Listen to the podcast: Mansour Javidan, dean of research at the Thunderbird School of Global Management and co-author of the HBR article "Managing Yourself: Making It Overseas." Copyright 2010 Harvard Business School Publishing.

We've written extensively about what Dr. Javidan refers to as developing a "global mindset" (a major prerequisite to moving ahead in our world) and characteristics needed to achieve success as a leader in the global marketplace. So we are glad to see he's "on it."

Find out if you have a global mindset here (immediate download):

Are You Ready? Take The Global IQ Test To Find Out

And remember, even McDonald's was a small shop at one time. Why just click on the 1940 button and you'll see what I mean!

Posted by: The Global Small Business Blog

Employees are less likely to jump ship during a recession so whether you run a global small business or local big business -- focusing on how to develop people to ensure you are not caught short of strong managers when the economy recovers -- is a smart notion.

Here's what some of the big guys are doing. I see a lot of ideas in this article. Webinars and executive coaches are a good way to train and counsel high-potential employees on a tight budget. Even ordering a simple HBR case study and discussing it as a group at one of your regularly scheduled meetings shows you're on it and care. More ideas can be found here.