Too many leaders think they are adept at everything. Self-aware leaders know that they can’t possibly have the skills and knowledge to do it all. Instead, they are dynamic, adaptable, and emotionally intelligent. Here are three ways to build your own self-awareness:

1. Observe your own performance. Take note of the areas you excel in and those that need improvement. Share these observations with your team.
2. Know what you don’t know. Accept that there are areas you have little expertise in. Seek out a team that can help you fill in the gaps.
3. Monitor your impact on others. Because so much of work is about relationships, knowing how you affect others is a critical leadership skill. Manage your emotional responses and look for cues that you’re building relationships, not destroying them.

adapted from “The Mark of a Great Leader” by Marshall Goldsmith

With representation in over 20 countries, iComTrader now offers a vast sales network for your use, in order to do international business without having to get on an airplane! When you are a registered member of our business network and website, our offices become an extension of your sales reach!

If you have mistaken iComTrader as a B2B website, we want to let you know that it is not! Here is how iComTrader Int’l  can help you and your business in your international selling and sourcing endeavours.

iComTrader Int’l was established to help companies buy and sell product globally, in two different ways for our registered and subsequently verified members:

1) International Trade Services

We have real people, soliciting real offers for products that are offered into our International Trade Network. No different than any other trading business, we have purchasing and sales personnel around the globe, helping buyers and sellers to do business with new trading partners. Our agents will:

*Find and introduce you to buyers/sellers in their territory.
*Translate documents/interpret conversations and negotiate on your behalf.
*Provide market research for area/sector.
*Provide trade show services in their territory, along with full representation!
*Provide other services relative to marketing of goods and services globally.

2) Online Trade Services via iComTrader.com

Whenever there is a listing from a seller, our agents seek out buyers in their trade territories. iComTrader agents will solicit offers to verified buyers who can make offers both online as well as offline. Furthermore, no one can list a product for sale, without first getting approval from an iComTrader representative. Our web services allow our members to:

*Offer your products, on your own iComTrader page, and let our network of global agents solicit online offers directly from verified buyers. As an example of a seller offering goods on their own iComTrader webpage visit:: http://www.icomtrader.com/sites/gnsoilgrup/

*Offer product to iComTrader Int’l and have our local agents list and offer on the agents homepage, where buyers can make bids/offers indirectly to you! I, as your local agent would be happy to show you an example of this at your request.

*Hold private sales and auctions, where only bidders/buyers invited by you, will be able to make online offers for your products.Please let us know if you would like to know more about “Private Auctions”. These type of auctions are great for inventory reductions and dispersal sales!

Please note! We will only source or sell for registered members. The easiest way to become a member of iComTrader Int’l is to register for free at www.icomtrader.com

If you have any questions please contact me at:         entrustglobal [at] icomtrader.com

Within the last decade Brazil has been very successful in becoming a world economic force.  Foreign investment and domestic infrastructure development has been instrumental in helping drive the growth of this huge economy.  The latest G-20 summit meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania allowed Brazil’s President to bring the country’s weight to bear as he heralded Brazil as a leader in bio-fuels and developer of energy solutions that meshes with environmental preservation.

Inflation

Overall, inflation has been kept in check.  Inflation has been a huge problem for Brazil in the past, but consistent fiscal policies within the last decade and other factors have helped to curb it.  Within the last few years, “household income has climbed faster than inflation”.  (Market: Latin America, 2006)  The government has shown itself to have a prolonged commitment to fiscal surplus.  This in turn, has infused the economy with confidence.  For a long time, Brazil was known for its rampant inflation.   However, the stabilization of prices, strong fiscal policies, and a large storehouse of preserves, has been hedged against external factors, which previously would have driven up inflation.

Growing Middle Class

Brazil’s burgeoning middle class is good news to local business as well as the foreign investor.  A country that was once dominated by poverty is now dealing with an ever-growing middle class that has more discretionary income.  It is this middle class that is driving most of the new growth within the Brazilian economy.  Interest in name brands, technology products, and owning a vehicle have let to tremendous retail growth.  If there were a dark cloud on the horizon, it would be the indebtedness of the lower income population as they have developed new tastes and desire to have the same things as their wealthier counterparts.   Poor financial education coupled with the inability to repay their debts will eventually put a dangerous strain upon banks and the Brazilian financial system.

