Employers Are Drawn More to Energy Than to Loyalty
NJ SBDC’s Formula For International Business Success
Corrections or additions?
These articles by Kathleen McGinn Spring and Bart Jackson were prepared for the November 27, 2002 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Garden State & Gaza: Perfect Together
Israel is a small country with an exceptionally well-educated
workforce. Increasingly, it is playing a big role in the design, development,
and testing of sophisticated software, Internet, pharmaceutical, and
biotechnology products. This makes the country a prime partner for
any number of New Jersey businesses.
Those interested in discovering the benefits of “Exporting to
and Investing in Israel” can attend the roundtable discussion
and networking breakfast presented by the New Jersey Global Business
Initiative (NJGBI) on Tuesday, December 3, at 8 a.m. at the Hyatt
Regency-Princeton on Route 1. Cost: $35. Call 609-771-2033 or e-mail
Speakers include Zohar Peri, Israel’s economic minister to North
America; Eran Doran, Israel’s director of trade and investment;
Andrea Yonah, director of the New Jersey-Israel commission,
and Natan Tabak, CIO of Wakefern Foods. Discussion centers on specific
opportunities and industries for Garden State businesses. Afterwards
exporters and investors will break into work groups where, with the
aid of on-the-spot video conferencing, initial steps toward partnerships
will be explored.
“Business people who have attended the previous Center for Global
Business breakfasts at Mercer County College,” notes Director
Keld Hansen, “will find our larger, state-wide New Jersey Global
Initiative sessions more fast-paced, practical and, well, more down
and dirty.” These monthly breakfasts now are aimed not only at
those who want to learn about foreign trade, but at those ready to
invest and create partnerships today.
Teaming up with the Governor’s New Jersey Commerce and Economic Growth
Commission, the NJGBI has set itself up as a deal maker between Garden
State firms and a list of target nations ideally suited to New Jersey’s
production. In upcoming months, NJGBI will discuss opportunities and
align business partners with Hong Kong, Cuba, NAFTA participants,
the European Union, and the often overlooked Eastern European countries.
Interested exporters, investors, or professionals can obtain further
details by E-mailing khansen@tcnj.edu.
Back in 1989 Governor Thomas Kean saw the natural Garden State-Gaza
business connection and established the two as “Sister States,”
founding the New Jersey-Israel Commission to promote culture, education,
and trade connections. Panelist Yonah, current commission director,
states that Israel offers a true hand-in-glove trade relationship.
“Israel,” he says, “has amazingly strong intellectual
capital in the fields of bio-tech, computer technology and design,
healthcare, pharmaceuticals — all New Jersey’s top industries.”
Already several major firms, like Johnson & Johnson have staked out
large research and development centers in Israel, taking advantage
of the country’s expertise.
Yonah, a native of Cherry Hill who earned her political science degree
at Columbia, later moved to Israel, where her foreign language education
led to eight years of working joint U.S.-Israel ventures. She sees
Israel as a nation that has, as she puts it, “commercialized on
its disadvantages.” Jamming 6.2 million inhabitants onto 20,770
square miles of virtually resourceless land has forced a 2.4 million
workforce to develop skills suited to a high-level knowledge-based
economy. A host of companies initiating high-tech agriculture, crisis
management, security, and desalinization have all blossomed from an
environment that has proved harsh since the days of Moses. All of
these specialties Yonah sees as profitable imports and partnership
links to the Garden State.
Panelist Doran, Israel’s director of trade and investment, emphasizes
the advantages the whole range of New Jersey industries can reap from
importing from Israel.
