A global mindset is more important than ever to career and company success, according to Peggy Gann, senior vice president of human resources and administration at Schneider Electrics North American Operating Division.

In the following Q&A, Gann expands on these Schneider Electric initiatives and on how, as a nation, the U.S. needs to take off the blinders and be better citizens of a global economy thats causing individuals and corporations to reinvent themselves.

Q: In planning for your future workforce needs, what do you consider the highest priorities?
A: As business continues to grow, were able to shift focus from cost control to talent management, and thats where human resource professionals can really make a difference. In this role, were constantly exploring what our needs will be in three to five years and were assessing who will be ready to meet the challenge. One of the main areas of focus in talent management is centered on creating greater global awareness among our professionals in North America. In fact, since the need for this is greatest in the United States, were taking the lead to develop a model system that will increase cultural awareness throughout the company globally. If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere.

Q: How do you develop a persons cultural awareness and global perspective?
A: The best way to develop global perspective is to experience it, and were approaching it in several different ways. Our Marco Polo program offers recent college graduates international experience right off the bat. Their first assignment is outside North America for a period of about two years. We have 20 or more people in the program now. This is the first year well have Marco Polo participants returning to North America, and were excited about that. We want to know what theyve learned and want to help them apply and share the insights that come from immersion in a foreign country. Marco Polo participants are thrilled to gain international exposure early in their career. It will likely be the first of many such assignments for these individuals. This generation also has a great hunger for knowledge.

Q: What are you doing to develop global awareness among more senior people?
A: We are making it clear that if you want a senior management position, you must have obtained international experience either outside North America or by managing a global business or process. Our management and leadership band in North America includes about 700 middle and upper management professionals. At any one time, about 20 percent of them are participating in some form of an inter-national assignment for two to three years in length, and that percentage will increase in coming years. You simply cannot overestimate the value of building greater understanding for the different cultures in a global corporation and how this accelerates collaboration, team building and global thinking.

Q: Two years is a long commitment for people to make to live in a foreign country, particularly if theyre already settled in the United States. Do you offer such opportunities for shorter periods of time?
A: Yes, we do. Its not easy for Americans to move to a foreign country, particularly for professionals raising a family. But those who are willing are paid a premium and provided a once-in-a-lifetime learning and development experience. We also have the Bridge program, which merges major SAP implementation projects into one global core system to support and automate global business processes. It offers foreign assignments for three to six months. The structure for the program is still being developed but were creating foreign assignment opportunities for people in every department, from HR to manufacturing and sales to purchasing and everything in between. This will only make us stronger and better able to serve colleagues as well as global customers, because theyre facing the same challenges. Theres still another program that brings together about 30 high performing managers from throughout the world at least twice a year. Its run by the Institute for Schneider Management and is focused on helping senior managers effectively leverage the diversity in our organization. Its especially helpful in developing problem solving and communications skills for persons with cross-cultural managerial responsibilities.

Q: Are there other specific core competencies that Schneider Electric is striving to enhance on a global basis?
A: On a global basis, were working hard to increase our mastery in the areas of supply chain management and in industrialization. Interestingly, these two fields are undergoing dramatic transformation. Again, its all because of globalization. The cultural issues associated with sourcing products and services in new markets and the changing roles that countries will play in the global economy have enormous implications on where we make our products and how we move them through the distribution system. For example, weve recently set up an international sourcing team with resources from North America, Europe, China and Southeast Asia. This is a big step for our North American Operating Division. Almost 95 percent of our total spend of $1 billion is with North American suppliers. This new team is working on sourcing components and finished goods from China, Southeast Asia and India, and theyll be there for several months getting to know the culture, developing a network and putting systems in place. Over the next five years, we expect to buy nearly $1 billion from these regions. The need for cultural awareness is obvious.

Q: How is globalization influencing your approach to industrialization?
A: The influence is nothing short of dramatic -- for us and for any company with a long history of manufacturing in America. The concept of industrialization has changed. Its all about the process of determining where in the world were going to make what has historically been made here. We need to better understand the complexities of turning other parts of the world into manufacturing economies. Were learning fast that this insight and ability to relate to other cultures will be crucial to the future of American enterprises. After all, we dont want to look at China, India and other emerging countries as only low cost manufacturing solutions. We want them to be customers, too. How do we accomplish both? We need to come to grips with a lot of new paradigms in our newly-defined industrial state.

