You Can't Lead With Your Feet On the Desk Building Relationships, Breaking Down Barriers, and Delivering Profits

The leader of Marriott International, the world's largest hotel chain, explains how he built Marriott into the world's largest international hotel chain, with lessons for managers in any cross-cultural business situation, about how to navigate cultural and language differences, unfamiliar geography, and frustrating bureaucracy. The United States isn't the only economic giant on the world stage these days, and the humility that accompanies that understanding can be a powerful business tool. Managing employees from other cultures calls for considerable sensitivity; their customs and practices must be respected and integrated into workplace rules and standards. But the real secret to managing in any culture is much simpler and always the same--building personal relationships and long-term trust through face-to-face communication.

ED FULLER, President and Managing Director of the International Lodging Division of Marriott International, Inc., has flown more than 10 million miles, solidifying business relationships around the world. Over the past two decades, he has grown Marriott's international lodging portfolio from sixteen hotels in six countries to 400 properties in seventy countries with revenues in excess of $7 billion.