Early stage investment. If you had had the foresight 14months ago to invest in Israel’s newly formed Graven Images Company,you could have done quite well, says Doran. The firm developed a tiny,ingestible camera that non-invasively transmits an astoundingly clearpicture of a patient’s insides, making it an important new tool inany number of medical diagnoses. “Israel is chock full of thesenew companies — incredibly idea rich — which desire eitherAmerican funding or American partners to help carry them through productionand into the market place,” he says. He agrees with Yonah thatbiotech, pharmaceutical, life sciences, and high tech ventures areprime candidates for partnership between New Jersey and Israel.d>Free market alliances. Israel has developed asurprisingly expansive set of free trade agreements with a numberof partners, ranging from most South American countries, all the EuropeanUnion, much of the Near and Far East, and all corners of Africa. Thusshe provides Garden State businesses with a tariff free gateway. Traditionalso works for New Jersey exporters. “Israel has long been viewedas the eastern arm of the U.S.,” says Doran. Not only does Israelitself have a constant craving for American goods, but the countryis renowned for delivering them to the surrounding nations.Easy partners. New Jersey-Israel partnerships are mattersof long standing. For decades, many large Garden State companies havehad research and development branches in Israel. Now small and mid-sizebusinesses are linking up with Israeli import/export firms to bringtheir goods into Asia and Africa. The language, common business practices,and established political ties make them the safe and obvious choice.In fact, the city of Raanana, Israel, even provides a special NewJersey trade mission, a counterpart to Yonah’s office, which designsand builds successful partnerships between the two lands.Israel’s needs. “We are the first to admit that wecannot do it all,” says Doran. “We can excellently take aproject from the scratch board right up through production. But afterthat we have trouble.” In the post-production areas of advertising,marketing and distribution, Israel needs and craves Yankee know how.Tight networks. “Israel just isn’t that big,”laughs Doran. “Every engineer knows most of the other engineers.It makes for a great sharing of ideas and a swift passage of the businessprocess.” Bureaucracy typically can be overcome with the personaltouch.However, as everyone is aware, this land of milk and honey isbeset with strife and problems. For the last decade Israeli industryhas been destructively cash starved. And in addition to her incessantstruggles with neighbors, being viewed as the “eastern arm ofAmerican foreign policy” has not always proven to be an idealbusiness booster. Along with the rest of the globe, Israel has slidinto a substantial recession this past 24 months. Among the sectorshurt is its high-tech industry, on which Israel had placed high hopes.Yet the corner is already being turned and economists are predictingthat Israel now offers a chance to buy low before prices rise.As a final caveat, both Doran and Yonah plead with New Jerseyans tobe sensitive to the cultural differences. Frequently, the easy useof English and similar dress can lull American business people intoassuming that you are truly at home. “Differences may be subtle,but they are many,” insists Doran. Payment schedules, for example,typically are different. Consultants and sub-contractors get paidonly when the final results are submitted.”Israel is a very informal, very personal country,” Yonahexplains. Dress is much more casual and business deals are forgedmore frequently on relationships. Israelis are very concerned withthe content of your character and will spend a long time working todiscover it. “One day you may spend 12 hours in heated negotiations,”she says, “then the next you will be invited to your partner’sgrandson’s wedding where scores of people are fawning over you likefamily.” In short, Israel is a land where it is important to gothe extra, personal mile. And for those who are willing, it can provea profitable experience in many ways.— Bart JacksonTop Of PageEmployers Are Drawn More to Energy Than to LoyaltyThere are signs that the job-hunting climate is improving.Sheree Butterfield, right, a human resources specialist withDrake Beam Moran’s (DBM) Forrestal Village office, says she is seeingless downsizing. Her firm’s customers are companies in the throesof personnel changes, which sometimes, but not always, means downsizing.Her firm’s clients, for the most part, are individuals who are in”career transition.” And while the euphemism does mean “outof work,” the cause is no longer predominantly a downsizing.”When the economy is not doing well, cutting people is a quickway to save money,” says Butterfield. That is exactly what DBMhad been seeing until recently. “We are a counter-cyclical businessin terms of career transition,” she says. “The last two yearswere the strongest ever for DBM.”Since the spring, however, she has not been seeing as much downsizing.”Now,” she says, “it’s more a division is being sold,and eight or so people in the Princeton office are no longer needed.”But whether the move to the unemployment line comes as a result ofa mass downsizing or of a merger or a decision to