Global Cosmopolitans

The key players in the next stage of globalization, and the creative edge they bring to companies.

by Linda Brimm, Ph.D.

You Do Not Have to Be Rich

It is not only the global elite that are developing the skills necessary in our global economy. On a recent trip to the slums of Mumbai, I encountered extreme poverty and at the same time encountered people that spoke three languages, have lived in very different cultural contexts in India, and have learned through necessity the skills of being an entrepreneur. Read More

You Are What You Eat! Or Are You?

On a recent book tour talking about the challenges and opportunities of a Global Cosmopolitan lifestyle, people invariably brought up the subject of food. What you eat, how you eat and when you eat are elements of everyday life that mark global experience. Read More

Leaving Home: Navigating the Need to Belong and the Need to Feel Different

For Global Cosmopolitans, confronting the contradictions or paradoxical needs is a normal part of living across cultures. Last week, while in Latin America, people described the tension of both wanting to maintain a feeling of belonging to their childhood friends and family, while knowing that their lives away from home had changed them in significant ways. Read More

How Is Technology Changing the Current Generation of Global Cosmopolitans?

How is technology changing the current generation of Global Cosmopolitans? This question surfaced at a recent presentation on Global Cosmopolitans at the Wellfleet Public Library. This generation of people in their 20's and 30's have grown up with significant technological advances that have transformed the world. How has it transformed them and their experience? Read More

Bringing your Cultural Competence Home

After years of worldwide travel and an exciting life style, Global Cosmopolitans, Steve and Rosa, want to start a family in New York. Both have American passports, excellent work opportunities in NYC and regard it as "home" in some sense. Read More

Sustaining a Global Cosmopolitan Relationship Through Complexity, Difference and Change

"Is there a guidebook for making it as a Global Cosmopolitan couple?" In a recent presentation to an MBA alumni meeting in France, one experienced Global Cosmopolitan currently living in France raised this key question that the rest of audience echoed. Read More

When the personal gets political

Lecturing on Global Cosmopolitans in Bulgaria and Romania brought up many questions from both travelers and people considering the possibility of embarking on a global lifestyle. Read More

The Home Advantage?

My recent book tour to India coincided with the Cricket World Cup. I learned to arrange my schedule around the matches... and that, in the Subcontinent, cricket is a religion that brings together people of all faiths. A CNN report showed expat Indians and Pakistanis watching the World Cup together in the United Arab Emirates, despite their well-documented national neighbors' feud. Read More

There Is No Place Like...Where?

The more you move around, the harder it is to know where home is - but the more important it feels to have roots. The international communities of Asia offer interesting lessons on resolving this paradox. I've just spent several weeks in Asia, in particular, Singapore and Hong Kong, talking to Global Cosmopolitans. Read More

Linda Brimm, Ph.D., is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at INSEAD, and the author of Global Cosmopolitans: The Creative Edge of Difference.

more...