Thursday, January 19, 2017

Interview With Author Anna Schlegel


Truly Global

1.      What really inspired you to write your book, to force you from taking an idea or experience and conveying it into a book?  I belong to the globalization community which is not a very well represented profession. There are many definitions of globalization. There are many misconceptions, especially with our most recent elections here in the United States. There are more and more folks with the title “Manager, or Director or VP of Globalization” and I wanted to explain what we do! Globalization is a complex puzzle and it entails product re-engineering, trade compliance, sales strategies, and how to support those products across a set list of countries. I could not find a book that explained all those pieces. So, I wrote one!


2.      What is it about and whom do you believe is your targeted reader?  The book is about the different aspects that it takes an enterprise to take their product to market globally. It has 22 chapters that explain the different techniques and approaches for a company to plan, strategize and enact. Truly Global is ideal for corporate leaders, board members, employees that run “global” programs, and students of globalization. \

3.      What do you hope will be the everlasting thoughts for readers who finish your book? What should remain with them long after putting it down? That today’s economy is increasingly borderless, and that if you want to help your company grow you cannot avoid planning for globalization. Regardless of your job, and department you sit in, you can help ensure that your product(s) will resonate and sell well in the markets your company chooses. You need to ask consistently: “what is the international strategy for___”? Do not avoid that question. Planning to go global is usually an afterthought, companies that know how to do this well are the ones with the advantage.

4.      What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers? Do not worry about being the perfect writer. If you have an idea, especially if it has not been written about before, jot it down, and keep perfecting it. Also, know your limitations, you will need an editor, and you will need professional help in seeing the book through, but you are the brains behind the operation. Look for a publishing house that can help you step by step, from concept to marketing it.

5.      What trends in the book world do you see and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? I see great success on e-books. I have also seen books being very difficult to be delivered to places like China or Indonesia. I was trying to surprise a friend in China and send him my book via amazon as s surprise, but I was not able to do so as amazon was asking for his personal ID number, which I didn’t have. Also, I have another friend in Indonesia, whom I wanted to send my book and it took about 4 weeks to get there. Global publishing seems a whole complex world. That is why I think e-books are good for all. But not everyone has a tablet, and I still see most folks wanting a hardcopy, and even better if it is personally signed.

6.      What great challenges did you have in writing your book? Finding time, and putting myself through the rigor of constant writing while being a mom, and an executive with a large team. It is not easy to find the time.

7.      If people can only buy one book this month, why should it be yours? You can use “Truly Global” to show off at work! Knowing how to go global is how companies grow. You can be the one bringing in the “new idea” or ask the interesting question. The book is full of tips and questions and lists to follow through. It is not a big book, but it encompasses all a corporate employee needs to know to take any idea globally.

Anna Schlegel is the author of  Truly Global, and named the first globalization innovator by SDL/Fortune. She is currently the Senior Director of Globalization and Information Engineering at NetApp, and has led globalization teams for over 20 years with firms including Cisco, VMware, Xerox, VeriSign and for two localization vendors as the CEO and General Manager.

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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2017©. Born and raised in Brooklyn, now resides in Westchester. Named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs 

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