It’s time to go global. With ticket and passport in hand, you’re ready to evangelize the world about your mission. The global launch project has been approved and your team is onboard. There’s just one challenge: you only have one strategy for multiple countries. The regions are following different travel plans, communication and teamwork is not translating well across borders, and the project management process didn’t pass local customs inspection. How are you going to think global yet go local?
Yes, you might work for a global company but are you globally aligned? Do the local offices and teams within the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific have equal access to the plan, structure, and process? Whether you’re planning an initiative, developing communication programs to employees and customers, or implementing a project management process, local offices and teams will need to participate on a level playing field. Can you ensure global and local access, participation, and support?
In a recent survey, Global Minds Network found that understanding and support of global strategy, team roles, and participation were some of the key challenges faced by organizations when launching and managing global programs, products, and services. Awareness and responsiveness to local planning, communication, and training needs were critical factors in successful global execution.
Companies who shared their lessons cited planning, organizational alignment, effective project management, and timely product delivery among the challenges that threatened product launch success. Causes included the lack of a global plan, an inefficient process, and poor communication and teamwork across functions and regions.
Whether you’re launching products or introducing change initiatives, you need to depend on the efficiency of your infrastructure and the alignment of your teams to deliver business results. The challenge is to achieve and sustain readiness around the world. The talk does not stop at HQ, it needs to make headlines and start dynamic conversations that extend to offices and regions worldwide.
Global project success is dependent upon your internal infrastructure and the ability to coordinate a centralized strategy with local execution. This is determined by the ability to build a framework and process where you can leverage internal team knowledge, manage project flow, and effectively deliver on time and on budget in every part of the world. Not a small task!
Are you ready to go global and local? Whether you’re developing or re-evaluating new initiatives, determine your global readiness through three simple questions:
1) Does the plan and process address global and local needs?
2) Are teams aligned across functions and regions?
3) Is the field ready to deliver, market, and sell in every international location?
What’s your global readiness quotient? Take a test drive and see if you’re ready for the challenge. In the next five days, join this blog on its worldwide project management tour where you’ll learn about the five top cultural pitfalls and lessons learned. A bientot. Auf wiedersehen. Hasta luego. Sayonara.
What’s your global readiness challenge? Respond to this blog or contact [email protected] or visit www.globalmindsnetwork.com