scrap an officeor a line of business, the result for the displaced individual isthe same. DBM is among the outplacement firms whose mission it isto get those individuals back into a good position as soon as possible.On Tuesday, December 3, at 8:30 a.m. Butterfield joins with otherHR professionals in a seminar on “HR Transitions: Taking YourNext Step.” The Society of Human Relations Management event takesplace at Rutgers University’s Bush Center in Somerset. Other panelistsinclude Jeffrey Adkins of Right Management Consultants, AndrewBorkin of Strategic Advancement Inc., Donald Doele of theWorkplace Group, Gerald Crispin of MMC Group, and Butterfield’scolleague at DBM, Amy Raditz. Call 908-281-9563 for furtherinformation.The clients in Butterfield’s office are nearly all executives, manyof them high-level executives. For about half, finding themselvessuddenly on the street is getting to be old hat. For the others, somelongtime employees with the same company, the experience is new. Forall, it is unsettling. Adding to the stress is the fact that, in manycases, severance is not the thick cushion it once was. Perhaps becausethis is the case, Butterfield says her clients are raring to go fromday one.Still, it is now taking the executives DBM works with about five monthsto find a new position. And in this less-than-ideal economic climateare they having to settle for less? Butterfield does not hesitatea second before declaring No! Interestingly, the fact that displacedexecutives are finding jobs that are at least equal to the ones theyleft has little to do with their own willingness to make a downwardmove. “It’s driven by the employer,” says Butterfield. Shefinds that no employer wants an overqualified employee, fearing thathe will bolt at the first opportunity.While getting back into the game is not easy — not now — thereare some strategies that help. Just as important there are some thingsthe still-employed can do that will provide a softer landing shouldthey be made redundant:Look alive! It is vital that job seekers project vitality,flexibility, and an eagerness for new challenges. Experience is agiven, but it is far from enough. Successful candidates need to demonstratea high energy level and an ability to make a contribution to a neworganization quickly.Emphasize change-hardiness. Forget loyalty. A new employerdoes not want to hear how you faithfully served your past companyfor three decades. Loyalty no longer wins a lot of points, says Butterfield.If you were with just one employer for a long time, prepare vignettesshowcasing the challenges you met while moving among different positionsat that company.Re-think career options. Butterfield says that DBM’s clientsoften decide early on in the assessment program through which thecompany leads them that the corporate life is no longer for them.Many are even grateful to have been shown the door, and after takinga good look at their skills and interests, decide to go in an entirelydifferent direction.In any case, whether the decision is to look for another corporategig, start a business, teach third graders, or look into the opportunitiesin the non-profit sector, Butterfield says there is one single thingthat is the biggest help in the transition. And it is something everyonecan do — and really should do — while still employed.”Network!” she says. Nothing is as important. Don’t get solost in work that you lose track of your friends and business associates.Beyond keeping up a strong network, she thinks it is a good idea totake those calls from headhunters and even to go on a few job interviewsfrom time to time, even if you have no desire to leave your currentjob.No job — absolutely, positively no job at all — is truly secureover the long term, Butterfield says, although she is still seeingsome folks who thought that was the case. A number of DBM’s clientsare former high tech workers. “They were always so highly employable,”she says. “This is such a huge shock to their systems.”Top Of PageNJ SBDC’s Formula For International Business Successd>Jessica Alpert-Goldman is the winner of last year’sNew Jersey Small Business Development Center’s International Award.At 28, and looking a good deal younger (there are lots of picturesof her on her website, www.worldaccordingtojess.com), Alpert-Goldmanhas been the owner of an international business for just a year. Shedesigns and sells pricey fashion forward handbags that she has manufacturedin Asia. Already, she has gotten ink in Vogue, Us, New Jersey Monthly,InStyle, ImProper Bostonian, and Time.Alpert, whose wares have appeared on the arms of Sex in the City’strend-setting stars, waded into international business — an arenaevery bit as fraught with difficulty as is New York’s single scene— with the help of Roger Cohen. Cohen, an internationalbusiness consultant based in Upper Nyack, New York (www.rogercohen.com),is on contract with the NJSBDC to provide instruction and consultationto New Jersey residents involved in — or contemplating gettinginvolved in — international trade.No pie-in-the-foreign-sky optimist, Cohen flatly states that “internationaltrade is never easy.” Yet, as Alpert-Goldman’s success indicates,it is possible, even for start-up entrepreneurs. Cohen provides aroadmap when he gives a three-hour seminar on “Demystifying InternationalTrade” on Wednesday, December 