Working in a Global Organization Is No Longer the Exception – It’s the Norm
But that doesn’t make it easy. Especially when local teams—those closest to the operations and the customer—have to collaborate with global teams working with different priorities, contexts, and rhythms.
At Simms & Associates, we’ve seen this dynamic up close. And if there’s one thing we know, it’s that global-local collaboration is an art: it requires active listening, humility, flexibility, and a healthy dose of patience. But it can also become a powerful source of value and learning.
A Real Example: Nespresso
When we started working with Nespresso, we encountered a complex challenge: a time-sensitive technology migration, multiple stakeholders involved, and clear tensions between the global vision and the day-to-day needs of boutique operations.
The easy route would have been to impose a standardized model. But we chose the opposite approach: we put the local reality at the center of the design, listened to store managers, visited boutiques, and took the time to understand what worked (and what didn’t) in the daily operation.
The result was a hybrid model—more agile, more human, and more realistic. Most importantly, the local team felt like participants in the process, not victims of it.
Inevitable Frictions, Valuable Lessons
In any global-local collaboration, there will be moments of tension: clashing priorities, different communication styles, decisions made far from the front line. But when those frictions are handled with respect and openness, they become opportunities for learning.
The Global Needs the Local (and Vice Versa)
The global perspective brings structure, scale, and efficiency. The local perspective offers intuition, adaptability, and deep customer insight. When both are respected and heard, you build something far more powerful than the sum of its parts.
Instead of thinking in terms of hierarchy, let’s think in terms of partnership. Teams that co-create rather than compete. That share goals, even if they work across different time zones.
Global-Local Collaboration Isn’t Solved by Process – It’s Grown Through Relationships
And like any valuable relationship, it takes presence, ongoing communication, and a willingness to understand the other side. Because at the end of the day, no one knows the terrain better than the people walking it every day. And no one sees further than those with perspective.
When both visions meet, transformation stops being a promise—and becomes a shared reality.