Technology

One thing that stood out to this author was the wide use of cell phones in Brazil.  Nearly everyone it seemed had a cell phone.  It is understood that because Brazil’s economy has outpaced in some ways its infrastructure, installing cell phone towers versus landlines was logistically more feasible.  It is estimated that of the 188 million people in Brazil, over 124 million have active mobile phones, making Brazil the fifth largest mobile market in the world.  An ever-growing number of Brazilians are computer literate.  The younger generation is seemingly enamored with technology in general, but especially computers and the Internet.  “The Brazilian internet access market has exhibited strong growth over the previous five years; a trend which is expected to continue towards 2013 albeit at a slowing rate.  The Brazilian Internet access market generated total revenues of $10.7 billion in 2008, representing a compound annual growth rate of 30.6% for the period spanning 2004-2008”.  (Internet Access Industry Profile, 2009, p.8)

Brazil has taken many steps to curb pollution and be environmentally friendly.  New legislation has been passed and various agreements signed.  The problem is implementation of the legislation or agreements.  This is a common thread throughout Brazil’s legal system.  Brazil actually has a huge amount of laws and measures on the books, but has not been able to enforce those laws on a consistent basis.  To put it simply, many good environmental laws exist, but they exist simply in the books and are rarely if ever enforced.  In the early 1980’s many legislative milestones were reached regarding environmental policy.  In 1986 the legal structure of the Brazilian National Environmental Policy (BNEP) was completed and approved.  “The purpose of the law was to preserve, improve and recover environmental quality, to ensure conditions for socioeconomic development in compliance with the interest of national security, and to protect the dignity of human life”. (Kirchhoff, 2006, p.2)

One of the biggest issues Brazil faces is how to handle the Amazon River basin region.  This has drawn the attention of the world, as hundreds of thousands of acres are lost annually to deforestation.  Brazil’s President Lula Inácio da Silva, realizing the importance of the Amazon rainforest, which makes up over half of the world’s remaining rainforests, started a private fund that would allow foreign governments and organizations to donate towards its conservation.  Despite these environmental measures, at its current rate of deforestation, the Amazon rainforest is estimated to be reduced by 40% over the next twenty years.  Indicative of the fierce resistance given by government officials to curb land development in the region was the resignation on May 13, 2008 of the environmental minister of Brazil, Marina Silva.   Marina Silva was a strong advocate for conservation and environmental responsibility in the Amazon.  She herself was a native of the Amazonia region.  Her resignation letter notes the resistance “within the government and society to take the environmental agenda forward”.  (Sanchez, 2008)  Strong economic advocates considered Marina Silva as a radical that hampered the economic development of Brazil.

Other environmental issues that Brazil faces is air and water pollution.  Large trucks belch their thick diesel smoke on every street of every city.  In the gigantic city of São Paulo, many people have developed respiratory problems as a result of this air pollution.  The city of São Paulo only allows certain cars with a license plate number ending on that corresponding day of the week to drive certain days.  Other measures are in place to try and reduce air pollution, but it is still a major problem.  Brazil also suffers from widespread pollution of their water systems caused by unregulated discharge of untreated urban wastewater.

If you were to make a speculative investment of $100,000 in derivatives, which derivative product would you choose and why based on current market conditions?

The question is what to do with an extra $100,000.  Assuming that you do not have a great deal of wealth and are not accustomed to making large investments, the traded options selection makes sense.  Also, some investors are greater risk-takers, while others err on the side of caution.

One of our sources stated that “derivatives permit one to choose the level of risk in confronting the variability of both currency and interest rates”. (Bryan, 2008, p. 492)  While true, there is still some risk involved with derivatives.  A Belgian financial company recently had to be bailed out because of bad derivative investments.  “The Belgian government said it would prop up the Belgian financial services company KBC Group with a loan guarantee after the company took losses on bad derivatives investments and souring loans to Eastern and Central Europe”. (Jolly, 2009)

If one were to be more brazen with their investment strategy, they could take a bit more of a risk using the derivative instrument of swaps.  The current crisis in Greece and its effect upon the Euro has some investors looking to gain huge profits.  A bearish derivatives investment in 1992 by Mr. George Soros infamously netted a $1billion profit.  This greatly affected the British pound at the time.  Today, there are similar investment opportunities that investment groups are looking at due to the weakening Euro and financial crisis in Greece.  An article in Wall Street Journal Online puts it into perspective. “Derivatives, known as credit default swaps, are playing a part in the current trading. Some of the largest hedge funds, including Paulson & Co., which manages $32 billion, have bought such swaps, traders say, which act as insurance against a default by Greece on its sovereign debt. Traders view higher swaps prices as warning signs of potential default”. (Pulliam, Kelly, & Mollenkamp, 2010)  If one were to take more of risk through a knowledgeable hedge fund adviser by capitalizing on the European situation, is there potential for a payoff?  On a side note, Mr. Soros is already being investigated for his predicted role in the European crisis.  Supporting article: WSJ Online

As large as the continental United States, Brazil has vast reserves of natural resources.  Its deep-water ports all along the coast give access to the transportation of these resources to foreign destinations.  Oil, minerals, and agricultural products give Brazil strong economic advantages and a stable foundation for continued growth.  Just about every mineral needed for an industrialized economy can be found within Brazil.  The climate is conducive to many agricultural products.  Brazil does not have extremely cold temperatures, and does not experience hurricanes or earthquakes.  However, floods and droughts are common and have been compounded at times by poor land use and planning.  The climates in Brazil are equatorial, tropical, semi-arid, highland tropical, and subtropical.

