{"id":3248,"date":"2022-04-20T18:07:52","date_gmt":"2022-04-20T17:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.knowledgeetal.com\/?p=3248"},"modified":"2022-04-20T18:27:27","modified_gmt":"2022-04-20T17:27:27","slug":"hows-and-whys-of-international-assignments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.knowledgeetal.com\/?p=3248","title":{"rendered":"How’s and Why’s of International Assignments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A few weeks back, Dr Madelyn Blair, a friend of many years standing, approached me to ask if I’d participate in one of her weekly tv slots. She left the topic up to me and, with the world emerging from the pandemic and international business starting to resume, I thought I’d share some of my experiences of working internationally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a few of the thoughts I covered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back & looking forward<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I am lucky; I’ve worked across five continents and experienced many different cultures over the last 40 years. I\u2019ve been shot at in Ireland, detained in Sudan, been part of an aid convoy in the Philippines after Typhoon Ondoy, slept in a tin shack in Darfur, shared a room with a desert rat while watching oil fields burning in Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of Desert Storm and landed in Barbados after the island\u2019s only hurricane.
When I reflect on a few snippets from a lifetime of conducting international assignments it\u2019s
perhaps unsurprising that my daughter once said “Dad are you really a spy?”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I\u2019ve visited\/worked in: China, Colombia, Cuba, Iran, Russia and Sudan and the fact that I have two passports it\u2019s surprising I rarely attract the interest of immigration officers. Over the next couple of paragraphs I will try and explain why I think that is and share a few stories about conducting international Knowledge & Information assignments in an ever shrinking and connected world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve made 6 visits to Iran as part of an assignment to help develop a Knowledge Management Strategy and oversee the implementation of a set of pilots. All the preconceptions I had were wrong as I discovered on March 21st when Iranians celebrate their new year, Norooz, based on the seasons rather than the Islamic calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting organizations to embraceKnowledge Management (and become Knowledge Driven rather than merely Knowledge Enabled) requires a deep understanding of the way they work and the context in which they work. The more challenging the environment the more some of the techniques I describe below come into sharp focus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We practice what we preach and learn before, during and after and make sure those learning\u2019s are fed back into the methodology we use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winning the business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve all had \u2018we\u2019d like to invite you to tender for\u2019 requests from organizations we\u2019ve never met. As you become more visible and published so these increase. As a rule unless you can trace a direct link to someone you know or somewhere you\u2019ve been then you are being used as padding for a tender process. Be warned. It takes a considerable effort to respond to tender requests especially when there are procurement specialists intermediating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I learned this in my banking career from a Canadian client in the mining industry who set up an informal cartel in order to meet overseas government tender requirements for at least 3 bids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back over the major (\u00a3250k+) assignments I\u2019ve won and led, in all cases they came as a result of a referral, a presentation or an enquiry stimulated by targeted marketing activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I use this criteria for deciding whether to submit a proposal: what new knowledge will be learnt as well as will it be profitable? To that I add, is it something I really want to do, will it enhance our brand, will it make a difference to the prospective client and will it be challenging?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Negotiating the \u2018deal\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Having \u2018teed up\u2019 an opportunity, the next (big) challenge is how to tie down a mutually agreeable scope of work and a payment schedule that reflects the effort. Here\u2019s where the
fun starts and I try to find out how strategically important the work is as this can influence when \/ if you get paid!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big international organizations have defined processes (and payment terms) that often make it difficult for SME\u2019s to work with them. Cash flow is king so be prepared for the potential impact on your business of a delay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An African friend of mine signed up for a consulting engagement with one of Africa\u2019s major organizations. It looked great and met all of the criteria I outlined above. Payment was triggered by receipt and acceptance of a set of reports and recommendations. Now 9 months later he is still waiting for formal approval for his reports. His mistake? He had no milestone payment and no upfront mobilization fee. Next time he might insist on a payment for delivery with balance on acceptance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travelling and staying<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another big consideration is travel. Your safety is important, as is your health. Before I decide on whether to go or not to a country I check out what and whom I know who might help \u2013 I conduct my own \u2018Peer Assist\u2019 \u2013 and visit the members\u2019 library at Chatham House. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the countries I visit require visas and sponsors \u2013 that process needs to be
built in to your budget and timetable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember you are probably going to be more expensive than a local competitor and unlikely to be able to charge for travel time so do the planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choose your carrier wisely – it\u2019s how they treat you, how they respond when things go wrong and how quickly you get there that matters not the air miles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My travel checklist works like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n