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Building Successful GlobalizationTeams

This custom seminar focuses on team-building for globalization projects (called localization projects in some contexts). Globalization teams are faced with technical challenges, reliance on third parties, language and cultural differences, geographic and time-zone distances, and business and environmental pressures. Because of these pressures, globalization teams often consist of several functional groups that operate out-of-sync with the team as a whole. As frustration mounts, the localization team's effectiveness suffers, along with the company's ability to compete in a global marketplace. This seminar brings the entire team together to build a dynamic and flexible localization team that can meet both business and user needs. You'll look at the entire context of globalizing a product for sale worldwide, from the international strategy through to product marketing, development, distribution, and support.

This is best taught as a custom seminar developed specifically for your company. The length varies according to your needs. I recommend that entire product teams (or a group of cross-functional representatives) plus their management and international partners attend, and I suggest that the seminar be held off site.

This is the outline for the public version of this seminar.

Understanding the Economic Context of Globalization: The Birth of the Information Technology Revolution; Global Trends and Technological Innovations from 1970-1990; Some Lessons
Understanding the Cultural Context of the Globalization Project: Understanding Cultural Context of Organizations, Groups, Individual Team Members, and Users; Understanding Globalization; What's So Special About Globalization Projects?; Sites of the Unexpected; An Ideal Globalization Development Cycle
Establishing a Primary Skill Set for the Global Team: Communication Skills; Technology Skills; Ideas for Skills Development
Identifying Roles and Responsibilities for the Globalization Team: A Composite of a Globalization Team; Dual Roles and Responsibilities
Working with Third-Parties: The Concept of Partnership; Legal and Contractual Issues; Sources of Strain with Localization Vendors
Cultivating a Milieu of Innovation: Milieu of Innovation Defined; Examples of Milieux of Innovation; Synergy, Value, Interaction, and Innovation; Characteristics of Milieux of Innovation; Creating a Milieu of Innovation for the Globalization Team