Public Diplomacy Fall Speaker Series: Lanie Denslow

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy welcomed Lanie Denslow for a discussion on corporate and business diplomacy.

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Lanie Denslow is the founder of World Wise Intercultural Training & Resources, an organization whose mission is to bridge cultural differences, promote collaboration, and create mutually satisfying relationships and results. Denslow's written works include World Wise: What to Know Before You Go, a guide to the global business world for today's professionals, and the best-selling Working With Americans, a guide to American business culture. She serves on the board of directors of both the Foreign Trade Association of Southern California and of the International Visitors Council of Los Angeles. Lunch will be served.

Lanie Denslow is the founder of World Wise Intercultural Training & Resources, an organization whose mission is to provide information enabling people to bridge cultural differences, collaborate, and create mutually satisfying relationships and results.

Her extensive speaking and writing experiences have established that she is both knowledgeable and insightful. She is recognized for using humor and candor to help others to grasp the complexity of today's global business environment focusing on the varied definitions of appropriate business practice.
Ms. Denslow is the author of World Wise: What to Know Before You Go (Fairchild Books, 2006), a guide to the global business world for today's professionals. She is the co-author of the best-selling Working With Americans (Prentice Hall Business, 2002), a guide to American business culture. She is also a co-author of Introduction to American Life (NAFSA: Association of International Educators /U.S. Department of State, 2004). In addition, she has written articles on global business topics for the French-American Chamber of Commerce and for UK Trade & Investment.

A frequent speaker in the United States, she also has extensive international experiences. This has included presentations in Dalian and Beijing, China, for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and the Asia- Pacific USA Chamber of Commerce; in Frankfurt, Germany, for the U.S. Department of Commerce; in London, for the British-American Business Council; and in Pskov, Russia, for the International Visitors Council.
In the United States, she has addressed the Annual Manufacturing Conference of the British-American Business Council, Los Angeles: the Organization of Women in International Trade; the Association of Professional Consultants, Los Angeles; NAFSA: Association of International Educators; French-American Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles; and been a featured presenter at educational conferences of Protocol & Diplomacy International Protocol Officers Association.

Event Report

Business Practice Can Help Image
By Andrew McGregor

American business practice is capable of enhancing the public perception of Americans, said Lanie Denslow, founder of World Wise Intercultural Training & Resources, an organization dedicated to bridging cultural barriers and enhancing the practice of commerce. "We cannot control what comes out of the State Department, but business can make a difference on how Americans present themselves."

Denslow said that when American businesspeople take time to learn about the culture of other countries that it is possible for Americans as a whole to be viewed in a more positive light and that this practice needs to be encouraged. "Being able to pair doing well for your country and doing well for your company is a pretty novel idea." However, she noted that, "your first responsibility is to make your company successful."

The most pressing area of concern for the future stemmed from what Denslow perceives as American business' lack of interest in developing relationships prior to the deal because of a notion that a good idea alone will lead to successful deal. "Americans don't know enough about building relationships."