As consultants to these companies, we need to have the right resources to provide services in a new economy, and those resources need to be organized in ways that combine first-rate analysis with the ability to act with agility and deliver quality interactions at all levels. While some organizations continue to rely on think tanks to follow trends and shore up their knowledge of a given region of the world, many other companies are seeking support that goes beyond analysis. They are looking for actionable counsel that leverages regional knowledge by fostering relationships, identifying alternative markets for growth, and generally helping the company outline a course of action that accounts for the various stakeholders with whom they work. So while think tanks will always have their role, it is the convergence of the best analysis with the ability to execute in a nimble fashion that has become an important tool in a 21st century corporate arsenal.
What exactly does this mean, and why has it become a centerpiece of corporate attention?
As technology has blurred boundaries, it has also empowered many stakeholders—particularly NGOs, customers, and governments—to change the way they interact with corporations. Time horizons have shrunk in the era of 24-hour news cycles and instant information, and research shows that these stakeholder groups are no longer satisfied to receive information about a company from an annual report. The new expectation is that companies engage in a dialogue with these stakeholders and listen as much as talk. This is not a phenomena linked only to Western markets, either; it is the new norm around the world.
Aligned with the empowerment of the Internet is a changed expectation about the role that companies can and should play in the markets in which they work. You cannot have a successful business in a failed world. It is assumed that business will act not only for its own profit but also operate with a social purpose, considering the replenishment of the resources it uses and the good it can do in the creation of its products and services. It is thus important for business to understand the underlying interests and concerns of the places where they do business and operate in a way that is consistent with these values.
Competition for the iconic brands of the past is coming from places where it never has come before. The new multinationals are often well-endowed and very much linked to the nationalism and newfound efficacy of their home government. Businesses that wish to compete globally with these new brands in markets that are new to them need a nimbleness that sometimes is missing in some of the ponderous ways of large companies. Some of the strategies and operating practices of the past need to be re-evaluated in light of changed circumstances which require a deep understanding of the environment in which these businesses are operating.
These realities of today’s marketplace, combined with the increasingly unpredictable political dynamics of the world stage, require that business and its leaders have both the skills of good business people and the ability to conduct what we call business diplomacy in the markets in which they operate. Both analysis and action—thinking and doing—are necessary.
Business diplomacy is built on the notion that global companies have more to offer than goods, services, and employment. They also offer innovation and resources that enrich local and national economies while creating a successful business. As a result, these businesses need the same resources available to them as governments have developed through their embassies: the linking of political, economic, and public relations activities. The CEO is now the ambassador for the company as well as its chief strategist and financial manager. This requires the tenacity of a business executive combined with the finest skills of a diplomat. To be a leader in this complex web of expectations, a diplomatic corps for business is a useful tool on which business can rely to assess the trends and expectations of a market and come up with meaningful actions and relationships that further the business opportunities in that given market.
Although APCO has been at this for the past 28 years, it is only recently that the marketplace has seen this as an exciting new trend. Companies and their leaders are seeking ways to “see around the corner” and are looking for help in making fundamental choices which affect their future. Research continues to play an important role, but the research that supports this approach is also actionable. It is not about broad trends but about specific things that enable a given company to sharpen its strategy and its messages and build the reputational equity needed to succeed with important stakeholders in a given market or markets. This is precisely why we built our own research company, APCO Insight, which applies some of the same methodologies of a political campaign to business and the needs of business.
Fundamental to the ability to deliver high-quality analysis and impactful interactions is having a corps of experienced, senior people whose life experiences enrich the quality of the counsel they offer. This was the thinking behind the formation of APCO’s Global Political Strategies (GPS) group. This team of former elected officials and senior statesmen provide the analysis and broad overview that only experience can bring, supported by on-the-ground teams around the world that manage and carry out strategic projects.
We believe this combination of thought and action is vital to the future of any business looking to navigate between and among markets and turbulent political and economic times. A think tank that does is an indispensable asset for our times.
Margery Kraus is the founder and CEO of APCO Worldwide, a global consulting firm specializing in public affairs, communications, and business consulting for major multinationals.
