Global Relationships: The Challenge (Part 1)

Written by: Bill Sherman on Friday, 18 April 2008, 4:13 PM

You’re sitting at your desk one afternoon. An e-mail arrives. Perhaps it’s a new colleague from Bangalore introducing herself. Maybe it’s from a new prospect from Johannesburg reaching out to you. Possibly a heavy-hitter in your field found your blog and wants your insight on a project.

How will you respond?

This first e-mail creates a slender opportunity for you to create a relationship. Can you nurture this contact into a deep friendship without ever meeting the person face-to-face?

That’s the challenge of building relationships in the global world. You cannot assume that the people most important to your career will be within arms-reach from your office. They won’t. They’ll be scattered around the world.