Global Pursuit: Canadian Business Strategies for Winning in the Borderless World

James R. Midwinter was senior assistant secretary to the Cabinet and
inspector general of the Foreign Service before his appointment as
Canadian ambassador to Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.

Goldenberg, an experienced commentator on business issues, has written a
useful exhortatory “how-to” book about international commerce in the
1990s from a Canadian perspective. Her theme is a simple one: business
is becoming globalized at breakneck speed, and Canadian companies must
adapt or perish.

Goldenberg outlines the strategies adopted—and the lessons learned on
the way—by 100-odd Canadian firms to cope with the new, rapidly
evolving economic environment. In doing so, she quite properly
differentiates between small firms, large firms, and Canadian
subsidiaries of foreign concerns, discussing the varying problems and
opportunities confronting them. Her aim is to help Canadian businesses
shorten the learning curve on the road to international viability by
drawing on the experience of others.

In presenting her argument, Goldenberg draws extensively on statistics
and other information from official sources. Appendixes set out the
assistance available from governments, trade associations, etc.

While by no means a scholarly or complete treatment of export and other
international business, Goldenberg’s book contains a number of
insights that would make it a useful addition to any businessperson’s
bookshelf. The focus is on export development—but, as Goldenberg
notes, even firms that are not into export or are not planning to go
international must think global if they are to cope successfully with
challenges from abroad to their survival and growth on their own ground.

A chapter on the special requirements of doing business in the former
Soviet Union contains some useful tips but was becoming outdated even as
Goldenberg wrote it—a striking, if perhaps inadvertent, point in
support of her emphasis on the need to keep informed about the rapidly
changing international scene.