Being Global: A book review by Bob Morris
Being Global: How to Think, Act, and Lead in a Transformed World
Ángel Cabrera and Gregory Unruh
Harvard Business Review Press (2012)
How and why business leaders who develop a global mindset can help their companies to transcend cultural barriers
Companies cannot become global leaders unless and until their executives “think, act, and lead [them effectively] in a turbulent, transformed world.” This requires a global mindset. Ángel Cabrera and Gregory Unruh provide in this book an abundance of information, insights, and counsel that will help executives in almost any organization (whatever its size and nature) to develop that mindset.
More specifically, leaders who “act as bridge builders, connectors of global resources and talent, dedicated to finding new ways to create value…They have experienced the difficulties of crossing lines in a world that is becoming more tightly connected yet no flatter, where the nuances and differences across cultures are becoming, if anything, more visible and critical. They have found ways to navigate uneven terrain, close gaps, and make a difference for people around the world.” Thus have Cabrera and Unruh identified only a few of many dimensions of what a global mindset must accommodate.
These are among the several dozen passages that caught my eye:
o How global leaders connect, create, and contribute (Pages 23-27)
o Why new global business requires a global mindset (32-39)
o The major benefits of a global mindset for a business (82-86)
o Why global citizenship is an uncommon path to common solutions (121-123)
o How to build prosperity for everyone involved in the given enterprise (140-147)
o How and why leadership makes a difference (169-174)
o The obligations and privileges of “global citizenship” (180)
To their credit, Cabrera and Unruh immediately establish and then sustain a direct and personal rapport with their reader. Thus, when approaching the conclusion of their book, they pose a question and then respond to it: “What can you do to ensure you continue to stretch your global mindset, that your ability to find and create new value remains nimble, and that you continue to value the contributions and protect the interests of those around you? The first step is to recognize that your learning never ends…To strengthen your global entrepreneurship, you need to put yourself in positions that allow you to apply your global mindset to create value…And to grow as a global citizen, you must constantly renew your commitment to making a difference by surrounding yourself with individuals who can support and strengthen your resolve.”
No brief commentary such as this can do full justice to the scope and depth of material that Ángel Cabrera and Gregory Unruh provide in this book. However, for executives in organizations that are or aspire to become global leaders, I think this is a “must read.” I also highly recommend it to executives in other organizations that seek to strengthen their relationships with client partners who are global leaders.
Being Global: A book review by Bob Morris
Being Global: How to Think, Act, and Lead in a Transformed World
Ángel Cabrera and Gregory Unruh
Harvard Business Review Press (2012)
How and why business leaders who develop a global mindset can help their companies to transcend cultural barriers
Companies cannot become global leaders unless and until their executives “think, act, and lead [them effectively] in a turbulent, transformed world.” This requires a global mindset. Ángel Cabrera and Gregory Unruh provide in this book an abundance of information, insights, and counsel that will help executives in almost any organization (whatever its size and nature) to develop that mindset.
More specifically, leaders who “act as bridge builders, connectors of global resources and talent, dedicated to finding new ways to create value…They have experienced the difficulties of crossing lines in a world that is becoming more tightly connected yet no flatter, where the nuances and differences across cultures are becoming, if anything, more visible and critical. They have found ways to navigate uneven terrain, close gaps, and make a difference for people around the world.” Thus have Cabrera and Unruh identified only a few of many dimensions of what a global mindset must accommodate.
These are among the several dozen passages that caught my eye:
o How global leaders connect, create, and contribute (Pages 23-27)
o Why new global business requires a global mindset (32-39)
o The major benefits of a global mindset for a business (82-86)
o Why global citizenship is an uncommon path to common solutions (121-123)
o How to build prosperity for everyone involved in the given enterprise (140-147)
o How and why leadership makes a difference (169-174)
o The obligations and privileges of “global citizenship” (180)
To their credit, Cabrera and Unruh immediately establish and then sustain a direct and personal rapport with their reader. Thus, when approaching the conclusion of their book, they pose a question and then respond to it: “What can you do to ensure you continue to stretch your global mindset, that your ability to find and create new value remains nimble, and that you continue to value the contributions and protect the interests of those around you? The first step is to recognize that your learning never ends…To strengthen your global entrepreneurship, you need to put yourself in positions that allow you to apply your global mindset to create value…And to grow as a global citizen, you must constantly renew your commitment to making a difference by surrounding yourself with individuals who can support and strengthen your resolve.”
No brief commentary such as this can do full justice to the scope and depth of material that Ángel Cabrera and Gregory Unruh provide in this book. However, for leaders in organizations that are or aspire to become global leaders, I think this is a “must read.” I also highly recommend it to leaders in other organizations that seek to strengthen their relationships with global leaders.
Ángel Cabrera on “the soul of leadership”
Ángel Cabrera
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(Editor’s note: This post is part of a six-week blog series on how leadership might look in the future. The conversations generated by these posts will help shape the agenda of a symposium on the topic in June 2010, hosted by HBS’s Nitin Nohria, Rakesh Khurana, and Scott Snook. This week’s focus: values.)
For years some of us warned against the perils of an economy driven exclusively by self-interest (made evident by the financial disaster of 2008) and vigorously argued for management, like other professional disciplines, to require its members to accept a code of conduct and make a public commitment to do no harm. We even went as far as to propose various versions of such a code of conduct, and now some of these codes have actually been adopted by MBA students (e.g. the MBA Oath started at Harvard), business schools (e.g. Thunderbird), and international associations (e.g. the Forum of Young Global Leaders). The Oath Project was established last year, as well, to propose a universal professional code of conduct for managers, the current draft of which has been endorsed by organizations such as the United Nations Global Compact, the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders, Net Impact, and the Aspen Institute.
But perhaps the message we have yet to convey in a compelling enough way is that a commitment to serve the public good not only benefits society but also is a vital element of effective leadership and a precondition for organizational success.
Research by my colleagues Mary Sully de Luque and Nathan Washburn shows that CEOs who frame decisions in pure economic terms tend to be perceived as more autocratic and less visionary than leaders who express concern for a broader set of stakeholders through, for example, a commitment to public good. And the more visionary a leader is perceived to be, the more willing employees are to go the extra mile and consequently deliver higher performance.
To lead is to influence others without coercion. To follow is to take a leap of faith and put your future into someone else’s hands.
Before taking this risk, followers seek out proof that a leader’s values are solid and compatible with their own. Above all, they look for evidence that a leader is not driven exclusively by self-interest and will take others into consideration when making decisions.
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To read the complete article, check out other articles and resources, and/or sign up for a free subscription to Harvard Business Review’s Daily Alerts, please visit dailyalert@email.harvardbusiness.org.
Ángel Cabrera is president of Thunderbird School of Global Management and co-founder of The Oath Project.
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