I am a guest worker, I am always a foreigner

Posted on Wednesday February 19th, 2014 by Marc Ambrock| 1 Comment

In the context of my business activity, I am constantly on the road and consequently, practically always a guest worker. As a guest of the countries I travel to and as a guest of my clients, I am grateful for the always and without exception friendly reception, despite the fact that I often do not speak the native language nor am familiar with the local customs. My approach of choice is then respect (or should I say my arm?)

In a global world, which is fortunately slowly but surely growing together, there are nevertheless a few recent trends that concern me as they have more to do with separation and distance then mutual understanding and collaboration. Catalonia and Scotland want to isolate themselves, populist politicians are catching votes in Europe using xenophobe slogans, and even Switzerland has just voted in favour of limiting the access to foreigners. And in Germany, the fear of Romanians, Bulgarians and East-Europeans is being fuelled.

In that light, I no longer really understand the world as it seems schizophrenic to me: on the one side, we would like to drive German cars, drink French wine and English whiskey, wear Swiss watches, and eat Chinese or Indian food while also needing care givers for an aging society. And what is the reaction? We keep the barriers in the European Community high so that no work force come in, and impose non-European products with a great amount of separate customs duties while simultaneously subsidizing the domestic industries, which is not an exclusive European characteristic.

I don’t think that I am deluding myself when I think that without my central and East-European colleagues, I can just as well close down our plant in Germany. You can also simply ask around in Novartis or Roche in Switzerland about the percentage of their foreign workers. First you will not believe it and then you will be amazed!

Or just try to obtain a visa for an international colleague for maintenance work or a business meeting. I promise you that, rather than disbelief, you will feel great anger at how much energy is wasted by the states in order not to grant you any visa or only when it is too late. One of my female colleagues got almost stuck in the Middle East because her visa expired due to a late flight arrival. And it was all just for a one-week business stay in New Zeeland! (Here our gratitude goes to the Spanish consular officers for handling the issue unburocratically and at their own risk!!).

In my activities I am always and everywhere a foreigner, and thus RESPECT is definitely my approach of choice. That is why I am a strong supporter of TOGETHER and not of SEPARATE, even when this often means that the pay off will only come in the long term.

In that sense: let us strengthen the TOGETHER.

Posted in Experiences, International management

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Europe on the rebound

Posted on Wednesday December 11th, 2013 by Marc Ambrock| 1 Comment

After six years of crisis, Europe is back; slowly so, but back. The euro has survived, the first structural measures have been implemented, the economic indicators are showing a light growth for next year and trust is quietly recovering. Not that all is now resolved, but…

The situation in the fast-growing emerging countries is not what many businesses from these markets were hoping for either. First, because these markets also need time for their development; second, because they too have to consolidate their growth; and third, there as anywhere else, is not all just about free trade. In short, there as well, all that glitters is not gold.

In the so-called BRIC countries, and for a series of reasons, any kind of production is not exactly made simple: trade barriers, poor quality of produced goods, just-in-time delivery made unrealistic by long delivery channels, some corruption, and last but not least, cultural barriers which greatly raise costs and do not match the immense expectations of the end client. As a result, many businesses are find themselves attracted again by Europe’s relative political and economic stability. On these grounds, Europe is considered the lesser evil.

Simultaneously America’s economy is rising; a country which has always been closer to Europe for cultural reasons, trusts more its institutions and also prefers to build on the long-standing connections with the Old Continent.

Even the Asian economy is leaning more towards Europe, in part conditioned by weakened exchange rates – like in India’s case – and in part by strategic reflections. This demonstrates that some of the old European industries are still setting the standards for the rest of the world. However, Europe also shows a divide, especially in regards to investors.  On the one side, there are solid industries, infrastructures and reliable institutions in Central Europe, on the other side, you see weakening states with less productivity, mostly in the South.

In our context of shrinking margins and higher cost pressure, these arguments weigh twice as much. That leads, in my view, to a London-Frankfurt-Zürich axis, where and which determines the central decisions and which the non-European investors also have to turn to. We will have to face these changes, whether we like it or not.

Yes, I do believe that Europe is coming back but I also think that so will the crisis if we don’t push for more reforms. Unfortunately at the moment, Mrs. Merkel is setting a rather poor example. For all that, and as a precaution, I am preparing myself for a long-lasting crisis, that is, for lasting and quick changes in the market circumstances.

Posted in International management

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Completely Guardiola or “nothing”

Posted on Monday November 4th, 2013 by Marc Ambrock| 2 Comments

I’ve always found quality exciting. And now I rejoice seeing with how much determination, assiduity and care the Catalan coach Josep Guardiola is revolutionising the already thriving FC Bayern Munich and leading it to success. And to bring forward my point straightaway, he is greatly helping his company (FC Bayern Munich) in its internationalisation!

Let me therefore review a couple of his qualities, in my view, which in Guardiola’s case as well as in the internationalisation of an export company can only lead to success in the long term:

Openness:  Already in his earlier days as a player in Italy, Guardiola quickly learnt and showed that one needs to be completely open and adapt to the local reality without however giving up on his own identity.

Learning capacity: openness is really the first step toward learning capacity, which is the ability, when in a new country, to accept the new circumstances how they are while building them in your, as yet, frame of experiences and perceptions. At the end of the day, it means progression, without which no business can survive.

Language skills: learning steadily is an essential cornerstone, which in an internationalisation process means first and foremost language skills. Not only because communication is in and of itself crucial to your surroundings, but also because language represents the key to culture and therefore to the market of the export country. When Guardiola gives sports journalists a post-game interview in German, one can only admire him, his language skills, his attitude and professionalism.

Humility: in his speeches we can observe this facet, which is a rare thing in today’s world: decency, vision and thoughtfulness linked with immense humility, a combination inherent only to great personalities.

Leadership ability: he gives clear indications, is constant and rigorous, and stands unconditionally by his players. But he also demands performance! This generates credibility and creates moral values, something necessary in every company.

Excellence: this leadership ability brings about quality, both a trademark of excellent companies and a motor of growth and international competitiveness.

Guardiola is considered with the respect granted to someone who lives up to his values, leads clearly and will probably bring FC Bayern Munich to new heights.

(I am revealing myself hereby as a fan of excellence, but also a fan of FC Bayern Munich and Josep Guardiola).

In that regard, my advice to export companies is “completely Guardiola or nothing”, as with half things you won’t go very far.

Posted in Experiences