Conflict is good for an organization. Although the word is often associated with an altercation, conflict encompasses any disagreement—which is not necessarily bad. Conflict naturally results when people have different needs, opinions, or perspectives. Successful global leaders actively foster a culture that celebrates diversity of thought and experience, encourages the civil exchange of ideas, and embraces differences of opinion. In short, they foster a culture of conflict.

Profitability and productivity—two metrics that matter. As the global business and employment environment becomes increasingly competitive, it is essential that companies find ways to set their workforce apart. Organizations want to be productive, profitable, and innovative—but vague, ill-defined ideals are difficult to achieve when those executing them do not understand the specific roles they play and steps to take. The best way to ensure that companies and their employees

Blackberry dominated the smartphone market in the mid-to-late 2000s. With a 50 percent market share in the United States, and 20 percent globally, prospects looked good for the Canadian based company. Many even nicknamed their product the “crackberry” because of its massive consumer demand. But their good fortune didn’t last; Blackberry’s total market share today sits at 0 percent. The cause for Blackberry’s fall? The smartphone industry changed, and the company didn’t change

Rajshree walks through the process of applying for private and public grants. She started applying for research grants while pursuing her PhD and got used to writing and applying for them. There is a small chance of success and her recommendation is to keep applying even when you don’t get it. With public grants, she recommends you apply when you are part-way through the research process so you can show credibility. The panel of people reviewing your NSF grant are looking to

Pixar has never disappointed. With just over 20 feature-length films released in the past 25 years, each film has earned more than $300 million in worldwide revenue. What is the key to Pixar’s success? According to Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar, president of Walt Disney Animation Studios, and author of Creativity, Inc., it’s building creative teams. Quoting from his book, Catmull states that “If you give a good idea to a mediocre team, they will screw it up. If you give a m

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017 and Utah Business’s 2019 CEO of the Year, Case Lawrence,is the chairman andfounder of the globaltrampoline park brandCircusTrix. What started as a side business to earn extra income during the 2008 recession, quickly turned into a nationwide and then international business. Throughout his experience growing locally and globally, Lawrence learned three valuable lessons: Never enter another country without local partners Don’t expe

Summary: Join us as Case Lawrence discusses what it was like to make CircusTrix a global business and the principles he used to make it successful. Bio: Case Lawrence is the Founder and CEO of CircusTrix—one of the largest developers and operators of trampoline parks in the world. CircusTrix has been a Top 10 Fastest Growing Company in Utah for a number of years and has been an Inc. 5000 Company for 3 straight years. In 2017, Lawrence was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of t

Judith Hornok—or “The Decoder” as some people know her—is the founder and CEO of the innovation company Hornok & Partner. There, she helps organizations improve business relationships in the Gulf states by assisting them in understanding the Arab psyche. Hornok’s interest in learning about people has led her to study what she coined to be the “special codes” of people across the globe. Hornok defines a decoder as “a person who invests a lot of time in studying people, their s

Chloe Andersen is a manager of learning and development at Amazon. She completed her undergraduate degree in Geography at BYU Hawaii and her MBA at BYU. After receiving her MBA, Andersen accepted a full-time position in human resource (HR) management at Citigroup in New York City, NY with high hopes of working abroad. Two years later, Andersen secured an overseas rotational position in Tokyo, Japan and accepted a permanent position abroad at the completion of her rotation. Af

There are approximately 2,000,000 saunas in Finland, a country with a total population around 5,500,000. That’s a sauna for every two to three individuals. It’s no wonder saunas are such a hot place for making connections and forming relationships. For a population that is fairly reserved in discussing personal topics in their normal business relationships, it is nice to have a place forblowing off steam and connect with those who typically hold a very professional demeaner.

Gregory Newell discusses how businesses in the United States have certain advantages in today’s global market. Transcript I must still say that the great value of American enterprise is the freedom to think, freedom in innovate, freedom to take the risk, freedom to fail, freedom to succeed. Almost everywhere we have been, the U.S. goods and services have had great value. 1) It’s typically state of the art. 2) It’s, generally speaking, a high quality performance. 3) It’s aspir

After growing up in Washington state, graduating with a Master of Accountancy from Brigham Young University, and starting a career with one of the Big4 accounting firms in San Jose, an international career seemed distant for Jeff Jenkins. But it was always a dream of his to work globally. Here are some key points from his Cultural Conversations podcast, where he walks us through his journey to working abroad. Work for International Opportunity After starting with Deloitte in

In this episode, we talk with Jeff Jenkins, Senior Manager in National Office Accounting Consultations at Deloitte in their Finland office. Jeff shares his experiences and how he got to this point. He touches on work culture in Finland, and what the Finnish culture means for his family. Guest: Jeff Jenkins grew up in Spokane, Washington before his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Accounting at BYU. He started with Deloitte in the Bay Area before taking on his current opport

There are currently more than 760,000 small businesses in Malawi that produce annual revenues of about U.S. $2 billion (Mawila.com). And although it’s not currently on the list of emerging markets, running a business in Malawipresents opportunity for future growth and provides quality service to a population in need. But managing a major business in Malawi is no walk in the park, especially when native culture and various regulations stand in the way. Here a few challenges ex

Brazilians are known for taking long lunches, lasting up to two hours each day. The main reason for a long midday break is because lunch is viewed by Brazilians as those from the United States view dinner – a larger meal that is more social and relaxing. Thus, individuals take time to be with friends and family, build work relationships, and relax over lunch. Some suggest that the duration of lunch in Brazil has been influenced by the tradition of siestas in Spain. Spanish In

Overview: Dean Carolina Núñez discusses her background, her work as an immigration lawyer and the effects she saw that immigration can have in both business and government policy, and her work in multiple other organizations. Guest: Carolina Núñez is the Associate Dean for Faculty and Curriculum and Professor of Law at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School. She is a summa cum laude graduate of the Brigham Young University Law School and Managing Editor of the

Overview: In this episode Jennifer Birtcher talks all about her experience living abroad for over 20 years. From Kenya to Saudi Arabia to Switzerland she’s found HR roles wherever she has gone. Guest: Jennifer Birtcher is an accomplished human resources leader with experience in many different industries and countries. She has lived and worked in England, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya, among others. With experience working for large companies such as Saudi Aramco and N

In today’s episode of The Top Three Things Clint Reid Founder & CEO of Zonos talks to us all about cross-border business. He shares what he has learned about the difficulties of doing business across borders and technology he helped create to improve the process. Guest: Clint Reid: Founder and CEO of Zonos, the leading cross-border technology company. During Clint’s previous work experience focused on international logistics with DHL and UPS he observed many pain points in gl

In the United States, the phrase “It’s not what you know; it’s who you know,” is frequently repeated (and oftentimes accurate) in business. What if the expression went one step further, becoming even more exclusive? In the world of Nigerian oil and gas, it’s not just what and who you know, it’s who you are. Nigeria is Africa’s largest exporter of crude oil. In 2017, Nigerian exports of crude oil brought in a whopping $33.3 billion, making it the eighth-largest exporter of cru

Meet Veasna Neang, a Cambodian educated in the United States, who developed his career in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. He tells us why a student would rather unzip his own pants than tell a teacher his fly is open and why doing business efficiently in Asia always includes significant time socializing. #Conversation #Environment #Learning #Communication #International #Cambodia #Culture #Management #Business