The world isn't flat and you will likely lose money if you go into China. Those are two of the 10 provocative pieces of advice that Mark Anderson, editor of the Strategic News Service, ladles out in that newsletter for technology businesses and on Forbes.com:
Climate change is real
Some CEOs ignore research on the perils of climate change, but Mr. Anderson says it's happening, will drive insurance rates through the roof, upset global food and commodities pricing, create mass migration waves of the dispossessed, and wreak havoc around the globe. Figure out how it will impact your business, and he says then get involved in trying to avoid this disaster.
Global consumer explosion is on
Between Asia, South America, Russia and Africa, we will see about three billion new consumers entering the global economic marketplace in the next century, often through the Internet. How can you get your products and services to them? In sketching a strategy, Mr. Anderson urges you to remember that those populations, while sharing certain predictable traits, are not all alike.
Your company will lose money if you go to China
He sides with Australia's trade minister, who says it is likely that 80 per cent or more of non-Chinese companies operating in China will lose money there.
"As far as I can tell," Mr. Anderson writes, "the Chinese have every reason to want your investment money and your intellectual property, and no intention whatsoever of allowing you to make money."
Don't try to serve both the consumer and enterprise technology markets
You need employees with different attributes to serve both the consumer and business markets for tech.
Don't fool yourself into believing your company can be the exception that serves both markets well.
Innovation is a creative process
Innovation needs regular care and feeding, not occasional high-sounding speeches.
Make sure it has consistent backing - and that includes budget resources.
Protect intellectual property
You have a duty to protect your company's crown jewels - its
intellectual property. "Unless you run Coca-Cola, I guarantee you that you are not valuing your company's intellectual property highly enough, nor protecting it from theft carefully enough," Mr. Anderson says. He cites the example of Ford, which was robbed of its drive-train intellectual property by a 10-year employee and Chinese spy.
The world is not flat
Countries are not all the same. Pay attention to the differences, fitting in when you trade rather than treating the world as homogeneous.
Be prepared for Chinese competitors
If mighty Google found itself facing stiff competition in China and Boeing is having to fend off Chinese competition in global markets, you should also be prepared for Chinese competitors.
Manage for currency manipulation
Japan, South Korea and China have all resorted to keeping their currency low to compete globally, he notes. If you are managing a global company, you must be alert to currency manipulations.
Declining global stability is real
The days of a stable world are gone. Mr. Anderson argues you can still make money in a global business but you must be sensitive to political, economic, religious, and ethnic factors creating turmoil.
Harvey Schachter