The Globalization of Business Has Created Unprecedented Competitiveness

One of the most profound effects of the Internet age is the shrinking of our planet. Advances in computing, Internet connectivity and mobile technology bring people together in ways we never could have imagined. A colleague, friend, business prospect or complete stranger is never more than a click away. This globalization of business and, at a more basic level, human connections, changes everything.

The possibilities presented by the instant and global exchange of information ushered in a new era of global trade, an era where the most sought-after commodity is knowledge. Companies have unprecedented access to talented minds across the globe, completely changing the face of how businesses recruit and nurture knowledge workers. The old way of doing business doesn’t exist, and those who cling to the past soon find themselves out of business.

With the intensely competitive world economy and recent global financial meltdown, businesses and individual contributors have been challenged to adapt to a new set of rules or face utter failure.

These new rules are striking in contrast to the old. Instead of hierarchical, stifling management structures, global businesses transition to a labour force with a newfound freedom to set its own pace, with flexible work arrangements, new wage options, incentives and even ownership paths.

These new standards mark a vital shift in business, where individual contributions to the whole are the true power behind the globalization of business - not just trade routes and supply chains.

This revolutionary people-driven business model is a primary driver toward the future of collaboration.

As companies tap into global talent pools, expand supply chains or reach into entirely new customer bases, individuals and businesses of all sizes and scales now play in the global economy.

The keys to actualizing competitive superiority in this new global market lie in nurturing talented people and connecting those minds across the globe.

Today, every human resource in every country must interconnect and collaborate for the overall success of a global organization. The BYOD and BYOA phenomena, the consumerization of IT and the ubiquity of social media make this global collaboration possible. Technology enables the global workforce to collaborate in real time, facilitating near-immediate reactions to changes in the world market and reducing time-to-market, lowering costs and enhancing worker productivity.

The business value for companies, whether derived from acquiring the best talent regardless of geography, or capitalizing on new and untapped foreign markets, is potentially unmatched.

Like it or not, we have all been “globalized” and we must ensure we take full advantage of the new and exciting opportunities – “Brave New World?”

Jonathan Farrington is the CEO of Top Sales World and the editor of Top Sales Magazine. TSW is a unique, international online community dedicated exclusively to the profession of sales, bringing together the industry’s best-known sales experts to provide information in the form of how-to-guides, articles, webinars, podcasts and so much more. He is also the principal of Jonathan Farrington & Associates, a consultancy focused on helping clients prepare sales teams for the future. For more articles, thoughts, white papers etc. please visit Jonathan's personal website, Jonathan Farrington.