The Strategy Pathfinder, 3rd Edition

9Crossing Borders

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one;

I hope some day you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.

John Lennon (1940–1980)

When I am at Milan, I do as they do in Milan; but when

I go to Rome, I do as Rome does.

St Augustine (354–430) Roman theologian and philosopher

James Dyson is a British inventor famous for creating a revolutionary new vacuum cleaner that didn’t use a dust bag and was significantly more efficient than competitor products. This product innovation that turned a “boring” domestic machine into a high-performance object of desire was an immediate hit in the UK market and soon Dyson was selling his product to overseas markets as well as at home. Dyson followed this triumph by inventing a revolutionary washing machine containing two contra-rotating drums to give greater performance than other models, hand dryers, air conditioners and supersonic hair dryers. Such successful entrepreneurialism earned Dyson national recognition and his company “cult hero” status in Britain. So, imagine the shock when he announced that his factory in Malmesbury, England, was to close and all manufacturing moved to Malaysia. There was widespread outcry in the UK press and from the trade unions. “This latest export of jobs by Dyson is confirmation that his motive is making even greater profit at the expense of UK manufacturing and his loyal workforce. Dyson is no longer a British product.”¹ Not only would 865 jobs be lost, but this also seemed ...