Being Global: How to Think, Act, and Lead in a Transformed World [Hardcover]

Angel Cabrera (Author), Gregory Unruh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2012

What does it take to lead a global business?

What makes being a global business leader today such a complex task? It’s more than mastering your knowledge of various geographies and cultures, though that is essential. But to succeed, you must also master the complex mind-set and competencies needed to lead in today’s fully globalized world. Not an easy assignment.

Enter Ángel Cabrera and Gregory Unruh. In Being Global, they pull from their extensive experience as well as research they conducted at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, which has been cited by the Financial Times, U.S. News and World Report, and The Economist for its authority on global business. In Being Global, Cabrera and Unruh define a new context for global leadership, vividly illustrating both the challenges and the opportunities facing today’s executives. How can you be effective? What new skills must you learn in order to be successful? What do international teams do to stay connected while still producing results on a regional scale?

Being Global is written for leaders at all levels of their careers—whether in big business or small, private sector or government—who aspire to think and act globally and who need some help getting there. Being a global citizen is just the starting point. Cabrera and Unruh provide the tools and guidance to help you develop even deeper leadership skills, to benefit both you and your organization.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Being Global is a thoughtful, instructive text on the challenges of leadership in the 21st century, and the bold perspective we must adopt in order to create a future of shared opportunities and shared responsibilities.” — William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States of America

“Leaders in the twenty-first century need to be able to coalesce teams and resources across borders and to listen with humility to ideas and solutions from other leaders from around the world, because they face global challenges like we’ve never faced before. The experiences accumulated at Thunderbird and highlighted in this important book provide unique insights as to how those leaders can be developed.” — José María Figueres, former President of Costa Rica

“After forty years engaging with global leaders in shaping the global agenda, it is clear that global leadership is not an innate trait but the result of a long journey of personal learning and growth. The world needs more global leaders ready to ‘connect, create, and contribute’, and Being Global should serve as a perfect guide to jump-start the journey.” — Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum

“Having the mind-set to work across the world—with all of its ambiguities—requires real personal passion. Being Global captures that spirit by describing the art and the effort of listening, thinking, and acting to make a real difference in this complex world. This is a book for anyone developing his or her own passion for ‘going global’.” — Bob Dudley, CEO, BP

“The world may be flat, but the road to the global marketplace is filled with potholes. Cabrera and Unruh provide the road map and driving instructions to make the journey a success.” — Craig Barrett, retired CEO and Chairman, Intel Corporation

About the Author

Ángel Cabrera is president of Thunderbird School of Global Management, which is widely recognized as the number one school in the international business field, and president-elect of George Mason University. The World Economic Forum designated Dr. Cabrera a "Young Global Leader” and named him chairman of its Global Agenda Council on Entrepreneurship. Gregory Unruh is a professor of global business at Thunderbird School of Global Management and director of the school’s Lincoln Center for Ethics in Global Management. He is the author of numerous articles and books.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press (April 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 142218322X
• ISBN-13: 978-1422183229
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Global Mindset meets value creation April 25, 2012

By J. Young

Format:Hardcover

This book really hits home. If you have a global mindset- knowing how to build across cultural 'bridges'- this book dissects the background to using that mindset towards entrepreneurship and value creation. It reminds me of my background from an US-expat family, and incorporates how we are globally an interconnected society. Economies are interconnected socially and fiscally more than ever before- how do you extract value from government, societal and business sectors? You have to combine them all and bridge the gaps to create the value. I have read a lot of international mindset type of books, focusing on Asia, Europe, etc, but this one is particularly clear and concise. I will admit full disclosure that the authors are known to me as professors ( have spent a week discussing issues with Unruh) and Cabrera is my MBA school's president. However this book really is a concise, well-written version of what they lecture. Its frankly delightful to read as it hits home on many revelations that a global mindset clearly sees. I wish all MNC managers had the time to read this and realize how to maximize potential from their direct reports.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Global mentors to learn from June 8, 2012

By S. Novick

Format:Hardcover

"Being Global" highlights the qualities that make up some of the world's most respected global leaders, and the skills, techniques and lessons that you can learn from them. These are great mentors to learn from--- usually those behind the scenes of the world's most respected companies. It's a quick read packed full of examples and questions that you should be asking yourself about your leadership style. It also gives a really good overview of new careers, sectors and areas of opportunity for those thinking about moving into a more international role.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars If you've traveled abroad, it's what you already know. May 10, 2013

By avidreader

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is sparse on useful wisdom. If you've ever even thought about global business, it's stuff you've already thought about. It's all theoretical without many examples. If you've looking for advice on being a great business leader, look elsewhere. If you want to read a really long op-ed piece on what it should *theoretically* take to lead a company, this is the book for you!

5.0 out of 5 stars Global Mindset for Leaders September 11, 2012

By Stephen D. Gladis

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Being Global by Angel Cabrera and Gregory Unruh is itself a global business leadership primer. "The world today is truly global: Inclusive, multidirectional, interlinked, and hugely complex." Getting managers ready for a global experience is more than blitz language training and a short course on culture. Walmart discovered this when it tried to penetrate Brazil with Walmart's big-box concept in a Brazilian mom-and-pop culture. Cabrera and Unruh met at Thunderbird School of Global Management (started in 1946 to focus on training managers for international trade) in Glendale, Arizona. According to the authors, "Being Global" needs to be part of an organization's (and a person's) DNA. This book shares and promulgates Thunderbird's philosophy to help leaders become more global. The authors make their purpose known up front: "Our interest is in how you can actually transcend culture, become effective across cultural settings, effectively interact with culturally diverse individuals and organizations and create value." Finally, Angel Cabrera is the incoming president of George Mason University in Virginia. It will be interesting to see how he brings his global mindset to this major U.S. University. I wish great success for him, George Mason University, and the global community at large.

5.0 out of 5 stars How and why business leaders who develop a global mindset can help their companies to transcend cultural barriers June 28, 2012

By Robert Morris HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

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 global leaders. Read more ›