Micro-multinational

The word of the week - - micro-multinational.  The term comes from Hal Varian, the chief economist at Google.  All over the globe, even the smallest company can now afford a communications and computational infrastructure that would have been the envy of a large multinational company.  Look for the early 21st to be the age of the micro-multinational, small companies that operate globally.

Many of these mico-multinationals are utilizing social media to help create a new kind of enterprise - - small, Web-wired start-ups that are using social media to spot and then grab the best new talent from around the globe and leverage it for innovation and sustainability.  Micro-multinationals have the ability to identify, and then employ from the best pockets of knowledge around the globe.

Consider the firm SlideShare.  SlideShare is a six-person multinational company whose entire staff consists of a couple of employees in the United States, a few in Eastern Europe, and one in Asia.  Immigration takes on new meaning with micro-multinationals.  Out with the concerns associated with brain drain, and in with brain circulation.  Managing the micro-multinational requires one to embrace the social media and digital Web technologies to supervise, communicate, and manage at a distance. 

The ability to harvest global talent is going to be a key trait - - regardless of size.