๐—š๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—š๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—น - ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ ๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—š๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜†

Between 2013 and 2019, I was fortunate to travel across the globe ๐ŸŒ, designing, delivering, and launching a product in markets where we were completely unknown. It was an incredible journey where I had the privilege of delivering over 1.5 million sq ft of workspaces in cities like London, Tel Aviv, Shanghai, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, and more. ๐Ÿš€

Here are 5 lessons I learned launching a product & brand globally:

๐ŸŒ 1. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ด๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ - ๐—œ๐˜'๐˜€ ๐—š๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น.

During my first trip to Tel Aviv, I had after-dinner coffee with Benjy Singer, discussing the challenges of working for a company where most leadership decisions were made far away. It was clear: regionalising decision-making is crucial. Benjy said it best:

"Dean, we have to become Glocalโ€”global in brand and mission but local in operations and execution."

Benjy Singer

๐Ÿ†’ 2. ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ - ๐—ฆ๐—ผ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—น๐—น ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜.

Not every market will grasp all the brand nuances immediately. Donโ€™t sweat every detail. Start with the โ€˜whyโ€™ and pick your battles wisely. Focus on what will truly resonate.

๐Ÿ’ท 3. ๐—•๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป ๐˜€๐˜๐˜†๐—น๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† - ๐——๐—ผ๐—ป'๐˜ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ฑ.

When launching the first WeWork in London, I broke from the US design standard and opted for a frameless glass system that was more cost-effective and suited to the UK market. Initially met with scepticism, it eventually became the local standard.

๐Ÿซ 4. ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜€ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ - ๐—•๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ ๐—ด๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ.

Let the local team take the reins. As a creative director, I encouraged the teams to express ideas they believed would resonate with their community. My primary role was to ensure we stayed true to the global brandโ€™s core values.

โ“5. ๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ต๐˜† - ๐—–๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜‚๐—ฒ.

When launching in a new city, I spent most of my time with the local team. I understood their story, gained their trust, and emphasised why the brand should matter to them. When they see the value, theyโ€™ll take pride in their work and create a version of the brand that fits beautifully within the global framework.

๐ŸŒŸ What lessons have you learned launching a product in a new market?

Thanks for reading.

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