Imagine that a group of salespeople from a company’s Barcelona headquarters get together for a meeting. Why would you care whether they all could speak English? Now consider that the same group goes on a sales call to a company also based in Barcelona, not realising that the potential customer would be bringing in employees from other locations who didn’t speak Spanish. This happened at one company I worked with. Sitting together in Barcelona, employees of those two Spanish companies couldn’t close a deal because the people in the room couldn’t communicate. It was a shocking wake-up call, and the company soon adopted an English corporate language strategy.
Adopting a common mode of speech isn’t just a good idea; it’s a must for any company with operations overseas.
The fastest-spreading language in human history, English is spoken at a useful level by some 1.75 billion people worldwide—that’s one in every four of us.
The three primary reasons driving the move toward English as a corporate standard are:
1. Competitive pressure.
2. The globalisation of tasks and resources.
3. M&A integration across national boundaries.
Over the past few years, I've worked closely with businesses owners and their teams, helping them evaluate, design and deliver the right language strategy for their business. I've also personally trained thousands of business professionals (Middle Management to C-Level Executives) and helped them achieve their language learning goals.
"My time with James is the best investment I make all year" - Óscar S. | Capital Project Leader | ISS Facility Services (Spain)
If you have any questions about implementing a Language Strategy for your business (regardless if you are a large corporate or a new startup), let's talk! I'd love to help.
