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I was recently interviewed by Canada's New World Magazine on the topic of International Trade. They focused on my role as a director for the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada. Thought you might like the article so here is the link:  http://www.canadasnewworld.com/news/?news_action=view&news_id=83&ret=%2Fnews%2Findex.php

Launching for Success Overseas

Living next to the biggest economy in the world is both good news and bad news for Canadian businesses looking to expand internationally.

The good news is that the Americans are a lot like us. They have an open and democratic government, their legal system parallels Canada’s, the predominant language is English and we share the world’s longest undefended border. It is logical that the first stop for many Canadian companies is the United States.

The challenge is that the very things that make business in the US easy makes it difficult for Canadians to do business with other countries. The international trade focus has been decidedly southward. Canada/US bilateral trade is roughly $1 billion a day. Canadian companies sell more to Home Depot USA each year that we sell to France. All of our annual trade with India only amounts to 19 days of trade with the US. The US is our largest trading partner buying 75% of our exports. Our next largest partner? The United Kingdom which buys only 2.7%.

In the past the US was seen as simply an extension of the Canadian market. All of the Canadian rules seem to apply. Find a young salesperson in the company who doesn’t mind travelling, send them to a trade show, schmooze some potential customers, get home, follow up by email and sales will follow. For success - repeat the formula.

The reality is that outside of Canada and the United States these rules do not apply. International trade is just not that easy.

With the exception of some spectacular successes like Research in Motion and its Blackberry, Canadians have not done well in the larger world of international trade. We are well behind other countries which have made international trade a serious focus, including the Japanese, Chinese and many European countries.

What are the solutions?

1)      It is all about personal relationships. Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney once said that “If a person does not believe that personal relationships are important in diplomacy then that person understands neither.” So it is with international business. It is only in Canada and the United States where we believe that email can replace a face to face meeting; that a fax machine can replace a handshake or bow. It all starts with people.

2)      We need more generalists. Canadian governments and educational institutions have driven us to be over credentialed. There is a degree and a designation for everything. The challenge is that to be successful internationally companies must hire people who not only understand business but know, and understand, domestic and international law, political science, anthropology, sociology, psychology, economics and geography. Remember it is all about people not degrees.

3)      We need linguists. There is a joke heard anywhere English is not the first language. “What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual. “Two languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone who speaks one language/? North American.!” In India all university students are required study English; China is poised to have the largest population of English speakers in the world. In Europe, high school students graduate speaking three or four languages. In Canada we still fight over official bilingualism. The rest of the world has moved on. They realize that speaking the language of the customer is what counts toward success– not domestic politics.

4)      We need long term goals – and cooperation. Our competitors are in international trade for the long term. They realize you cannot plan based on the next business quarter or the next election cycle. In many countries Canadians are considered fair-weather business partners - there when business in going well – out as soon as the sledding gets a little tough. International trade requires both courage and stamina. Governments, educators and business must develop, work together on, and stick with a, comprehensive long-term international trade strategy.

There is no question the United States, if for no other reason that proximity, will always be our largest trading partner. We should celebrate, and jealously protect, the close relationship we have with our southern neighbours and ally.

However, developing new markets and new relationships should also be a national focus. Every business knows survival depends on holding old customers close and finding new ones at the same time.

Other countries understand the rules and it is time Canada really got into the game.

(THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED ON THE TROY MEDIA WEBSITE)