 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
By David B. Fisher, Maui Director Hawaii Small Business Development Centers "Think local, act global!" This is the phrase Japanese internet pioneer Izumi Aizu coined in 1985 while saving Ikego Forest outside of Tokyo from the bulldozers. The Japanese government was planning to build housing for the U.S. Military, but this was stopped when both American legislators and Japanese legislators started receiving letters and phone calls from both Japan and the USA within hours of the request for assistance that Izumi Aizu put out on the Internet. This was a flip of the original phrase, "Think Global, Act Local" created by Canadian Futurist Hazel Henderson in the early 1970's. The idea here was later made popular in the chaos theory idea known as "the butterfly effect" that small local actions can have broad global effects. The message here was that we all have a responsibility to think about the consequences of our actions and should assume that they are magnified globally. With the Internet, both phrases are no longer abstract probabilities, but day-to-day reality. For businesses this represents both threats and opportunities and the best way to deal with both is to jump in and get involved. Acting global by use of the Internet is a sure fire way to power up your entrepreneurial skills. You quickly learn about best practices, and you can work with literally the best people in the world. If you are not already in this category, your chances of becoming "world class" dramatically improve. As the carnival huckster says, "if you don't have a ticket, you don't have a chance." Of course, you can minimize your damage and improve the odds of success by working with people who have been there before.That is where Origin -The Language Agency and the Small Business Development Center can help on Maui. Remember to think and act local, and to think and act global. Unlike the people who prophesize the evolution of a McWorld-type homogenous culture, those who have gone before know the most compelling result of going global is developing a healthy appreciation of differences. The importance of understanding cultural differences in business and "localizing your product" is brought home very effectively by the current business best seller, "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" by Robert Friedman. One of the differences that Origin - The Language Agency is capitalizing on, is its location on the island of Maui, part of the Hawaiian archipelago. Our Polynesian host culture has evolved from an ancient culture with very powerful navigation skills. Today this translates into a global crossroads where people from all over the world come to take some time out, time to take stock, to see where they have been, and to gaze at the stars in order to chart a course to the future. It is no accident that all the travel magazines continue to rate Maui as "the best island in the world". You might think that Paradise is a place where the rest of the world is left behind, and perhaps in some ways, at some points, it is. Ultimately, though, people in paradise become profoundly aware of the idea expressed four hundred years ago at the dawn of the previous Great Age of Exploration by the English poet philosopher John Donne, "No Man is an Island". Perhaps the best way to understand this is to live on an island. Perhaps, we who live on Maui, the best island, understand this best. Perhaps, we who understand this best can help you "Think Local, Act Global". |
|
T: 808.573.1453 F: 808.573.6446 info@origin.to |
|
| Home | Services | Going Global | Employment | Quote Request | News Room |Clients| Contact | |
|
