3D Printing News – 3D Printed Ribs Saves Lives

Suffering from a chest wall sarcoma (a type of cancerous tumour that grows, in this instance, around the rib cage), the 54 year old man needed his sternum and a portion of his rib cage replaced. This part of the chest is notoriously tricky to recreate with prosthetics, due to the complex geometry and design required for each patient. So the patient’s surgical team determined that a fully customisable 3D printed sternum and rib cage was the best option. This is 3D printing at it’s best!

Sharabi – Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 Song Lyrics & Video

Sharabi Lyrics from Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 is composed by Amit Trivedi, sung by Sharib, Toshi, Raja Hasan, get lyrics and video of this song

When Chinese Money is Worth Less What Does Your Business Do?

Everyone has seen the news that China has devalued its currency. This means the Yuan Renminbi is weaker. When you exchange currency, you can now buy more Yuan for each dollar spent. If China is really the world’s second largest economy, than the Renminbi (People’s Currency) effects world markets.

After all, if Chinese money is weaker, that means that US products sold into China become more expensive. Take the example of Mandarin Oranges for sale in China, but imported from the USA. An 8 kg box costs between $20 and $30. With the weaker Chinese currency, this could cost 25 percent more this year. Thus, the imported oranges are more expensive and the Chinese will buy less of them from the USA, critics say.

On the flip side, items we buy from China will cost less. Importers of (e.g.) Chinese toys will pay less. If the US importers keep the price constant, then the importers will benefit and make more money. So why is everyone complaining?

If your firm is selling a price-based commodity to Chinese buyers (rice, soy, oil, hogs, corn, cotton, etc.) your sales may suffer because your price is too high.

But if you are selling iPhones or BMW’s, the higher price may not matter. Higher prices may even work as an advantage, because the products are more expensive and hence more prestigious.

What advantages do BMW and Apple enjoy that cotton growers and soy farmers don’t?

It comes down to branding and positioning. The successful firms plow back profits into building and protecting a brand. They have made it clear that an iPhone costs more, but is worth it. A BMW costs much more than almost anything Chevrolet makes and their argument is that “price doesn’t matter.”

U.S. firms can often be lazy when it comes to branding overseas. My work in this area points to many firms that relinquish overseas branding to local “partners.” If U.S. firms remember their marketing muscle, they can expand overseas and not be as sensitive to price fluctuations. If we can remember that Starbucks is a lifestyle (not a coffee) we can export that concept (as Starbucks does well).

For those businesses that deal in commodities, there has to be a way to differentiate other than price. Last week I asked a firm (who wishes to deal abroad) if they had bank accounts set up in overseas markets. When they explained that they wanted to be paid in US dollars via wire, one has to wonder if they really intend to service the markets. Better service would be a differentiator.

This firm picked China as a target market. I asked these questions of this firm:

Did they have anyone on staff that speaks Chinese?
Are they interested in going to China regularly?

Do they have relationships in China?

Can they help the Chinese with their own businesses?

Do the Chinese clients need help where the U.S. firm is better connected?

Did they read anything about the region?

Do they eat Chinese food?

All of these points can be differentiators.

All of these questions point to ways in which the Americans can enhance customer intimacy.

3D Printing Time Lapse Demonstration – 3D Printing in Action

It all starts with making a virtual design of the object you want to create. This virtual design is made in a CAD (Computer Aided Design) file using a 3D modeling program (for the creation of a totally new object) or with the use of a 3D scanner (to copy an existing object). A 3D scanner makes a 3D digital copy of an object. This time lapse video shows 3D Printing in action!

FTL

August 25, 2015

Future Tax Leaders Presentation;How to Enter Cultures; international and otherwise

Participants should leave the session knowing:

– The largest stumbling block when working in different corporations.
– The 5 questions each person should be asking when confronted with any new culture.
– Common mistakes made in interacting with different cultures.

What we will cover:

– Interactive exercise – Bridges and Umbrellas

How we size up a new situation

– Defining culture; visible and invisible
Strategies and tactics for cross generational and international work

– A primer for global cultures
International Business defined with 3 drawings

Task Specific vs. Relationship Specific
Short Term vs. Long Term
Individual vs. Collective (think of Bush vs. Saddam)

War stories

Refrigerator
How to fire employees in Womza
What is profit?
Chinese Balance Sheet

10 Questions To Ask Yourself!

This is how we do it our way. What is is their way
What is public, what is private?
How do you know when you are in?
Do they respect my authority?
What assumptions might be underlying their actions?
Have I heard this correctly?
Does the other person understand what I have asked them to do?
Who does my “employee” work for?
Is there more than what I am seeing?
How can I “bridge?”

International Business Podcast! (free)
International business videos
International business book

email me

International Business Videos – Does The Best Product Get The International Business Deal?

This one minute video on global business asks if business deals are done because the product is better. Does the best mousetrap mean we got an international customer?

Here are 5 Top false assumptions in doing international business

We see it repeatedly, from the low-level trainee right up to the CEO. Americans often start with the wrong assumptions when entering a foreign market

The assumption set used when marketing, selling, hiring and buying from foreign countries is critical to our eventual success.

When devising an international strategy for a corporation, the presumptions are the first thing to address.

—- There is an “international market.”

Ghana, Greece or Malaysia? This first assumption divides the world into two pieces: us and them. And the danger is apparent: We think of the “rest of the world” as one entity. Intellectually, we know there are several entities, each with their own language, culture and business practices.

—- “Business is business” (the world is getting smaller).

The shrinking of the planet forces us to make less, not more, suppositions about how our counterparts conduct business. Thirty-five years ago, a $50 million manufacturer didn’t worry about Chinese offshoring, Indian software or Italian design. Today’s CEOs must think globally, initially by recognizing the differences, not the similarities.

—- Our technical skills will transfer abroad.

A CFO is a CFO. An XML programmer is the same anywhere in the world. This attitude costs money, reputation and time to market. The CFO who is an expert in financial modeling needs to interact with locals who may not respect his authority or knowledge, and may organize finances differently.

—- A contract comes at the end of the process; a deal is a deal.

The “holy contract” (as Dutch often call U.S. contracts) comes at the end of U.S. negotiations. Contracts often serve as “outlines” in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Central and Eastern Europe. The rule to think about is “first a contract, then a negotiation.”

Global Business Video – What Gets The Best International Deal?