Oil

Recent oil discoveries off the coast of Brazil have attracted global attention.  Brazil has actively sought to make considerable progress in the energy sector.  As early as the 1990’s Brazil was producing almost two-thirds of its energy needs through offshore petroleum wells and hydroelectric plants.  Petrobras is a government-owned petroleum company that has produced much optimism with Brazil’s economic strategists.  Huge discoveries recently of untapped oil reserves off the coast of Brazil, has landed Petrobras and Brazil’s economy squarely in the world spotlight.  An investment of over $174 billion over the next five years for the development of new oil reserves can be a catalyst for future economic development of the country.  “By 2020, if all goes to plan, Petrobras and its foreign partners will be producing 5.7m barrels of oil and gas per day, more than half the output of Saudi Arabia”. (Economist, 2009)  The lack of refineries in Brazil for the crude oil it produces has caused a renewed determination to expand domestic refining capabilities so as not to be dependent on imports.    There are discussions to speed the completion of refineries currently under construction as well as cement plans for future refinery projects.

Other Energy Resources

Currently, hydroelectric power is the main source of Brazil’s energy.  Huge hydroelectric plants along the coast have played a dominant role in the country’s energy supply the last several decades.  In the future it is expected that nuclear energy will produce a significant amount of energy for Brazil.  Coal and gas are not widely used for energy production.  Domestic steel manufacturers mostly use coal.

Sugar and Ethanol

When the author of this paper moved to Brazil in 2002 he recalls seeing green sugar cane fields as far as the eye could see.  It quickly became apparent that ethanol was the fuel of choice for many Brazilians.  While Americans struggled with rising gasoline prices, more than 40% of the fuel used in Brazilians cars was ethanol.  As a renewable energy source, sugarcane is very efficient.  Oil must be shipped across the world many times before it can finally be refined into gasoline.   In Brazil, ethanol refineries are often built in the middle of those sugarcane fields.  Even the leftovers from the sugarcane are burned to produce energy for local electricity grids.  The question of infrastructure to get ethanol to the consumer has been the challenge to the United States.  Brazil already offers ethanol at almost all of its 34,000 gas stations.  “Brazil has huge potential and they produce ethanol at a fraction of the cost of American ethanol, plus they have an enormous market”. (Holman, 2008)

Environmental Position

Brazil has taken many steps to curb pollution and be environmentally friendly.  New legislation has been passed and various agreements signed.  The problem is implementation of the legislation or agreements.  This is a common thread throughout Brazil’s legal system.  Brazil actually has a huge amount of laws and measures on the books, but has not been able to enforce those laws on a consistent basis.  To put it simply, many good environmental laws exist, but they exist simply in the books and are rarely if never enforced.  In the early 1980’s many legislative milestones were reached regarding environmental policy.  In 1986 the legal structure of the Brazilian National Environmental Policy (BNEP) was completed and approved.  “The purpose of the law was to preserve, improve and recover environmental quality, to ensure conditions for socioeconomic development in compliance with the interest of national security, and to protect the dignity of human life”. (Kirchhoff, 2006, p.2)  One of the biggest issues Brazil faces is how to handle the Amazon River basin region.  This has drawn the attention of the world, as hundreds of thousands of acres are lost annually to deforestation.  Brazil’s President Lula Inácio da Silva, realizing the importance of the Amazon rainforest, which makes up over half of the world’s remaining rainforests, started a private fund that would allow foreign governments and organizations to donate towards its conservation.  Despite these environmental measures, at its current rate of deforestation, the Amazon rainforest is estimated to be reduced by 40% over the next twenty years.  Indicative of the fierce resistance given by government officials to curb land development in the region was the resignation on May 13, 2008 of the environmental minister of Brazil, Marina Silva.   Marina Silva was a strong advocate for conservation and environmental responsibility in the Amazon.  She herself was a native of the Amazonia region.  Her resignation letter notes the resistance “within the government and society to take the environmental agenda forward”.  (Sanchez, 2008)  Strong economic advocates considered Marina Silva as a radical that hampered the economic development of Brazil.  Other environmental issues that Brazil faces is air and water pollution.  The author remembers trucks belching their thick diesel smoke on every street of every city.  In the gigantic city of São Paulo, many people have developed respiratory problems as a result of this air pollution.  The city of São Paulo only allows certain cars with a license plate number ending on that corresponding day of the week to drive certain days.  Other measures are in place to try and reduce air pollution, but it is still a major problem.  Brazil also suffers from widespread pollution of their water systems caused by unregulated discharge of untreated urban wastewater.

What are your thoughts on Brazil’s natural resources as they relate to business methods?

As international trade expands we will continue to see a dependency on the internet for speedy transactions and selection.  New ground is being broken with international payment methods and commodities trading.  However, as any successful company understands, good business is built on real relationships.  This continues the centuries-old direct representation or face to face relationship-building.  However, Entrust Global Partners provides an additional service we refer to as privileged networks.  These networks connect buyers and sellers quickly with companies that have a proven track record, are trustworthy, and interested in long-term relationships.  Contact us to become a member.

Pictured is Governor Charlie Crist of Florida signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Governor José Serra of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, to enhance business and cultural exchange between the two states.  Brazil is Florida’s number-one international merchandise trade partner.