Since completing an 18-month full-time double MBA (UK and Germany) in February 1998, Näslund has worked as a consultant, facilitator, trainer and coach throughout Europe.

Today, successful companies need people who can think and act across numerous cultural divides. To manage and build relationships across these borders requires considerable organisational and personal flexibility. Different environments, circumstances and events require different approaches. This does not necessarily come easily. A strategic and creative approach to building cross-cultural competence will not only avoid unnecessary crises – it could also provide a sustainable competitive edge.

A range of styles and approaches encourages a far broader capacity for solving problems and achieving objectives. Our ability to learn and exploit this diverse knowledge faster than our competitors may be our only sustainable advantage in a highly competitive and fast-moving environment.

Working in a turbulent global business environment

All our projects involve people going through change, be it organisational or individual – as in the case of executives taking on international roles. As organisational structures change and become increasingly fuzzy and unclear, the pressure on international executives increases. In a global environment there is an increased danger of mixed messages, confusion and stress. Managing people you cannot see and talk to face-to-face on a regular basis is difficult. Even the best managers are often defeated by the complexity of their task. The increased internationalism of business adds another layer of complexity and leaders have to work even harder to ensure that everyone is engaged.

Cultural integration: mergers and acquistions,
change and diversity projects

Diversity is about inclusion and about recognising people’s differences and valuing those differences. Companies are often built on conformity, with the notion of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ answers, and it is tempting to impose familiar processes when put in charge of an integration project. The ever-growing list of cross-border mergers that fail to fulfil their promise shows that bringing different groups of people together (a tough task even when everyone shares the same language and basic values) is even more complicated than executives and their financial advisers might imagine at the outset.

A crucial leadership attribute is irreverence – the ability to ignore conventional wisdom and question long-held management truths. For example, decision-making and communication styles vary considerably across Europe. And established Anglo-Saxon management processes such as ‘regular feedback’ and ‘performance management’ are not universally accepted by our European colleagues – in fact they are generally met with suspicion and strong resistance.

We often find that we are called in to administer ‘emergency treatment’ months into a cross-border take-over, merger or diversity initiative, when valuable time, resources and goodwill have already been lost. It is easy to underestimate the complexity of bringing together people from various countries, helping them overcome tensions and differences, and encouraging them to work together happily and effectively.

Our clients

We work together with European and North American multinational companies in a variety of sectors: beverages, automotive, engineering, banking, pharmaceuticals & biotechnology, telecommunications, travel, packaging, personal care & household products, information technology, oil & gas exploration, financial services and consulting.

Recent projects have included assignments with twelve international corporations (from the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Norway and Sweden) listed in the Financial Times ‘Global 500’ companies’ survey, 10 June 2006.

Our approach

We take a facilitative and interactive approach and focus our customised consultancy advice, development programmes, training and coaching on clients’ real business issues. And we promise not to bore you with too many lists and bullet points.

We base our help and support on first-hand, up-to-date experience, backed by solid academic research - not just from an Anglo-Saxon perspective!

Associate team

The Bridgehead network of consultants and coaches stretches across the globe – all experienced professionals with a business background in change and diversity management, human resources, marketing, strategy, organisational development – and all with extensive experience of working across borders. They also have a wide range of language skills.