Globally Integrated Enterprise

I’ve been thinking a lot about traveling and being a consultant. Right now, I am averaging about two to six nights a week at home, per month. This is partly because my girlfriend lives in Boston. I also end up attending various events in other cities, such as graduations, weddings and reunions.

Sam Palmisano, CEO of IBM, believes that the world is moving towards Globally Integrated Enterprises. I saw that this sentiment was echoed in a recent Economist article. And it makes sense, because there is so much talent and expertise in foreign countries. It makes sense to move functions to those areas in order to use those resources.

“The barriers that used to block the flow of work, capital and ideas are weakening.” A side-effect of the GIE is that employees travel more and go to places where their skills and expertise are needed most. One of my coworkers is from Columbia, and is living here in Bentonville for this project. The Indian firms, such as Satyam, are very good at shifting human capital to where it is needed. And there is news that IBM may layoff a lot of people to focus on this type of enterprise.

The travel, especially for large projects, can have a drastic impact on your personal life. Being a consultant in a GIE is a trade off – you trade off your personal life to take part in challenging projects with like-minded people in exotic locations (such as Bentonville, AR). Right now it seems that this is the career path that I am on – working for consulting in a GIE.

My brother was telling me about an article he read about a consultant who decided to give up his home altogether. Financially, it may make sense for me to give up my apartment and put my things into storage if I continue to travel this much. I’ve searched for the article online without success, so if anyone has a link, please let me know!