“Think globally, act locally.”
Strategy has to accept a new fundamental. Any institution—and not just businesses—has to measure itself against the standards set by each industry’s leaders anyplace in the world. Given the ease and speed at which information travels, every institution in the knowledge society has to be globally competitive, even though most organizations will continue to be local in their activities and markets. This is because the Internet will keep customers everywhere informed on what is available anywhere in the world, and at what price. E-commerce will create new global channels for commerce and wealth distribution.
Here is an example. An entrepreneur developed a highly successful engineering design firm in Mexico. He complains that one of his toughest jobs is to convince associates and colleagues that the competition is no longer merely Mexican. Even without the physical presence of competitors, the Internet allows customers to stay abreast of global offerings and demand the same quality of designs in Mexico. This executive must convince his associates that the competition faced by the firm is global and the performance of the firm must be compared against global competitors, not just those in Mexico.
ACTION POINT: Look at your domestic and foreign competitors’ Web sites and compare them to your organization’s Web site. If you don’t like what you see, invest more in e-commerce.
Management Challenges for the 21st Century
The Next Society (Corpedia Script for Online Program)
* Source: The Daily Drucker by Peter F. Drucker