Centennial is proud to call Cincinnati, OH home. It’s a vibrant city with great experiences around every corner. Although we love our “neck of the woods,” our business reach extends far beyond our city, far beyond the Midwest– and the borders of our country.
Since our inception in 1975, Centennial has been passionate about serving our clients with excellence. In today’s global marketplace, excellence includes possessing a high degree of international acumen. As technology has made the world smaller, Centennial’s global presence has increased. It’s quite normal to be working with clients from our own zip code as well as those across the ocean. In fact, 33% of our 2015 revenue is attributed to organizations with international roots.
Global Challenges = Opportunity
There’s no denying it, international companies bring new challenges – significant variances in acceptable business practices, economics and overall culture – just to name a few. However, our experience has proven time and again that many leadership challenges are the same around the globe – communicating effectively, growing profits, complying with regulations, satisfying customers and so on. Effectively addressing these challenges is our passion, especially since the yield is healthier organizations.
One of our greatest challenges with our internationally-owned clients is the differing ideals requested by the US operations vs. those requested by their international headquarters. Culture and expectations play a large part in this challenge. At the same time, we have found this to be true of our domestic clients as well. It is not uncommon for a hiring manager to have a different ideal than the leadership team. Our years of experience have taught us to ask an abundance of clarifying questions and to listen carefully to bridge these differences. Becky Scheeler, Executive Vice President, sums it up succinctly, “At the end of the day, it’s all about listening.”
We’re in the business of finding leaders that fit the cultural requirements as well as the competency requirements of our clients. That requires listening and building relationships with a large variety of talented executives. Businesses need multicultural-savvy leaders to take them to the next level. Centennial’s relationships with the international talent pool is a win-win for domestic and international clients alike. Our success comes through listening to our client’s needs and delivering on them, whether they’re located down the street or thousands of miles away.