The main purpose of Global Chamber® is to connect members to new opportunities through vetted information and trusted, warm introductions. Those are tangible benefits... when members spend time and money to be a member, and connect with high quality prospective clients, investors, partners, resources and mentors, GOOD THINGS HAPPEN... new business is created, and ROI is delivered.
For the team at Global Chamber®, asking the right questions, doing the research among members and non-members, making connections and following-up are all the most important things we do everyday. When success happens daily, we celebrate!
What's also satisfying with global business are the intangible benefits of being with the global tribe. On these it's harder to measure an ROI, but these are definitely additional benefits. That includes each of us sharing the unique experiences that we have as we grow our businesses.
Let's be global and UNSTOPPABLE, and grow! Let's also recognize that to do that successfully, we go through some experiences that only the global tribe can appreciate.
When you have those fun experiences... sometimes challenging, often seemingly unique... welcome to the global tribe! And hey - some really bad things can happen, too - and those are important to share as a warning, and to get if off our chests.
I've had my share of all of that. Some of those especially from my time living in Japan were instrumental in the idea to create, sustain and grow the Global Chamber.
I got to think about those days recently while watching the series Tokyo Vice on Max, and it reminded me of some good days and nights living in Tokyo. And it reminded me of what keeps all of us moving forward to grow chapters around the world, and making it easier for leaders to export, import, trade and invest around the world - the tangible and intangible benefits.
From those to today, my daily commute was a key inspiration, and findiing this walking tour on youtube took me back! At the 5 minute mark you'll see a blue building straight ahead where I spent most working days for 5 years at Showa Denko Dupont, a joint venture between DuPont Company and Showa Denko KK, handling mostly rubber products in Japan and Asia, and manufacturing Dupont Neoprene in Kawasaki, Japan. Our main office was there in the Gotanda neighborhood of Tokyo, and we had offices in Kawasaki, Nagoya and Osaka.
The BEST sea urchin (uni) corner restaurant EVER is in the photo above on the right, an After 6pm place with not more than a dozen seats at the bar, and another few seats along the edges. The woman who owned it shopped daily to find the freshest sea urchin EVER, served in a variety of magical ways.
The moderator in the beginning of the walking tour video makes a true statement that Gotanda is definitely more for 'Salarymen' than tourists. Workers spill out from the offices and nearby Sony plant into Gotanda at night, and so much of the neighborhood caters to them, with all sorts of restaurants and establishments that capture their afterwork time and yen. And the neighborhood certainly captured many yen from me and our team.
For hundreds of nights I finished the day with co-workers after one, two or three places, and then walk home from there... about an hour uphill... to clear my mind and work off the alcohol. And so a walking tour of Gotanda brings up many memories, especially ones at night. There I was, usually the only foreigner amidst hundreds of salarymen and locals... digesting the day and some amazing meals.
On the way home I'd peel off the main road and walk up small streets, away from the bustle of Gotanda. Just off that main road (Sakaru-da Dori) was a bath house, and I'd pass old men coming and going and think 'wow, who would believe this?'. Seemingly traveling back hundreds of years to ancient Japan, and here I was with my briefcase and suit, white shirt and tie, in modern Tokyo.
All of us doing global business have those cross cultural epiphany moments, a curious mix of strangeness, excitement and a little loneliness, too. We experience these things that are different from our upbringing, and it's best if we can process them with others who get it. The locals don't see the cross cultural angles... they experience all this as normal.
Let's create return on your investment as a member - it's our main focus.
Let's also take an experiential walk together to grow business, wherever the opportunities are, and to appreciate life cross-culturally with the global tribe.
Doug Bruhnke - founder/CEO at Global Chamber®
Global Chamber® is a growing, nurturing and innovative community of CEOs, executives, and leaders in 525 metro regions and 195 countries around the world, everywhere. We're the only chamber of commerce in hundreds of locations that simply and proactively connects exporting, importing, investing and growing member organizations to clients, partners, projects, investors and resources anywhere through warm introductions, events and more.
Global Chamber® is a registered trademark of Global Chamber, LLC since 2014
Originally published at https://www.globalchamber.org/blog/2024/03/31/global-chamber/let-s-take-a-walk-together-with-global-business/
