From Foreign to International

I am the daughter of a businessman who dealt in electronics and was an honorary diplomat for France. I am the second child of a mother who worked at the Ateliers de Haute Couture in Paris-a block away from the Champs-Elysées. I am the younger sibling of a sister who has always considered France her home. Doesn't all of that make me French? But I am also the granddaughter of an Armenian woman who lost her entire family in World War I, and her husband when my father was just 11. Doesn't that make me Armenian? Add to this the fact that I moved from France to Australia at age four; moved to Brazil at age six; moved to Argentina at age 11; moved back to Brazil at age 14; spent one year in London during high school; went to New York City for my master's degree. And today-while I have an apartment in Paris-I'm rarely there. Now you can understand the conundrum. I've always been "different." I had made the transition from being "foreign" to "international." Today, I am valued thanks to personal and professional experiences I didn't originally choose. It's become clear how lucky I was to have parents who took me everywhere around the world-to not only live and travel but also to visit family. Today I work in four languages. I run a trilingual master's program at one of the best universities in the world: La Sorbonne. I have partnerships with universities in several countries, am a visiting professor and speak around the globe. I founded my own consulting firm in international business-all this thanks to the intercultural skills I acquired. For years, people have asked, "How did you get to where you are today?" and "Why don't you write a book about your life?" I must admit: I balked at this. While I love my life, it didn't seem to be the continually fascinating experience I would expect when reading someone else's biography! Then I thought about the deeper question: "What is it like to be a citizen of the world rather than just your native country?" While there are many minuses as well as plusses to this, one idea has become clear to me over the years-in academia as well as business. Having an international perspective is no longer a nice way to be different: it is an increasing necessity. A growing number of students will go to school with people from other countries or cultures. More companies will do business with-or be affected by-those in other countries. Isolationism is increasingly a liability and an untenable position. Those of us who already are working in our careers need to adjust. And those of us with children need to do them the favor of preparing them for this world. That is the real purpose of this book. I want to use my personal and business life as an entrée to discussing issues and ideas that will help you, too, move along the continuum from "foreign" to "international." That's why you'll see chapters about encouraging an international viewpoint in a child, as well as the biggest mistakes I've made and what they have taught me. I truly believe that having an international perspective makes you a better and more successful human being as well as a businessperson. Thank you for including me in your journey to get there.