For most of us, being able to listen to the wisdom of the world’s top business leaders – however concise it is – is a rare opportunity. While many business books today may quote and extract what some of these successful people have to say and expand the ideas within the scope of the titles, it is less common to read books focused on business leaders revealing their personal lessons learned to the readers. I did not expect myself to finish this little booklet in one setting but I did. I simply could not put down “Doing Business Globally” (96 pages) and was drawn to what each of the 14 world leaders has to say.
All 14 lessons derived from Fifty Lesson‘s video library of interviews are full of impact and are memorable. It is because they are personal and the real life stories drawn from doing business in China, India, Afghanistan, Australia, Malaysia, Africa, and etc. have much to learn from all of us. Some of the lessons have left a deeper impression to me and to name a few, I enjoy reading the materials provided by:
- Jimmy Wales – Founder, Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation
- Michael Dell – Founder, CEO, and Chairman, Dell
- Bryan Sanderson – Former Chairman, Standard Chartered
- Neville Isdell – Chairman, Board of Directors, and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company
Each lesson is about 500 to just over 1,000 word count, which in my opinion is the right length in today’s popular digital media world. The topics covered in “Doing Business Globally” include branding and time to market in a globalized local environment, integrating a global organization with varied cultural background, doing business in countries that value relationship more than contractual obligation, fostering a global online community, and more.
This book is an admirable effort by the Fifty Lessons team. Check out their website address at the end of this post. “Doing Business Globally” is one of their 11-book series. And it is one book that deserves to be read multiple times. These are valuable lessons learned by world’s successful business leaders. It is worth the effort to internalize them and put them to work in your curent or your future roles.
External Website: Fifty Lessons