NP Walking....2/6

Would appear that the pay cut "administration" took hit the trenches. Rumour has it that Vurlinda, the nurse practicioner that was hired for Honey Grove, then bounced to West Paris RHC, was hit with the 10% cut--and quit.

One would think that: (a) She was bounced around initially. Has a longer drive to go to work. (b) She's a provider, and actually works for a living.

She probably had a contract. Have you heard of an ER group taking a paycut during their contract period? How about a hospitalist? They aren't given a "take it or leave it" ultimatium.

Wonder what it cost to recruit Vurlinda? Maybe they needed the additional numbers in the ER?

Look at your big toe----Ready? Aim...fire!

Davos Delivered

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Take in what's happening at the Annual Meeting Davos, 2009.

Valerie Jarrett, key assistant to USA President Barack Obama, says this:

We must enter a "new era of global financial responsibility."

World Economic Forum: Global Agenda (2009)

Going Global Out of the Gate

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Going global from day one, OleOle is a start-up founded by an American with a Chief Technology Officer who is a New Zealand resident. Much of OleOle's technology development is done in its New Zealand office.
The product is a social media platform for football (also known as soccer in the United States and New Zealand), with 10 language versions.
It began development in 2006, opened as a public beta in 2007 and officially launched in April this year.
Read more here.

Localization Solutions in a Global Marketplace

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Choosing a good-fit localization vendor such as Globalization Partners, CSOFT, Eriksen, LinguaLinx or Common Sense Advisory, for example, is not an easy feat. But you must at some point because going global is a good route for companies looking to weather the economic downturn.

Ms. Shunee Yee, CEO of CSOFT -- a localization/globalization firm -- says this:

Expansion into new markets can help companies stave off the ill effects of a volatile domestic economy. While gaining access to the global marketplace was once reserved for only the largest multinational companies, recent advancements in communication technology and trade have allowed companies of all sizes to enter the international arena. A critical step in reaching global markets is a well-crafted globalization strategy that allows for efficient product deployment that meets local cultural and language requirements. Localization has become the answer for businesses worldwide seeking to enter new markets efficiently and effectively.

More from CSOFT here.

Despite Economy, Ultra Large Ships Serve the World

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Thinking about moving all the contents out of your three-bedroom house and from one country to another? We know one of a handful of shipping lines you need to hire! No problem.

They have the capacity (more than ever right now due to tough times for global trade) to move 22,000 containers at a time. Yes, you read that right.

Read more here.

Happy Chinese New Year of the Ox

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May the New Year of the Ox bring you all the best -- happiness, good health, great prosperity (through fortitude and hard work) and abundant blessings in 2009.

Voice of America: Chinese Welcome the Year of the Ox.
Time: The Chinese Zodiac

Small Businesses Will Shape Our Future

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Tough times call for smart action. And it's inspiring to see that there is an intelligent program available that identifies small businesses with the greatest potential -- offered with the support of the U.S. Small Business Administration's Emerging 200 (e200) Initiative.

e200 helps small inner-city businesses that have substantial potential for growth connect with high-level training, networking and other resources that can help them succeed. The program was launched in 2007 in Milwaukee and nine other cities. This spring it will be expanded to 15 more.

"Programs like e200 are important because they help people create capacity," says Eric Ness, SBA district director for Wisconsin. "That's something we must do if we're going to be competitive in a global economy."

Small businesses will continue to help shape our future.

Discretion....2/1

Because our nation is experiencing difficult economic times and 2008 was a very challenging year for all hospital operators—the company has determined to forego the discretionary employer matching contribution under the 401k plan for 2008 for all employees.

Sincerely,

C. Therrien and M. Browder

NEW: See and answer the Poll (left.)

New Global Shopper Study

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A new global shopper study, “Shopper Decisions Made In-Store” (SDMIS,) reveals what’s truly happening in the world’s retail shopping aisles. An excerpt:

What works in China won’t work in Germany. Shoppers behave differently inside the store in every country.

Shoppers in China decide what category to buy from, which brand to choose and how much they will buy inside the store 88 percent of the time, but in Germany that number plummets to 38

No two countries are exactly alike. So when it comes to marketing to a Shopper, Marketers can think globally, but always need to act locally, armed with local expertise on how best to engage the Shopper in each country.

Global Small Business Trends for 2009

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Here's my list of top 10 global small business trends for 2009.

The Way The World Works

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According to Samuel J. Palmisano, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, IBM, something meaningful is happening worldwide (and it didn't just start yesterday in the U.S.A.).

A question he poses:

Ask yourself: As the planet becomes smarter, is my company—or my country—becoming smart enough to keep up, and to win?

Find out his thoughts here.

