Read the full script of Module 11, Episode 4 of the Global Growth Master Class below. Want to get certified on global expansion? Simply click here to access the complete course today.

Finally. Finally, we’ve covered all the major tenets of global growth and successfully operating at global scale. You did it! 

As we’ve described in the course summary in this module, we’ve covered a lot of ground, piece-by-piece teaching you all the factors that go into building (and sustaining) a global organization. In earlier modules, we discussed the Global Agile Model at a higher level, but now you are ready to learn how all the elements of the model, and all the frameworks you have learned in the master class, fit together at each stage of the global growth process, from preparation to reaching global scale.

Let’s take a few minutes and review each stage, to show you how to use all of the frameworks you have learned to help your company succeed in global markets

Recall the Global Agile Methodology and the Global Growth Model/Process (akin to Steve Blank’s Customer Development Model, which helps companies validate their business model and find product-market fit), it’s 5 stages, illustrated by the 5 circles in the framework that represent the 5 stages of global growth, all supported by the structures and processes that facilitate growth.

On the far left, we start with the first stage, Organizational Readiness. The goal of this stage is to Prepare for International Expansion, ensuring the company has the right team in place, internal alignment, and is fully committed to global growth

There are 2 steps in this stage, the first is Internal Alignment. This is where organization leaders align on the Four Commitments for Successful Global Growth: Resource Alignment, Autonomy & Trust, Communication & Clarity, and adoption of the Global Agile Methodology.

Teams should also take the Global Readiness Score or conduct a Global Readiness Score assessment to identify any gaps to proactive address areas across the 10 different categories we outlined that may become problems later. This is also where companies can go through a process of evaluating and universalizing core values and company culture to ensure it appeals to future employees and customers not located in the initial market.

The 2nd and final step of the Preparation stage is Market Hypotheses, where the team creates a target country list to evaluate. This stage of the Global Agile Methodology is important because it is foundational, as often companies don’t take time to do so, assuming that the company way will work abroad, or prioritizing speed-to-market without considering if the organization is ready.

The second stage is Market Readiness & Strategy Development which is similar to a process of Customer RE-Discovery

There are 4 goals during this stage all under the umbrella of Market Readiness & Strategy Development: to Validate Market Opportunity (that there is problem/solution fit in global markets), to create localization hypotheses (determining what would need to change to succeed in a target market), to make a final market selection decision, and to create a market entry strategy. It’s important to note that market selection should occur, only after confirming Organizational Readiness, Market Readiness, and understanding the scale of localization required. Most companies commit to a market before all these steps are completed.

During Market Opportunity, the first step in the Market AccesibilityReadiness & Strategy Development stage, you conduct the standard market research (from the office) and outline the market opportunity that exists, calculating the Total Addressable Market and evaluating key population and economic factors. Next is the Market Discovery step, which is where the Localization Discovery process is conducted, where team members go in-market to gather information about what the market is really like, and to get key questions answered related to how your go-to-market and operational models may need to change to succeed in the market.

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After this is the Localization Hypothesis Development step where teams run all the insights from Localization Discovery through the two key filters we described, Government & Regulation, and Culture. It is during this step that teams complete the Business Model Localization Canvas exercise, filling out a BMLC for each target country, and creating a list of hypotheses in the far right column for how the go-to-market and operational models would need to change for the market.

The following step is Complexity Mapping, where teams complete the Localization Premium Analysis (LPA) exercise, mapping out the degree of localization a new market requires compared to the validated model in the initial market. As discussed, countries can be layered on top of each other for comparison purposes. Then, there is the Market Selection step, where a company decides on a market to enter, based on all elements of the Global Growth Opportunity, G-GO Matrix - Market Readiness, Organizational Readiness, and degree of localization, and Localization Complexity required.

The final step of the Market Readiness & Strategy Development stage is Market Entry Strategy Creation, where the list of localizations is broken down into levels of prioritization and put into implementation stages to develop a more formal go-to-market plan. The deeper analysis within the Localization Premium Analysis comes into play here, where localizations are prioritized and where you factor in required resources, formalized using the Total Cost of Entry (TCE) Formula, where you outline costs for localizations by priority level and implementation stage. The Global Growth Pitch Deck can also be used to explain the market entry strategy, gaining alignment and buy-in around each market entry. This stage of the Global Agile Methodology is important because it is where structure is often lacking, steps are missed, and where time and money are wasted. 

The Market Entry stage is next

This is similar to a Customer RE-Validation stage in the first international market, where the goal is to validate the business in the new market, achieving Product-Market Fit. This stage occurs during Market Entry, where local team autonomy should be higher, according to the Autonomy Curve. The focus and main step during this stage is around Iteration.

