Proper Care and Feeding

of your

Country Manager

by
Charlie Smith
Operational Insights Inc.

While making an official visit to our Japan office as an executive for a direct selling company several years ago, I was amused by the magazine article that our general manager was translating for me about one of our very successful competitors. The interviewer in the article was asking the country manager what the secret of his success was. His reply? “I completely ignore marketing directions given to me from our headquarters in the United States.”

I would certainly hope that none of your country managers feel the same way. While the frankness of this country manager is noteworthy, I am sure that your country managers can relate in some small way to the frustrations that accompany the responsibilities that all country executives take on when being a subsidiary of a multi-national organization headquartered elsewhere. In this article we will explore how your country management is organized, common traps, how to tell if your country manager is doing a good job, and the expatriate question...more