World, Meet Our New President of the United States of America: Barack Obama

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Making history, together.

Video of inauguration.

Global Celebration of the Life of Martin Luther King

On a Wing and a Global Prayer

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Miracles happen.

• iReporter: "It looked liked a perfectly smooth landing."
• AP: Survivors offer praise, gratitude after NY crash
• The Times: US Airways Plane Crashes in Hudson River
• 1549 to Tower: "We're Gonna End Up in the Hudson" -- includes video clip.
• Major hero: Pilot Chesley B. Sullenberg III (miracle, yes, but Sullenberg is also a glider pilot and extraordinarily smart -- we are all very blessed to have had him in charge)

Small Exporter in China

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I am a small exporter in China, and I have been deeply depressed because of the financial crisis. Please give me your advice about how to survive in this difficult time for small business owners, especially Chinese facing the downturn of the exporting market. ~ D.L., Dalian, China

Read BusinessWeek columnist Karen Klein's response here.

And I add: You can't cut your way to prosperity. Start innovating, get lean and look for and seize opportunities wherever in the world it makes sense (like an economy that is "open for business"). When things pick up, explore more options here.

Be conservative. Stay liquid. Don't retire.

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Read more of what Thunderbird (School of Global Management) Professor F. John Mathis, Ph.D., sees when he looks into the future.

Also take a good look here for more interesting research and opinion pieces, especially here.

Agree? Disagree? Let us know.

Get Tough On Trade

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The news is everywhere on how trade is declining sharply around the world. And it's hitting big and small companies. According to a WSJ article (1/14/09):

Falling trade also is cutting the U.S. trade deficit because imports are falling more than exports -- in November, U.S. imports fell 12 percent from the previous month compared with 5.8 percent for exports. The deficit shrunk to $40.4 billion from $56.7 billion in October; it was the smallest deficit in five years. That in turn helps raise estimates of U.S. fourth-quarter gross domestic product.

Despite the grim news, this is not a time for you to hunker down. It's a time to get tough, develop your global strategy and run a lean, mean global business machine. Check in here periodically for tips, resources and articles to keep you going and to learn as much as you can about expanding your business internationally. It can be done -- but you must stay focused. Visit here for some good advice too.

When the sun breaks through the dark economic clouds, you will be poised to take on the world.

America in the World

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Take a look at GlobalPost.com. The free, BOLD initiative (supported by ads) will offer frequent dispatches for an American audience to supplement coverage from the AP, Reuters and other news organizations still covering the world.

GlobalPost intends to sell stories that cut across national boundaries and tie the world together -- to papers to run in print or online. Their mission statement is here.

Startup feature question: What does the idea of America mean to the world? To find out, read: For Which It Stands

Small Business Advocate Could Head Ex-Im Bank

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Fred Hochberg, a longtime advocate of small business, could head Ex-Im Bank. Ex-Im Bank mission: To finance sales that the private sector considers too risky to fund on its own. Hochberg currently is dean of Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy.

Hochberg has a diverse business background:

• Held top positions at SBA (under Clinton administration).
• Was in direct sales industry positions.
• Spent bulk of his business career at Lillian Vernon Corporation, leading the transition from private enterprise to publicly traded company (president from 1989-1993). It appears he is the son of Lillian Vernon.

Ex-Im Bank has made an effort to emphasize lending to smaller companies -- $3.2 billion of its $14.4 loan authorizations last fiscal year went to finance exports by small firms.

"The SBA must assert itself more aggressively in the area of procurement to ensure that small businesses are receiving a greater share of federal contracts," he wrote in a 2006 op-ed in Inc. magazine.

Read the entire article here.

Introducing Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global (WEGG)

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We are happy to report the launch of a new social enterprise, Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global (WEGG / www.womenentrepreneursGROWglobal.org). WEGG will bring global opportunity to women entrepreneurs worldwide.

The Global Small Business Blog is the first official sponsor to WEGG.

Check out the roster of consequential thought-leaders who, when they have something juicy and relevant to report, will be contributing to WEGG:

Sharon Barner, Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP
Anita Campbell, CEO of Small Business Trends LLC
Raman Chadha, Executive Director of the Depaul University Coleman Entrepreneurship Center and on the faculty of the highly ranked academic program in entrepreneurship
Linda Darragh, Director of entrepreneurship programs for the Chicago Booth’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Adjunct Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship
Marsha Firestone, Ph.D., President and Founder of the Women Presidents’ Organization
Suzy Fox, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair, HRER, Loyola University Chicago — primary research interests center around the well-being of employees in the global workplace
Dawn Harris, Ph.D., Director, Gannon Center for Women and Leadership, Loyola University Chicago
Mary Joyce, Network Director, U.S. Department of Commerce, Midwest Export Assistance Centers
Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO, Women Entrepreneurs, Inc.
Steve King, Founding Partner, Emergent Research
Carolyn Okels, Founding Partner, Emergent Research and Small Business Labs
Leslie Schweitzer, Senior Trade Advisor for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Creator of the TradeRoots Initiative
Whenever you see a WEGG badge (noted above), it means the person is an official expert (as I am -- look at The Global Small Business Blog right sidebar) and contributor to WEGG.
We wish to thank Rosa Berardi, Program Manager, The Coleman Foundation for her special assistance and support to WEGG and, of course, we wish to thank our contributors for their willingness to share their knowledge.

