Global Leaders

Transition rarely comes without a mess but messes are rarely so horrible that they cannot be cleaned up.

In term of influence, better speak English, Spanish,Russian or French than Mandarin 

It is not always wise to follow this advice when living and working abroad:  When in Rome, Act Like the Romans.”  

This article offers an interesting perspective on the Ukraine conflict.

Russians do not have the same logic regarding money than Western Europe or the U.S., so more economic sanctions toward Russia actually reinforce the patriotism of Russian people and make them feeling more and more misunderstood and unfairly treated by the West.

Here two examples:

Everybody in Europe was surprised that Mr Putin banned importation of fresh products from EU into Russia as a reply of Western financial sanctions, resulting in a sharp increase of local prices and triggering a 20 % inflation.

Although Russia does not produce those vegetables, fruits or cheeses, the majority of Russians are convinced it is good for their country in the long run and are ready to pay the price to boost "Made in Russia" products that actually do not and will not exist.

Saying that one of the reasons that Russians annexed Crimea was to reduce the costs of delivering gas to Europe is also a big misunderstanding of the Russian motives and values in this conflict.

As a result, Europeans were caught totally by surprise when Russian Gazprom, the world's biggest natural gas supplier, announced its decision to cut totally its gas shipment to Europe via Ukraine’s Soviet-era network and replace it by a new line under the black sea to Turkey. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/... ;)

This decision is again totally absurd economically for Russia, but it has a logic you can find in History : the Russians preferred to burn Moscow rather than giving its resources to Napoleon when he arrives in the city in 1812.

I totally agree with the conclusion of this article and the metaphor about the wounded bear. I am afraid though that the misunderstanding between Russians and the West will continue to grow until eventually everything get burned.

After 25 years of expatriation, experiencing very different cultures such as Japan, United States or Russia,  I think I fit very well with the definition of an enthusiastic expatriate : I feel comfortable almost anywhere. 

I consider myself a successful "serial" expatriate and I think the following characteristics are very important :

1-Curiosity with a  thirst for experiencing "otherness"

2 Humility with willingness to learn different ways of thinking 

3-A strong family with high resilience and an adventurous spirit

4- Deep knowledge about who you are,  your strengths, weaknesses

5-Creativity and flexible attitude toward new challenges

6- Not afraid to step out of your comfort zone 

7-Future oriented mindset

If expatriation is an addiction then by definition it means you can't stop moving even if it would be reasonable to settle down. Sometimes this is called the  "Three Year Syndrome": some expats, get bored, after 3 years, especially if they have no other job than being an expat partner and did not blend with the local culture by establishing a network of local friends.

There is  another reason why some expats move so often: with the globalization and the development of virtual teams, with some exceptions, there is no need to have long term expats once the knowledge transfer has been done. 

There is also more and more people who work abroad  who are not sent by big multinational companies but hired locally. The problem is then to find ways to keep a job until you can retire.  Most of the time those people are forced to move to other countries where they can transfer their unique skills.

What type of expat are you ?

Very useful for people using English as second language 

Global leadership:: How to develop Intercultural competence

"Our national memories have the passion and power to drive us blindly to hatreds and to war"

History is actually biased opinions based on popular stories that people believe as facts and do not challenge.

Those stories are used to exacerbate our patriotism: "our stories" versus "the "enemy stories". They are used in propaganda and to manipulate the public opinion toward a common goal : eliminating the enemy.

For example, Hillary Clinton, on March 5, said that Putin’s concern for Russians in Ukraine is like Hitler’s concern for Germans in Poland and Czechoslovakia.

This is a very good example of manipulation: 

Labeling Putin as "Hitler" is a sure way to activate a demon in the American national memory and to mobilize the United States to again fight the evil personified (just like Saddam Hussein, Fidel Castro, Chavez, Allende or Gaddafi , to name a few of many leaders that have

been called "Hitler" by American politicians")

Russians are looking at Ukraine as increasing the threat of being invaded. After the collapse of the USSR, many previous Soviet republics in Eastern Europe are now members of NATO with military bases. Ukraine and Belarus are actually the last soviet republics that are not EU members.

Each era of  Russian history has had its military super-power, and each super-power in turn attacked Russia: Turks, Poles, Swedes, French, Germans, British, and Japanese have each invaded Russia more than once.

"The main reason that expats are leaving is that if they are paid in dollars, euros, pounds, etc., then they have suddenly become doubly expensive," he said.

Foreigners who come over on a corporate contract, "will stay if their particular business is doing OK, but many will find themselves sent home or to another market."