bout de papier, Vol. 11, No. 1 (1994) — Spring 1994 // Printemps 1994, pp. 4–5
The world of international business is changing. Industry is busy redesigning itself from the inside out to cope with the demands of today’s fast paced global market. Meanwhile, are we as Trade Commissioners keeping up? We, like business, must strive to be competitive.
We are often critical of Canadian business’s ability to be competitive, and its conservative nature in meeting the special challenges of new markets. The irony is that industry is becoming better equipped for global business competition than we (read governments at-large) who are supporting their efforts in international business. In light of this, a group of Trade Commissioners decided to get together on an informal basis to try to develop a practical tool to help ourselves and our colleagues managing federal trade programmes abroad. The result of this effort was the Trade Programme Manager’s “Unofficial” Survival Guide which has been distributed to all trade officers at headquarters and in the field.
The Guide is a concise straightforward document divided into four basic sections: Pre-Posting Arrangements, Upon Arrival, Taking Stock, and Managing for the Future. Each section sets out a series of questions intended to provoke analysis of both the local business and office environments. The Guide is not prescriptive (we did not presume to have the answers); we believe that identifying what questions to ask is half the battle in good management and that solutions will always vary according to particular circumstances.
We put the Guide together on a shoestring budget with more evening and weekend hours than we care to count. To capitalize on the diversity of individuals that make up the Trade Commissioners Service, the group grew to include 20 colleagues ranging from FS1-D to EX-2, representing a range of job profiles and geographic and functional back-grounds, working together in subcommittees on the four sections of the Guide. A number of “judges,” senior departmental managers (political and trade) in both the field and headquarters, looked at the Guide in its various stages and shared their advice, perspectives, and experiences. Senior management liked what they saw, and supported our efforts by printing and distributing the Guide.
Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of this undertaking was having junior and senior officers sit together, on their own time and initiative, roll up their sleeves, and tackle issues of common interest. While we did not always agree, we learned from each other and came to understand and respect each others’ varied perspectives. The fact that so many people rallied behind this effort made it all that much more worthwhile. We learned that esprit de corps is still very much a part of the Trade Commissioner Service, and that this “esprit” grows when we share in defining and building our future.
We are all grappling as best we can to cope with increasingly overwhelming demands from the private sector eager to pursue global opportunities. The late eighties saw the Department promoting the idea that “everyone can export,” and sending out glossy brochures across the country urging companies to contact their Trade Commissioners abroad. The private sector responded. Equipped with the miracle of computer generated form letters, many companies, export-ready or not, began to “shotgun” requests for information to every Mission we have abroad. Compounding the increase in the private sector’s interest, “Ottawa” meant more than this Department and now includes the international programs operations of nearly every other federal and provincial government department.
The question we must now ask is “How can we be better?” We are not advocating change merely for change’s sake, nor slashing through the entire system of the past; there is much in our work as trade commissioners that is valuable and worth preserving, and not a few lessons of the past that merit dusting off and re-evaluating. At the same time, we must become more selective in who we assist and must learn to say “No.”
Traditionally, we have prided ourselves in our relevance to the Canadian business community, its needs and expectations. The emergence of non-traditional sectors and a distinct shift towards supporting non-export specific commercial-economic work (eg. investment promotion, technology transfer, strategic alliances) demand more of our attention. Further, the importance of multilaterally negotiated or regionally negotiated trade policies and market access issues have begun to bridge the perceived solitudes of Trade Policy and Trade Promotion. Indeed, all these elements combined have resulted in changing even the name of what we do from Trade Promotion to International Business Development.
The need to work smarter and not just harder has never been more critical. Yes, we do need systemic change with bold new directions. But each of us, as individuals and colleagues, also needs to take responsibility in forging our own new, improved Trade Commissioners’ Service that is better able to assist Canada not only to compete but to win in the global marketplace.
There are Departmental initiatives to address selected aspects of the systemic changes required. The International Business Development Review, various discussions on “Role of the Trade Commissioner,” “Best Practices” and “Market Intelligence/ Information” serve to focus efforts to address the need for change. Meanwhile, back at the proverbial ranch, there are trade officers at home and abroad, busy with the day-to-day business of managing trade programmes. Trade directors and their officers face the daily challenges of deciding on business promotion strategies, determining priorities, counselling clients, and grappling with unclear and always overwhelming demands on their time.
The Guide is a “1993 edition”. Based on our experience, not only with the final product but also with the process of consulting with and galvanizing our peers, we encourage you, too, to take charge and to be a part of the change. To continue to be relevant, it needs your thoughts and solutions on trade program management issues. A number of readers have already provided valuable common-sense suggestions. Given the nature of Trade Commissioners’ Service rotationality, we rely on interested colleagues to take over the reins on future editions of the Guide if it is to be a living, breathing and useful document. In the meantime, we promise to be your Departmental Suggestion Box, collecting your thoughts and words of wisdom on the Guide … but only until others come along, ready to reopen the box and to make their own contribution to this effort.
We hope you will read and enjoy the Trade Programme Manager’s “Unofficial” Survival Guide. (if you would like a copy contact the TCS Personnel Division — APT).
View the original scanned pages →
Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 11, No. 1 (1994) — Spring 1994 // Printemps 1994, pp. 4–5. Read the rest of this issue →
