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Keeping Innovation
Strategies On Track Across
Global Cultural Lines
by Michele Gossmeyer of Dentons and Julie Whitfield of Gadens
In May, ILTA had the honor of providing speakers for the
inaugural Legal Innovation & Tech Fest in Melbourne, Australia.
Tech Fest resulted from over a year of collaborative effort between
ILTA and The Eventful Group. One of the conference themes was
"How To Create a Business Culture That Embraces Change and
Innovation," which formed the basis of a session we co-presented.
In preparation, we asked our network of industry leaders
about their experiences, sending questions to colleagues in the
U.S., Australia, Europe, the U.K., Asia Pacific, South America and
Canada. The responses were insightful, educational and sprinkled
with humor.
Looking to extend the success and value of this session, we
aempt to condense an hour's worth of content into a few pages
here to share insights around the challenges and necessities
involved in building innovation strategies across regions.
Cultural Challenges
In every firm, cultural norms and differences underpin how we
engage with others at both a social and a professional level. In a
global firm, such engagements can be quite rewarding but can also
present potential hazards when implementing global innovation
initiatives.
Working across regions gives rise to challenges as basic
as different languages and as subtle as understanding diverse
cultural values and beliefs. Add in different time zones and
regional legislative requirements, and you begin to see that the
complexities of implementing global innovation go far beyond the
technology components.
Keeping Innovation Strategies On Track Across Global Cultural Lines