Please visit us as often as you like (men are welcome too because a couple of our WEGG experts are men and some of the information will apply to both men and women alike). And definitely let us know when you catch any news, resources, research, events or women entrepreneurs doing great things worldwide that relates to Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global.

Cold Snowy Chicago Winter

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Above is a glimpse of what the weather is like in Chicago. Lots of snow with chilly winds. I bundled up, did some shoveling and took a daring walk by the lake to capture this moment.

Hope it's a little more bearable in your part of the world.

In the meantime, wet-cold-rain-snow, the folks at Wal-Mart are building an international empire.

Global Corporate Culture

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Tune in to Accenture's globalization channel.

Here's an example:

Maintaining a Common Corporate Culture Is a Big Concern for Global Executives

Letters To The Snooze....1/20

I saw this in the letters from readers, and thought: This has to go mainstream...

I agree in part with the editorial in a recent issue of the News regarding the future of your local hospital. I worked for the former McCusition Regional Medical Center in the 1990s, and until I left for Colorado in 1999, I was proud to be an employee at that facility, and promoted it as best I could.

I also worked for Christus St. Joseph amid the Essent-run PRMC for a short while, and could readily tell the difference between the two. I was not then, nor am I now, impressed with the Essent way of doing things, nor how they treat employees and communicate with the community.

I also disagree strongly with PRMC CEO Chris Dux’s statement about how much black ink the hospital has. A quick search at the ahd.com website would show that PRMC was in the red as recently as last year, as was every Essent facility save one. Perhaps the layoffs and other financial cutbacks will help the so-called bottom line, but only time will tell. One could also make the excuse that decreased Medicare and Medicaid payments are the root cause ­— they’re part of the problem, but not all of it. It takes two to tango, and in my opinion Essent is out of step here.

I am not the “anonymous blogger” Essent is looking for, but I am a former Paris resident who feels that the community deserves better than the facility Essent has running now. I am 100 percent for a decent medical center for my former neighbors and friends, but I don’t think Essent is the one to provide it.

Amen, brother....

Globalization Repaired

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Chris White over at Good Gold Global was kind enough to comment about a Newsweek article, "How To Fix Globalization," in our Re-embrace Globalization post and I wanted to make sure everyone saw it.

Read more here. At the same time, check out The Global Elite video on the 50 most powerful people in the world.

Magic Bullet....2/3

From the comments:

It is strange that the upper managment of Essent seems to think that the "Cardiac Center of Excellence" will provide the resources to make their investment payoff. Cardiac surgery does not pay its own way. The diagnostic caths are no longer the cash cows that they were earlier before the costly drug eleuding stents came out (they cost many times more than medicare will pay in the DRG.)

Meanwhile, the hospital continues its crazy scheme of cutting services to achieve profitability. They have hired yet another consultant to ask the staff what they feel are important goals of the hospital which might turn things around.

Any businessman knows that in a profit squeeze you can reduce costs some; but the way out is to grow goods and services. Hiring a consultant to tell you what needs to be done--while smart in some cases--is not in this case. What the hospital needs to do is get back to the basics of providing quality medical services to Paris.

The cardiac service is now a reality, so press ahead with a plan to get serious about basic services. FOR HEAVENS SAKE QUIT CUTTING RN'S WITH EXPERIENCE. If you must cut, cut some of the GN's who are barely able to find their A__ with both hands. The so- called Terrorists may have been your best asset--in that their terrorism might have been to disagree with your self-destructive behavior toward patient safety and basic patient needs. Sometimes listening to people who disagree with you can save your butt!

However; I doubt that The Duck has ever really lisned to anyone in his life. Even carrying on a conversation with him is an exercise in futility. Moving north is the answer to so much, but doing it without moving Psych and Dubois is nuts! Going from a total of 11 ORS between the two Campuses to 6 (counting Cysto ) will cause further loss of surgical cases and provide the impetus for someone building a short stay hospital (which would be the end of Essent in Paris.)

...and this is where I diverge...