Teams take the localization hypotheses from the far right column on the Business Model Localization Canvas and implement the localizations that were mapped out on the Localization Premium Analysis, based on the market entry plan developed during the Market Entry Strategy Creation step of the Market Readiness & Strategy Development stage. Here the team uses agile principles to iterate and pivot on the model (in particular the go-to-market model) until finding the right, validated structure to reach Product-Market Fit. This stage of the Global Agile Methodology is important because without iterating to find Product-Market Fit in international markets you will never get traction and will never get a good return on investment in your global growth initiatives.

The fourth stage of the Global Agile Methodology is Market Building

The goal of this stage is to find Company-Market Fit, which we defined as not only having Product-Market Fit, but also achieving Operational fit and Culture Fit in a new market. This is also the stage where you enter more markets and need to be more conscious of managing complexity and localization scalability (which we have referred to as Linked Markets) to accelerate your expansion efforts.

This stage, which occurs during Market Growth, requires lower autonomy than during Market Entry according to the Autonomy Curve, because the company must manage to be in multiple markets with unique models, which requires putting up guardrails to control complexity.

The effort at this stage is put into iterating the Operational Model (in particular) and culture models to fit in the market (Company-Market Fit). The key at this stage is to think about your growing global presence and not just about each market individually. In doing that, companies implement internationalizations (localizations that scale in multiple linked markets) and navigate the Job Function Pendulum moving functions between being localized, regionalized, and centralized to best meet operational needs and stated goals.

This stage of the Global Agile Methodology is important because it’s where global growth truly becomes global. It isn’t just operating in one or a few countries but involves a larger global presence. As the company progresses to this stage, complexity management is crucial and must be actively managed.

The final stage, Global Scale, is when a company is truly operating at global scale

The goals become ongoing complexity management and achieving deeper market penetration in global markets, capturing mass market share. This stage is where companies reach Market Maturity. At this stage the amount of Autonomy must be increased, as shown in the Autonomy Curve, to enable local teams to implement deeper localizations that are required to go beyond early adopter customers to a mass market.

The graphic in the Global Agile Methodology is meant to communicate the distance between this circle on the right and the other four. It takes time and dedication focus and resources to get here. Revenue is significant enough at this point that companies start to Separate HQ from the Initial Market when it comes to organizational structure, and where the Global Class Management Model comes more into play as companies maintain a sustained bridge between HQ and local markets, and must effectively manage at scale. This stage is where a company is truly global and ongoing efforts must be made to optimize and improve operations to become market leaders in the global markets it operates in.

Finally, sitting below the 5 circles in the graphic are Momentum Builders. They are the structures and processes that support the company as it progresses through all of the stages of global growth. While some of the frameworks we discussed fit in a distinct stage, a number of them cut across multiple stages, and are important capabilities, enabling the company to progress through the global growth process. The goal of these Momentum Builders is to enable growth without hindering it, which is why we discussed creating the appropriate level of process to match the stage the company is at and the distinct goals and challenges of that stage of the Global Agile Methodology. The Interpreneur concepts help guide the company to identify and nurture the right type of talent with a cultural mindset to successfully navigate global growth.

The Global Class Team Building Framework helps companies build the right teams to establish and grow local markets. The Localization Resource Team, LRT, helps set up guardrails to control complexity, which is particularly important during the Market Entry and Market Building (growth) stages. The LRT also builds brain trust around successful growth, helping to manage the iterations and pivots a company goes through to find Product-Market Fit and then Company-Market Fit. Decision Rights help prevent an “us versus them” mentality between HQ and local teams, empowering the local team to make changes to succeed in the market and directing HQ to be an enabler and supporter of growth.

Finally, there is the Global Growth Playbook, a Momentum Builder that tracks best practices, gives teams clarity on the majority of the model that will work in global markets, and helps them navigate how to adapt the rest of the model to scale in local markets. Without these Momentum Builders, complexity proliferates, transparency disappears, two-way innovation is shut down, and time and money are wasted, leading a company on an endless unprofitable journey that never ends in achieving global scale.

Now that we’ve gone through all of the Global Class core concepts, let’s talk about what comes next, applying all that you have learned from this course, and how you can be an Interpreneurial catalyst for global growth within your organization.

NOTE: Don't miss out on the next episode! If you want to continue learning about global expansion strategies and dive deeper into the course material, simply click here to access Module 11, Episode 5 of the Global Growth Master Class.