New Blog

New blog address:

http://globalentrepreneurship.wordpress.com

Many thanks,

Mario Ferreira

Blue Ocean Strategy – Synopsis

Here is a synopsis of the Blue Ocean Strategy, which is the concatenation of the three posts about the strategy.

Blue Ocean Strategy – Synopsis.pdf

Doing Business in Brazil, Part 2. What is happening with Key Figures?

What is happening with the macroeconomic key figures and business analysts?

A couple of weeks ago I wrote this post and stopped. I was not satisfied with the content or the polemic, but it must be published, so here it is.

My opinion: Business analysts are completely lost, the numbers are no more reliable, the scenarios are planned with assumptions that can’t be proven, there are many points out of the curve, and they are following general expectations, avoiding personal compromise (Note: I like to analyse markets and businesses, and develop strategies, so maybe I should include myself in this group…).

Why Businesses fail?

Businesses fail because of people, period.

The effects of the failure can be observed, for example, on organization, processes, product or service, finances, marketing and sales.

The causes can be related, for example, with strategic planning, implementation, management, control, human resources, absence of competitive intelligence and external factors like market dynamics or government regulations.

How to manage foreign branches and when would your Leadership presence be necessary?

First, I will go there to study the market, to meet people, and to understand their habits, culture and practices.

Second, I will equate how to merge local “doing business” with companies needs and with local market practices, demand and opportunities.

Third, businesses are managed by people. You can have the best system and control implemented, but if you don’t have a liaison with key people at your branch, you will not know what actually will be happening there. So, it is fundamental to develop empathy and synergy with local staff.

Understanding Ethical Behaviour and International Businesses

First, we need to have a clear concept of what it is Ethics and the difference between the actions and processes of business development related with cultural aspects and Ethics.

The Colins Dictionary defines Ethics as moral beliefs and rules about right and wrong. An ethic of a particular kind is an idea or moral belief that influences the behaviour, attitudes, and philosophy of a group of people. Webster Dictionary defines as a discipline that deals with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation, or as the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group. Larrouse, a French Dictionary, defines as a part of philosophy that focus on the fundamentals of moral, or as the set of moral principles that are the base of conduct of anyone.

What induce more noise in international negotiations are the cultural aspects, which are misunderstood and confused with Ethical differences.

Negotiation, The Harvard Method

Negotiations, The Harvard Method

There are several negotiation strategies. One of them is the Harvard Method, which is explained in the book “Getting a Yes” from Roger Fisher, William Ury and Bruce Patton.

Another perspective is from Richard Shell, from Wharton School, and it can be read on the book “Bargaining for advantage”.

The book “Difficult Conversations” from Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen, has the focus on human behavior. Negotiations are developed by people, so it is important to understand their behavior.

This article is focused on the Harvard Method, the MIT Negotiations Course, and the Harvard Negotiation Project.

Should entrepreneurs get a MBA?

I was reading a polemic, at the blog of Martin Zwilling, if entrepreneurs should, or not, get a MBA and I would like to expose my idea about the matter.

We are always learning and will continue until dead. There is always something that could be improved and, to figure out, knowledge will facilitate the process.

I agree that many entrepreneurs develop their business skills with blood, sweat and tears, as I did. I co-founded two high tech start-ups and, after 25 years of “bloody times” and two companies…, I decided to get my MBA.

In theory, I should already know everything about running a business, but I can assure that I learned and rooted and improved a lot of processes and knowledge that I was already using, and also learned a lot of new things (state-of-the-art techniques, theories, new writers, new strategies, new “gurus”, and so on). Despite that I am a compulsive reader of everything about management, strategy, globalization and entrepreneurship.

I think, that if small entrepreneurs want to go to the “next stage” a little more smoothly, they really need to have more base, more knowledge, more tools to define strategies, controls, costs, sales and marketing plans, know how to manage people and even to get better terms in a negotiation.

The MBA will not solve all the problems, inclusively maybe none, but it will give the path to go deeper in subjects that are relevant, in some moments, to the entrepreneurs.

Also, teachers’ profile and methodologies will be fundamental to the learning process of entrepreneurs. I believe (a little utopian) that it should be different the process of teaching entrepreneurs from the process to teach recent under-graduates (profiles are different, as well personal objectives and knowledge).

So, maybe the choice of the MBA, school and content, will be fundamental, but that it will add knowledge can not be questionable.

Well, let me resume. I would advise, if possible, to get a MBA.

Doing Business in Brazil and the Current Scenario

I was reading some posts and news about the current crisis and diverse opinions about possible turnarounds, about the consequences in developing countries, some trends and forecasts, different perspectives and evaluations and the usually wizards’ visions of future, some with the Armageddon perspective and others with an optimistic vision of short-time crisis.

What make me develop this article was to contradict the people that suggest the worst scenario for our future.

The Buy American and the Butterfly Effect

It seems that are trying to test the Chaos Theory.

The greatest evangelists of open markets are now trying to change the rules, again, focusing on their benefits. In the 80’s Reagan and Thatcher promoted globally that all countries should open their markets, make the privatisation of their public companies and services, let financial markets work freely worldwide, and so on.