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What does it mean that by 2020, 70% of global market growth is expected to come from emerging
markets? Will excessive pollution curtail manufacturing in some urban zones? How will big data and
nanotechnology alter things? Immigration? Extreme weather events? Become a student of global
trends and leverage the insights to inform your decisions and strategy. Always keep one eye toward
the horizon.

Want to learn more? Take a deep dive…

Beinhocker, E., Davis, I., & Mendonca, L. (2013). The 10 trends you have to watch. Harvard
Business Review.

Edin, P., Lingqvist, O., & Tamsons, A. (2012, July 26). The best sales leaders are trend hunters.
Harvard Business Review Blog Network.

Rubin, J. (2013, June 19). Top recruiter to CIOs: Time to broaden your background and show some
charisma. Forbes.

4. Personal biases blocking your ability to think globally? Explore your own beliefs and biases.
Just as it would be hard for a fish to understand the concept of water—because it has always lived in
it—it’s not always easy to see the confines of one’s own perspectives. People grow up in a given
culture and accept this as the natural (and possibly superior) way. The Hopi Indians in the
southwestern United States have one word for snow. The Inuit of Alaska, on the other hand, have
many different words for snow that reflect the many ways their lives interact with snow. A Hopi
couldn’t survive very well in Alaska with just one snow concept. How might your experience
unwittingly influence or limit your take on things? Notice how your closely held beliefs affect the way
you make decisions, engage people, or contribute to the workplace. How do they color what you
expect from others? Practice challenging your biases. Think outside your normal parameters when
you’re working on projects that would benefit from a different or wider angle.

5. Spend most of your time with like-minded people? Connect with diverse individuals. Spend
time socially or at work functions with those who are broad in viewpoint and diverse in background.
Make it a point to discover new information and exchange ideas. Volunteer to work with people you
haven’t had much one-to-one conversation with—senior citizens, the disabled, at-risk youth,
immigrants. Host a foreign exchange student for a semester. Build empathy and mutual
understanding with people not just like you. On the work front, assemble a team of people of varying
perspectives and backgrounds for an important project. Studies show that teams of people with the
widest diversity of backgrounds produce the most innovative solutions to problems. Go broad with
people to help analyze and make sense of issues.

6. Stick to the known when traveling abroad? Expand your horizons. Many people opt for
adventure “lite” when exposed to a new country or culture. Adventure lite means sticking to business
hubs and mainstream tourist sites. Staying in high-rent spots or corporate housing that separates
expats from the local culture. If you seek out what’s familiar when traveling outside your home
country, you are likely to miss prime opportunities to build diverse experiences. Transformative global
experiences are crucial for developing effective global leaders. That means experiencing what the
real norm is there. Find ways to get involved directly in the local scene. Work alongside local people.

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