(and , by my calculations be the wrong answer for the community, since a short stay hospital would take the cream off the top of reimbursement, forever dooming the chances of a viable General Hospital in Paris) Let us pray that by some Providencial miracle Essent can survive. Who knows, if they do, they may be able to sell out to an entity who dosn't depend on GE and GMAC financing to simply meet payroll month to month.

I think a general hospital is possible--assuming that in this climate that any hospital in this community can make it. One aspect of an Obama presidency might be an increased level of insured coverage. That will help all hospitals.


The Essent Problem is not the 'terrorists', necessary or otherwise, the problem is planning--or lack of. When you have the long arm of Essent directing this marionette show, confusion of purpose is inevitable. How well have they been in tune with the community so far????

(...and no one stays employed if Essent feels they aren't 'necessary', terrorist or not....)

The Magnificent Seven: Global Business Books in 2008 Worth a Read

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A couple of noteworthy global business books that were published in 2008:

1. A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World

2. Global Business Leadership

3. Globality: Competing With Everyone From Everywhere For Everything

4. globalization: n. the irrational fear that someone in China will take your job

5. New Frontiers in Free Trade: Globalization's Future and Asia's Rising Role

6. Street Smarts for Global Business

7. The New Age of Innovation: Driving Co-Created Value Through Global Networks (CK is one of my favorite authors -- book pictured above)

We will be making the adjustment to Borderbuster on Squidoo soon.

Blog Series On Internationalizing Your Company

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Over at the OPEN Forum by American Express, I'm doing a blog series on internationalizing your company. Here's Part 2: Building Your Crack Export Team of what will become a 5-part series.

And the usual ... if you find it useful, say so. If not, let me know why. Many thanks.

Borderbuster 2009

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In case you are not a subscriber to our world famous Borderbuster e-newsletter (www.globetrade.com/borderbuster.htm), we want to share point No. 8 of today's edition.

8. EVERYBODY LOVES A FREEBIE: BEYOND THE CRISIS: THE FUTURE OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY*Subscriber Exclusive*
On October 23, 2008, at a conference developed by Big Think and sponsored by strategy+business, financier George Soros, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, and Nobel Prize–winning economist Robert Merton discussed and debated the current global financial crisis in New York City. Tom Stewart, the chief marketing and knowledge officer of Booz & Company, moderated the event, which took place at City University of New York.

Tune-in to the videocast here.

=> Don't miss another edition of Borderbuster in 2009. Sign up here.

Re-embrace Globalization

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In case you missed it, The Economist has a special edition out called The World in 2009. Pick up a copy. It's worth a read, especially the Time to Re-embrace Globalization commentary by Jeff Immelt, chairman and chief executive of General Electric.

He urges business and political leaders to embrace competition, not protectionism, as the way through economic turmoil and his last Point No. 6 is spot-on:

6. Each of us must contribute. Developed and developing countries, governments and industry, shareholders and employees -- we all share a responsibility to make meaningful contributions to protect and strengthen the international trading system.

Thomas Edison, GE's founder, used to say that people don't recognize opportunity because it "usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work." To succeed in our swarming global economy, leaders must not resist the challenge but relish the opportunity, especially in these harder economic times. True leaders must re-embrace globalization.

Take the Plunge: Borderbust in 2009

Global entrepreneurship in action! We are happy to report that a simple, reflective walk by the lake -- one year ago today capturing an experience -- has brought fun, joy and fame (a little) into my life.

On the eve of our new year, I was notified that I am a finalist for the 1,000 Words Annual Photo Issue contest through the Chicago Reader. Winners will be announced in the next couple of days by a drawing (which I am relieved to hear because if they seriously judged with a panel of experts, my photo (as shown above) would never cut it against the 23 others; you absolutely must take the time to view them all ... powerful, creative work).

Backstory on photo: It's Polar Bear Plunge Day in Rogers Park, Illinois where I live and folks on the first day of the new year strip off their clothes and jump into the lake regardless of what the temperature is. How wild is that?! There must be similar sorts of traditions in other parts of the world (please share). And on this particular day, 1/1/08, when I took the photo, it was 22 degrees F.

So whether you realize it or not, global entrepreneurship plays into every aspect of our life. A natural, self-expressive act -- anywhere in the world -- can end up generating revenue. In this case, if we win, a U.S. $150 Best Buy gift certificate will be ours to spend as we see fit (maybe donate to a worthwhile social enterprise). But isn't that what global entrepreneurship is all about? Making a living out of doing good, setting out to change the world and pursuing a passion?

Let's keep our fingers crossed that we come out a winner in 2009! Stay tuned.

Now to you my reader. It's your turn. Take the plunge and borderbust in 2009. Let's work together to make that happen. You'll come out a winner too!

Happy New Year!