taking notes as he gave the latest numbers and economic picture.

The Entrepreneurship Panel was a real inspiration as Dr. Michael Fountain led six diverse entrepreneurs through a series of questions about how they achieved success, and what the audience could learn from their example.

The next TBIBC event is on March, 28th. There are numerous Chamber events amongst the various Chambers, and new TBIBC events are being planned. To be included on our mailing list, or to be a sponsor, please contact me at glynis@c-psolutions.com.

Glynis Ross-Munro
Vice President, Tampa Bay International Business Council (813 598 9184)

Care for You Business, Care for All Resources

Businesses face soaring energy, operating and facilities costs. The State of Florida struggles with water shortages, damage to Florida’s fragile ecosystem, and the threat of climate change to our low-lying state. Sustainability issues threaten our entire world, economically and environmentally.

The research is conclusive. Green attitudes, thinking and actions are measurably profitable, and have multiple benefits such as employee engagement, process innovation, gains in brand and company reputation, and positive share performance.

The biggest challenge? Employee buy-in. Green thinking only happens one person at a time. It cannot be commanded or legislated.

Competency & Performance Solutions, specialists in accelerated, attitudinal learning, offers a two-hour, collaborative workshop, in which participants discover the many ways that a commitment to sustainability can make their lives and work more rewarding and secure. Every participant is fully immersed in an innovative, interactive group-based, teaching-and-learning process.

The two-hour workshop includes:

• Green workplaces, systems and work-styles
• Energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly business options
• Sustainable transit and transport
• Green homes and families

Workshops are available, on or off-site, by arrangement, for groups of up to 50 participants.