What Happens When Commercial Diplomats Are Not Well Trained?
Company x lost a billion dollar investment because its managers failed either to understand or to ameliorate latent domestic political opposition to a crucial aspect of that investment. Country y lost a billion dollar market because its trade negotiators failed to understand the requirements for a mutually satisfactory solution to some policy conflicts. Countries have fought major wars because their trade negotiators failed to arrive at a mutually advantageous basis for trade. Most losses due to poor training in Commercial Diplomacy, however, are less dramatic but have no less of an impact. Commercial Diplomats must wrestle with numerous unimportant detailed issues that nevertheless add up and can lead to increasing friction in bilateral relationships between key countries and missed opportunities in creating new business opportunities.
