And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.

—The late Steve Jobs , founder of Apple ⁱ

Getting to the future first is not just about outrunning competitors bent on reaching the same prize. It is also about having one’s own view of what the prize is. There can be as many prizes as runners; imagination is the only limiting factor.

—Management consultants Gary Hamel and the late C. K. Prahalad ⁱⁱ

The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage.

—Arie De Geus , Head of Planning, Royal Dutch/Shell ⁱⁱⁱ

In this chapter, I introduce you to a group I established at LinkedIn and provide my sixteen basic truths to achieving export success. Each one represents the culmination of the learnings and insights in this book. There are many more, but I have found that by paying attention to these sixteen, you are pretty close to export nirvana.

1. Develop a global mindset . Set aside time to think about and determine whether you are cut out for exporting. Look back at Chapter 1.

2. If you love what you do, once you decide to export, pick one core capability (a product or service)—it’s the answer that wells up within you that matters the most—stay fully committed to it, and show some heart (care) at every step of the way. Refer to Chapters 1, 2, and 11.

3. Put in the homework up front (learn the market and distribution network for a particular country, for example) and use your export dream team throughout the journey. Get a company-wide commitment before you begin to take full advantage of opportunities international markets offer. Review Chapters 3, 12, 17, and 30.

4. Generate cash flow and always watch your profit margins . The single more important consideration in an export business or any business is cash flow. It is the difference between success or failure of an enterprise. Be creative. Conserve cash at all costs. Ask for advance payment or delay a payment whenever you can. We touched on this in Chapters 2, 20, 21, 23, and 30.

5. Target a market and adapt to it on an as-needed basis; that includes modifying products and services to customers’ needs. See the discussion in Chapters 12, 13, and 14.

6. Find customers and nurture them to death. Customers are the lifeblood of a business. Without them, there is no business. “The value of your company is based upon the value of your present and future customer relationships,” says best-selling author of The Customer Revolution Patricia B. Seybold . ^iv Look back at Chapter 16.

7. Stop treading warily around technology, and dive right in. Embrace computers, digital devices, and social media as early as possible in your export activities, because you are going to have to get out there online and sell yourself and your business to get ahead. Refer to Chapters 2, 6, 9, and 14.

8. Learn how to work effectively with others and treat your customers, employees, and anyone else who matters like royalty. Be reliable. This is discussed in Chapters 4 and 24.

9. Develop and follow an export plan , even if it is scribbled on the back of a napkin, because that will help make your export dream a reality. You can adjust your plan as you go along, so the details don’t have to be perfect, but to truly shape your export universe you must set aside time to do some focused thinking on how you will get there. After all, what you are doing is planning your actions for the most advantageous time for your export business. What will that look like? Take another look at Chapter 2.

10. Leverage trade agreements to access new markets, reduce costs, increase flow of goods, create competitive pricing opportunities, and maximize your bottom line. We discussed this in Chapters 2, 3, 25, 29, and 30.

11. Keep your finger on the pulse , not just in terms of competition but of industry trends in general, where sudden, massive changes or improvements can disrupt or create a whole new market space at the bat of an eye. And don’t play in your competitor’s sandbox. Build your own. That’s what Steve Jobs did at Apple, and it worked. Refer to Chapters 23, 25, and 30.

12. Define and create a superior online presence that resonates with the world. Online interactions support offline networking. The bulk of your customers will do most of their buying online. See Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8.

13. Get paid on export transactions —no ifs, ands, or buts—and make a profit—always. Re-read No. 4 and go back to the discussion in Chapter 20.

14. Plan for success, give it all you’ve got, and don’t forget to give to others your help when they need it or ask for it. Take a long view because it takes time to develop advanced export markets. This was part of the discussion in Chapter 30.

15. Stick to what you know. It makes it easier to go forward when you are knowledgeable about something. Learn to see everyday problems not as obstacles, but as possible business opportunities—and encourage your customers, employees, and suppliers to work together to set up ventures or create new products to solve them. See Chapters 6, 27, and 30.

16. Stay fresh, take risks, and do something—anything—that gets you one step closer to your exporting goal. You never want to be crippled by fear of failure. Success rarely comes to those who play it safe. We discussed this in both Chapter1 and 30.

If you aspire to act on these key points, you are guaranteed to succeed with your export business. They will allow you to get to the top and stay there.