Malcolm Teasdale

Travel Diaries of an Atypical Businessman: Conducting Business in Foreign Lands Malcolm Teasdale

Traveling the World in search of new business seems like a glamorous occupation, but in reality, it presents many complications, misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and plenty of opportunities to make mistakes. Malcolm Teasdale is one of those fortunate people, who has been given the chance to experience the many wonderful places and people on our planet. Chilling out on vacation in a far off distant exotic place is a dream come true for most of us. However, when the primary reason for travel is to conduct business, the challenges caused by the competitiveness of the industry is compounded by the necessity to understand foreign cultures and mannerisms. Flight delays, overcrowded planes, unscheduled hotel stays, language barriers, unfamiliar food, strange people with confusing dialects, bizarre social behavior, are just some of the day to day happenings when traveling overseas. With an attitude of ?I'll go to any place at least once?, Malcolm goes in search of business opportunities in emerging markets around the Globe, some of which bring success and others that can be classified as a waste of time and energy. The negatives are completely outweighed by the positives. A bad experience becomes a learning experience. Bad luck relates to something that didn't go as planned, but as much as a good experience, it is forever etched in memory. Malcolm decided to document everything, so that when he retires, and is too feeble to play golf, scuba dive, or even walk along a beach, he will have something to read, and maybe laugh at his past escapades. In a Global economy, it is very important that companies today expand into other countries in the World, especially if any opportunities can be identified. Sometimes it takes a leap of faith to travel to foreign lands in search of business. Challenges abound, such as: ? Language barriers ? Cultural differences ? Restaurants, bars, the food and the drink ? Social acceptance ? Staying out of trouble Travel Diaries of an Atypical Businessman exposes some of these challenges, while at the same time every conscious effort was made to succeed in a business World that sometimes can bring the best and worst out of an individual.