Q: Do you think American workers are paying a price for not having more of a global mindset?
A: Our American-centric view has contributed to our being caught off guard in a couple of big ways. I think part of the reason weve been shocked by outsourcing is because we, as a nation, have not had experiences or firsthand knowledge of whats happening in many parts of the world. There are plenty of reasons for this, of course, starting with our sheer size, which has long enabled us to pay less attention than we should to the world around us. American industry has only recently been able to grasp the speed with which we can go half way around the world to source and move raw materials and other products. Theres no doubt we underestimated the impact of the rapid change to open markets in Russia, China and India, despite the major role we played in bringing about this change. We werent prepared for how communications technology would accelerate the development of open markets, despite the fact that so many of the worlds leading technology companies are American.

Q: So youre saying we did a lot to spur globalization but were not prepared for it?
A: Yes, and the ramifications are enormous. What will these new economies mean to the United States? Whats the future for a nation that has long led the world? We face enormously important challenges. To sustain our leadership, we have to take off our blinders and be better citizens of the global economy. We cant go it alone.

Our nations diminished role in manufacturing isnt new. It hasn't been the backbone of our economy for a long time. Nearly as much economic activity is tied to information technology or health care services as manufacturing. The focus remains on manufacturing, of course, because manufactured goods get traded. Theyre visible. So looking ahead, what will our focus be? We need to be asking ourselves hard questions as a nation, and every company needs to participate in this process, too.

Q: What will the focus of the American economy be if not manufacturing?
A: Were still fighting to hang onto things that were not going to ever be again. The factories of today are going to be converted into research and development centers focused on tomorrows challenges in every industry. To a degree, the model already is taking shape in our company. We dont enjoy reducing our workforce and saying good-bye to workers who have contributed to our company for decades. We exhaust every alternative before closing a plant. Recently, we were able to keep a facility from closing because all parties were able to make the necessary concessions. Our business has been dedicated to getting electricity where it has to go safely and efficiently for 100 years, and we always will play that role. At the same time, convergence of electrical distribution, automation and control with communications technologies is opening new doors for us. Its a great time to build on our historical strengths to play a key role in designing the New Electric World envisioned by Schneider Electric.

Q: What are you telling your people about what it takes to succeed?
A: It all comes down to education and continuous learning. The greatest asset anyone or any company can have is genuine intellectual capital. Theres tremendous thought leadership in our nation, but we dont have a monopoly on it. Our educational system and multinational firms have been attracting bright people to our country for a long time. More and more of them are returning home to develop companies, industries and nations to compete on a global scale.

Americans need to renew their hunger for knowledge, particularly at the graduate school level and in such areas as science and engineering. The number of foreign graduate students enrolling for the first time at American universities is down, but they still comprise a very significant portion of the student body. American students need to step up and realize that education is central to their success when they graduate and throughout their lives. We cant take it for granted.

Q: What do todays students need to learn?
A: We really need to help this next generation understand the interdependence of the global environment and the economy. Thats the only way theyll develop and be able to maintain a competitive edge. They also need to be strategic thinkers and know how to negotiate in ways that contribute to mutual success among all parties.

The new generation of workers, and everyone willing to learn, must accept the great value in experiencing other cultures and that doing so will enhance individual and collective success. Understanding this complementary quality of cultures is an enormously important asset. Its a powerful differentiation for individuals, for companies, and our nation as a whole.

Q: Is this a defining moment for the Human Resource professional?
A: I think it is. Global forces are clearly reshaping our role. More than ever, we must truly be business strategists and able to look into the future and see what we need -- not only to be prepared but to play a leadership role in moving organizations forward, keeping them nimble and prepared to adapt and seize opportunities. Thats the essence of talent management, and we must perform that role in a global context. So we have to increase our own cultural awareness and scope of experience.

Technology has broken down borders. It has made time zones irrelevant. To compete effectively in this borderless world, we must embrace its diversity because therein lies its strength. For HR professionals, I cant imagine a more exciting and important challenge.

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