Oil: Impacting Global Relationships

Written by: Bill Sherman on Sunday, 1 June 2008, 6:35 PM

In June 9th issue of Newsweek Rana Foroohar writes about “The Coming Energy Wars” and the accelerating prices of petroleum.

Oil drives so much of the global economy, it’s almost impossible to fully imagine the world of $200 oil. No question, the shock will force nations to go greener much faster than now, particularly by conserving energy and developing and adopting new non-fossil fuels. But none of this can happen full stop in six to 24 months. So the predictions tend to be gloomy: some analysts see a shift toward regional trade, and even a major reversal of globalization itself, as rising transport costs make it too expensive to ship many kinds of goods long distances.

Yes, it will become more expensive to ship products across the world. There’s no doubt about that. However, there’s also going to be an impact on services. In the world of $200+ per barrel of oil, service providers are going to be more cautious making trips–whether for sales calls, meeting with clients, or meetings with team members in other cities.

Those need for global relationships just won’t end. People will need to become more adept at building and sustaining global relationships without relying on face-to-face meetings. Are you prepared to change?

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