This article was originally published in the Diplomatic Courier's January/February 2012 issue.
a global affairs media network
The Think Tank That Does
January 27, 2012
As consultants to these companies, we need to have the right resources to provide services in a new economy, and those resources need to be organized in ways that combine first-rate analysis with the ability to act with agility and deliver quality interactions at all levels. While some organizations continue to rely on think tanks to follow trends and shore up their knowledge of a given region of the world, many other companies are seeking support that goes beyond analysis. They are looking for actionable counsel that leverages regional knowledge by fostering relationships, identifying alternative markets for growth, and generally helping the company outline a course of action that accounts for the various stakeholders with whom they work. So while think tanks will always have their role, it is the convergence of the best analysis with the ability to execute in a nimble fashion that has become an important tool in a 21st century corporate arsenal.
What exactly does this mean, and why has it become a centerpiece of corporate attention?
As technology has blurred boundaries, it has also empowered many stakeholders—particularly NGOs, customers, and governments—to change the way they interact with corporations. Time horizons have shrunk in the era of 24-hour news cycles and instant information, and research shows that these stakeholder groups are no longer satisfied to receive information about a company from an annual report. The new expectation is that companies engage in a dialogue with these stakeholders and listen as much as talk. This is not a phenomena linked only to Western markets, either; it is the new norm around the world.
Aligned with the empowerment of the Internet is a changed expectation about the role that companies can and should play in the markets in which they work. You cannot have a successful business in a failed world. It is assumed that business will act not only for its own profit but also operate with a social purpose, considering the replenishment of the resources it uses and the good it can do in the creation of its products and services. It is thus important for business to understand the underlying interests and concerns of the places where they do business and operate in a way that is consistent with these values.
Competition for the iconic brands of the past is coming from places where it never has come before. The new multinationals are often well-endowed and very much linked to the nationalism and newfound efficacy of their home government. Businesses that wish to compete globally with these new brands in markets that are new to them need a nimbleness that sometimes is missing in some of the ponderous ways of large companies. Some of the strategies and operating practices of the past need to be re-evaluated in light of changed circumstances which require a deep understanding of the environment in which these businesses are operating.
These realities of today’s marketplace, combined with the increasingly unpredictable political dynamics of the world stage, require that business and its leaders have both the skills of good business people and the ability to conduct what we call business diplomacy in the markets in which they operate. Both analysis and action—thinking and doing—are necessary.
Business diplomacy is built on the notion that global companies have more to offer than goods, services, and employment. They also offer innovation and resources that enrich local and national economies while creating a successful business. As a result, these businesses need the same resources available to them as governments have developed through their embassies: the linking of political, economic, and public relations activities. The CEO is now the ambassador for the company as well as its chief strategist and financial manager. This requires the tenacity of a business executive combined with the finest skills of a diplomat. To be a leader in this complex web of expectations, a diplomatic corps for business is a useful tool on which business can rely to assess the trends and expectations of a market and come up with meaningful actions and relationships that further the business opportunities in that given market.
Although APCO has been at this for the past 28 years, it is only recently that the marketplace has seen this as an exciting new trend. Companies and their leaders are seeking ways to “see around the corner” and are looking for help in making fundamental choices which affect their future. Research continues to play an important role, but the research that supports this approach is also actionable. It is not about broad trends but about specific things that enable a given company to sharpen its strategy and its messages and build the reputational equity needed to succeed with important stakeholders in a given market or markets. This is precisely why we built our own research company, APCO Insight, which applies some of the same methodologies of a political campaign to business and the needs of business.
Fundamental to the ability to deliver high-quality analysis and impactful interactions is having a corps of experienced, senior people whose life experiences enrich the quality of the counsel they offer. This was the thinking behind the formation of APCO’s Global Political Strategies (GPS) group. This team of former elected officials and senior statesmen provide the analysis and broad overview that only experience can bring, supported by on-the-ground teams around the world that manage and carry out strategic projects.
We believe this combination of thought and action is vital to the future of any business looking to navigate between and among markets and turbulent political and economic times. A think tank that does is an indispensable asset for our times.
Margery Kraus is the founder and CEO of APCO Worldwide, a global consulting firm specializing in public affairs, communications, and business consulting for major multinationals.
This article was originally published in the Diplomatic Courier's January/February 2012 issue.
