The World Cup is one of the most watched events on the planet. According to the latest statistics, approximately 3.4 billion, almost half of the planet population, was expected to tune in to at least one match. That is something great! Such a huge amount of people unified by one same passion; yet, it might not be such good news for the productivity of some businesses. Do you know how the World Cup affects productivity?
Productivity will take a hit according to the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the Statista Portal.
In fact, an entire month of excitement is a big distraction, especially for the nations with a team in the tournament. Sixty-four matches will be played throughout the 4 weeks, several of them during regular working hours. There will be casual fans that will watch some games, other fans will plan on watching every single game, and others will travel to the host country leaving everything behind to follow their teams for an entire month.
So, which countries’ productivity was more affected in this world cup?
According to Statista Portal, the potential effect of the World Cup at the workplace will depend largely on the time zone.
The host country this year was Russia, thus if you were in Asia or Australia the impact was low as the games started at night. In the United States, the majority of the games were played during regular working hours. Countries in Latin America with the highest number of soccer fans, like Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina were watching the games during the day.
On the other hand, if you were traveling overseas for a business trip, organized a meeting, or you were closing a negotiation in a country that was part of the World Cup and you were not aware of how schedules and productivity were affected during those days, you need to increase your international business ability.
For a global business leader it is key to develop his international business ability, clearly, understand the worldwide industry and business operations. Furthermore, learning and understanding the behavior and habits of their customers, as well as the strategic risk associated with operations in different parts of the world.
How can you develop your international business ability?
Whether you are working on an international assignment, preparing to launch your business globally, or just traveling for business to another country, you can avoid shameful and expensive oversights that can occur if you are not developing your global mindset. Here are some important points to consider:
- As mentioned in the previous blog, be intentional in your country selection, start increasing your interest in that culture or region that will help you meet your goals.
- Dive into their culture and understand their work style. We can help you achieve this step.
- Learn their language. Yes, it sounds basic but it is usually underestimated. Even some few words can help you connect with others.
- Study the country or region, its economy, relevant social and political affairs. Also, examine your industry, business operations, customer behaviors, and your competitors. Researching the marketplace is one of your best tools.
- Learn about Import/export and trade laws for your industry in that country. You might want to hire an expert on this field in order to stay up to date with the information but you can also access popular domain information online that can give you some good insight as a point of reference when you first begin.
- Start a new network of people around this new place or culture in order to develop new relationships. Visit the place as many times as you can and start networking with people who are aware of your election.
And many more! How can you start increasing your interest and curiosity in new cultures?
As global leaders, we should not underestimate the value of having a global mindset. Developing your international business ability will take you to a higher level of global leadership.
If you want to minimize misunderstandings, maximize productivity and results by developing your global mindset. Let’s have a conversation. You can start achieving better results today! Let’s talk about how LEADINFORCE can benefit you, your team and your company.
Question: What is your next step to increase your international business ability?