Within this challenging global marketplace, there is no need to overstretch your dollars to go global. Thanks to the Internet, you can do it virtually on a shoestring.

SMEs worldwide are using the Internet to increase their reach. According to a poll of US marketers by Bredin Business Information, 17 per cent of SMEs want to boost their online activity to make a bigger impact without much of a budget risk.

Read more about how it can be done, here.

Another good resource on trends and virtual office can be found here.

Hope it's smooth sailing in your part of the world. This picture is taken at Monroe Harbor, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. Enjoy the weekend.

Photo credit: Laurel Delaney, The Global Small Business Blog

It doesn't surprise me that Ram Charan (pictured) is The Economic Times 2008-2009 Global Indian of the Year after being chosen ahead of other fairly well-known and respected names such as Ram Shriram of Shepaio Ventures, Ajit Jain of Berkshire Hathaway, Anshu Jain of Deutsche Bank and Vinod Khosla.

I am big fan of Ram's having read, "Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done," (one of my all time favorite books co-authored with Larry Bossidy), "What The Customer Wants You To Know," and "Know-How: The 8 Skills That Separate People Who Perform from Those Who Don't."

He's authored more than a dozen brilliant business books over his professional career (a workaholic I might add).

A couple of years ago I was so fascinated by his insights that I tried to get him to speak at an event in Chicago but was unsuccessful. He was too busy and his speaker fee was astronomical -- well beyond our client's budget.

Needless to say, if you don't know about Ram's work, you should. He offers fresh, bold insights into the world of business. Very cool. Very ahead of its time yet relevant for managing in today's crazy times.

Congrats to Raman. A well-deserved honor.

What's in a name, especially when it's a university in the United Arab Emirates that wants to be viewed as a leading-edge education system in the Arab region?

Find out here:

Education as an Export: Tayeb Kamali on the UAE's Higher Colleges of Technology

Additional resource:

Higher Colleges of Technology
Photo gallery (worth a look)

Photo above: HE Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chancellor of the HCT (right) with Dr Tayeb Kamali, Vice Chancellor of the HCT at the 'Signing Ceremony' for 2009 admissions.

My company is stretching into areas of the world I've barely heard of — we are definitely broaching the unknown. As a leader, what do I need to be successful as globalization changes the rules of the game? Marshall Goldsmith's (pictured) answer:

MG: To help me answer this question, I contacted Maya Hu-Chan of the Global Leadership Development Center at Alliant University's Marshall Goldsmith School of Management. Maya is an international management consultant and certified executive coach who specializes in global leadership, executive coaching, and cross-cultural business skills. Maya and I co-authored Global Leadership: The Next Generation (Kindle edition), from which we learned much about facing the challenges of globalization.

Read more here.

Additional resources:

Marshall Goldsmith is a world authority in helping successful leaders achieve positive, lasting change in behavior. Dr. Goldmith's 24 books include What Got You Here Won't Get You There, an NYT best seller, WSJ #1 business book and Harold Longman Award winner for Business Book of the Year. He has been recognized as one of the world's leading executive educators and coaches in BusinessWeek, the Economist, Forbes and The Times of London. His articles and videos are available online at MarshallGoldsmithLibrary.com and he can be reached at Marshall(at)MarshallGoldsmith.com. His latest book is: Succession: Are You Ready?

Did you know that the Executive Office of the President of the United States has a blog under the Office of the United States Trade Representative?

Well either did I until today.

About them:

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of more than 200 committed professionals with decades of specialized experience in trade issues and regions of the world.

We negotiate directly with foreign governments to create trade agreements, to resolve disputes, and to participate in global trade policy organizations. We also meet with governments, with business groups, with legislators and with public interest groups to gather input on trade issues and to discuss the President's trade policy positions.

USTR was created in 1962 and has offices in Washington, Geneva, and Brussels.

Visit the blog here. For the home page of the Office of the United States Trade Representative, go here. To get a glimpse of the recent 2009 Trade Policy Agenda Report, go here.

Graphic source.

A ranking of Swiss brands conducted by Interbrand unveiled that the top five brands were, in order of brand value, Nescafé, UBS, Nestlé, Credit Suisse and Zurich. Other globally recognized brands in the top 20 included Rolex, Omega, Lindt, Swatch and Longines.

How did a tiny country -- with less than 16,000 square miles of land mass and less than 8 million people -- largely known for keeping to itself become such a branding powerhouse? It starts with Switzerland’s view of its own brand.

The inherent value of “Swiss made” brands is so high that the country’s government is currently considering new laws to protect it: “The government wants to replace vague laws with concrete rules to crack down on abuses of ‘made in Switzerland’ and Swiss cross labels” (“Protecting ‘Swiss made’ brand divides opinion,” swissinfo.ch, April 6, 2008). The movement is known in Switzerland as “the legislation project Swissness.”

Discover why Swiss brands have global clout here; start to think about how your brand is perceived by the world; and, take a shot at stimulating your brand here.

Image can be found here.

Additional resource:

The Trouble With Brands