Larry D. Lauer

I spent the last week in Adelaide, South Australia, participating in a conference of advancement professionals from Australia, New Zealand and many other countries around the world. It’s a long, long way to travel and I was reluctant to go.

Very quickly, however, I was reminded that nothing replaces “being there,” even in this internet-dominated world.

Participation with other cultures quickly reveals that while the specifics of problem-solving can be quite different in different places, the big issues everywhere are very much the same.

Even on the international stage, movers and shakers become so by moving and shaking in person! Many of them were present at this conference, and engaged participation was their apparent key to influence and effectiveness. Having fresh ideas was their most important qualification.  Collecting them, and then adapting them through local collaboration, was their chosen path to prominent international influence.

It therefore also became clear that trying to look like an expert on other places and cultures is actually unnecessary, and perhaps even unwise. It became obvious that all effective communication is fundamentally local, and acknowleding that you know this, and knowing how to get that help when you need it, is really the key to earning widespread professional respect. The simplicity and significance of lessons like this are learned only by being there.

In the final analysis, if you want to know and be known internationally (or even locally for that matter), either as an individual or as an organization, you must first show up!