Philip Rooke, CEO, Spreadshirt
The world is an uncertain place when it comes to politics and business; events like Brexit or changes in newly elected political leaders can have a very destabilizing influence. As the CEO of a global e-commerce company since 2011, circling the wagons and retreating to core markets may feel safer, but it is not prudent for long-term relevance and management.
To paraphrase Thomas Friedman, ‘the ability to thrive in a global economy is powered by an open society and global collaboration for the best competitive advantages.’ Spreadshirt has a mantra of ‘Go Visit’ to maintain our global perspective and stay engaged with our global workforce. Every global employer invests in new technologies like video conferencing to hold meetings with remote teams, but the screen time is far from the perfect solution. So, as a company, we want to promote an open environment and create a personal connection with our offices outside of Germany such as—getting on a plane to visit distant offices, offering an exchange program for our staff, and taking some time to understand the local culture and challenges at each of Spreadshirt’s locations.
Given I spent a good amount of my career in the UK and now run a company in Germany, I’m quite familiar with how offices operate globally. The UK and U.S. are great examples of the need for immersion in offices that seemingly share the same language and culture. However, each have their own nuances that make in-person time imperative to successfully managing distant offices. Also, as a veteran of the transatlantic business relationship, I’ve seen first-hand some of the challenges that expanding into the U.S. can bring. If you want to expand into the U.S., it’s not enough just to import goods, you have to get on a plane and have a physical presence in the country too.
The wisdom and value of in-person management stems from my experiences at internet companies like AskJeeves, iVillage and SkinStore that scaled up in the U.S. from the UK. Since 2011, I have led Spreadshirt, an on-person, self-expression e-commerce company, with headquarters in Leipzig, Germany and U.S. locations in Greensburg, PA, Henderson, NV, and Boston. After fifteen years in business, we’re now the European market-leader in on-person self-expression and a major player in North America.
There are some universal pitfalls that companies face when expanding to the U.S., but they can be overcome by maintaining your global outlook by visiting, listening, and engaging. Here are some tips that I’ve learned over the years:
1. Go Visit
Time and distance weakens relationships. It can’t all be accomplished via email communication, system tickets (which manage tasks and workflows) or a few late-night calls between geographically distant locations. To make it work, hop on a plane regularly.
It may sound obvious, but our U.S. West Coast factory near Las Vegas is just beginning their workday while the German staff has already gone home for the day. Even the best, most dedicated management team will find themselves feeling alienated by distance. Distrust and demotivation soon set in and small problems can build up into the idea that headquarters does not care about the local office.
Never underestimate the effect of arriving in person. It makes your production and sales offices feel loved, when the senior team makes face-to-face appearances, allowing for some informal conversations and to observe how the local dynamics work.
It’s also not just about the CEO traveling to admire the work being done and rolling out the welcome mat for photo opportunities for the employee newsletter. Rather, we ensure that all of our business functions operate in a standardized manner that reflects our corporate values. Our new exchange program extends this opportunity across the business for reinforcement and engagement at all offices. This idea is to help raise awareness of each other, and our cultural and business backgrounds to respect our differences and celebrate our common interests. All employees can apply to become Spreadshirt Ambassadors on a weeklong trip to other facilities to engage and exchange with their Spreadshirt colleagues. It’s an opportunity to think outside of the box, and to experience the varied work and life cultures across Spreadshirt.
2. Listen Up!
Don’t think that because the language is the same, the obstacles will be the same too. It’s not the same place and you need to understand the local challenges. There are huge differences in the language of marketing and selling between the UK and the U.S. Americans are far more effusive and always offer a big discount. The UK tends to downplay things and is more modest in the language it uses for marketing.
The best way to understand what’s going on, and to spot the differences, is to listen to the insight the local team has; again, by showing up in person. I often get objections that it will not be worth it for certain functions, or there is not enough to do when the person gets there. But, I can instantly tell the level of trust is higher for the departments that have visited, and it improves future co-operation, saving money and increasing motivation.
3. Engage and Share
Don’t assume the new team will automatically understand the company’s global mindset and be prepared to share your knowledge from headquarters.
The local team in the U.S. will work extremely hard, be enthusiastic and goal-oriented. Take the time to engage them in the company’s global priorities. Teams that are farther away from headquarters have their own unique problems and local issues. The central team will often be needed to help fix and support them. Obviously the central team has its own global priorities, which they may feel are more important. This is why it’s useful for different business teams to go visit to see and share experiences for a more global business perspective.
It’s comforting, even necessary, in uncertain times to concentrate on your central market. But maintaining a global outlook during the Brexit process, or recent change in leadership in the U.S. political and business area, can mean that you come out the other side in a better position than you went in. Take it from me; expansion is easier with a sharp focus on sharing priorities with local teams, listening to their market insight and getting on a plane. Go visit!
Online retailer Spreadshirt Inc. is No. 500 in the Internet Retailer Top 1000 and No. 266 in the Europe 500.
Favorite