4, at 6:30 p.m. at an NJSBDC eventat Raritan Valley Community College. Cost: $30. Call 908-218-8871.In addition to his work for the NJSBDC, Cohen sees private clientsthrough Cohen International, a company he formed in 1991 to consulton business development to international companies and to start-ups.A graduate of Cornell (Class of 1978), where he studied planning andpolicy development, Cohen has managed factory construction in Canadafor Coke, Pepsi, and 7-Up, represented the Japanese Ministry of Financeto the United States Department of Treasury, and developed the firstexport markets of United States specialty paper to Japan.Just back from a business trip to Japan and China, Cohen talks aboutthe ingredients for success in international trade:Start with a domestic business. “International tradeis like the super charger for an engine,” Cohen says. It is bestused as an extension of a current business. People come to him allthe time talking excitedly about an interesting product they saw whileon vacation. Could the doll or electronic gadget or line of sweaterssweep the United States? Maybe, he says, but probably not. The barriersto distribution are huge, and the time investment necessary to turna vacation find into a business would be enormous.For the person or company already selling software or designing schoolsor manufacturing modular homes, however, expanding into other countriescan often be profitable.Stick to what you know. A family with relatives involvedin producing olive oil in Italy might use that connection to startan import business, says Cohen. In the same vein, a company makingauto parts in South Jersey might consider adding an export side tothe business.While Alpert-Cohen, the young woman with the international handbagcompany, did not have a close overseas connection or an existing company,she did know handbags. Her resume speaks of “14 fashion-fabulousto fashion-mishap” jobs.Consider starting with an “easy” market. Lookfor a common language, Cohen suggests, pointing out that it mightbe easier for the typically uni-lingual American entrepreneur to dobusiness with the U.K. than with a country where few people speakEnglish. Also look for proximity. Cohen points out that Canada andMexico are two of the country’s main trading partners.But, Cohen warns, be aware that there are no truly “easy”countries with which to trade. International trade, no matter where,involves lots due diligence and perseverance.Analyze what you have to offer. “If you say `my priceis lower,’ you’re not going to succeed,” says Cohen. An entrepreneurtaking on international markets needs to have competitive advantagesthat go beyond price. As an example, he says, a person thinking offinding clients for his telecom business in Finland might have a shotif he knows the technology, speaks the language, appreciates the culture,and has had dealings with Finnish companies.Start with marketing. In his seminars Cohen devotes agood amount of time to marketing. He says he sees many people —especially in the technology field — who have developed productsthey believe are exciting and can’t wait to start selling them. Beforesales, he points out, comes marketing. It is vital to determine whomight be interested in buying from you and how you will let them knowthat you could be a great supplier for them.Don’t rely too heavily on the Internet. The Internet isgreat for selling one or two or fifty items at a time, but, says Cohen,is no help with mass distribution.Think through distribution. This is a tough one. The Wal-Martsof the world, says Cohen, most often do not even buy from manufacturers,but rather depend upon ultra-sophisticated distributors. “Canyou guarantee that you will have between 15 and 24 of your widgetson their shelves at all times?” asks Cohen. This is no easy taskfor the little guy trying to bring in any product, let alone one thathas to travel across national borders and make it through customs.While the obstacles to foreign trade are formidable, New Jerseyansare making the connection all the time. Cohen’s student, Alpert-Goldman,is an example. Armed with a unique, relatively expensive line product,she has gotten her goods on the shelves of a number of small, specialtyshops. Anyone who dreams of replicating her success might want toattend Cohen’s seminar to get a handle on the realities — andthe possibilities.Top Of PageCorporate AngelsHere’s a practical public relations gesture that issure to be appreciated while also raising funds for two area non-profits:McCarter Theater and Kids-for-Kids of New Jersey.Beginning Friday, November 29, Palmer Square management is transforminga storefront at 43 Hulfish Street, Princeton, into “Holiday Central.”The space will be open Thursday and Friday evenings as well as Saturdayand Sunday afternoons as a rest stop for tired shoppers plus a collectionpoint for new unwrapped toys, winter outerwear, and toiletries tobe distributed to the needy by Kids-for-Kids, a service organizationrun by teenagers.In addition, the storefront will feature gift wrapping, the proceedsof which will benefit McCarter’s education department, and it willalso display items from the theater’s company store. In return McCarterwill present guest appearances by members of its “Christmas Carol”cast.Previous StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
