I Adore Chicago

©2026 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"I adore Chicago.  It is the pulse of America." –  Sarah Bernhardt

Cross-Border Ambition Is Becoming Mainstream

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Geographic expansion is now the clearest growth route for professional services firms.  But they are doing it more selectively, with tighter control of risk, talent and cash. That is why geographic expansion has become the leading model. It offers access to new clients, new talent pools and new revenue lines, without forcing a fundamental change in the business model.

And it's not a niche strategy.  Cross-border ambition is becoming mainstream.

Are We Being Kept In the Dark?

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The United States does not have a king. In a representative democracy, the people must have confidence in the health of their leader, and in the leader’s capacity to guide the nation. Are we being kept in the dark on President Trump's health?

This is a Guest Essay for the NY Times by Jonathan Reiner, who is the co-author of the book “Heart: An American Medical Odyssey” alongside Mr. Cheney and Liz Cheney. The book details the former vice president’s struggle with heart disease.  Dr. Reiner is also a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University.

Is AI Leadership Drift Stalling Your Progress?

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Organizations often blame employees when AI adoption stalls, assuming resistance stems from fear or lack of skills. Research across 23 interviews and three leadership workshops in 11 European IT services firms points to a different obstacle: senior leaders. 

Executives often recognize privately that AI requires fundamental changes to pricing, staffing, and business models, yet abandon those positions during group discussions. The authors call this pattern “AI leadership drift,” where reassuring narratives replace difficult strategic decisions. 

To counter it, leaders should ground discussions in their own data rather than industry hype, study how comparable firms are responding to AI, tie every AI initiative to a strategic question with a review date, and assign someone responsibility for keeping uncomfortable issues on the leadership agenda.

Read the entire article here.

The Most Beautiful 12 Adagios in Rachmaninoff Style

Today in Global Small Business: Importers of Record Have Received More Than $100 billion From Tariff Refunds

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What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• Importers of record have received more than $100 billion from tariff refunds (CBS News 24/7 – video).
• Warren presses U.S. companies to share billions in tariff refunds with customers.
• Trump administration pays back $100 billion in 'Liberation Day' tariffs to businesses.
• Quote of the week: “While tariffs are a tax on trade that businesses pay upfront, it's actually the consumer who ends up feeling it in their wallets." – inFlow
• Small businesses filed a pair of lawsuits in the US Court of International Trade accusing President Donald Trump and US officials of unlawfully using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to replace earlier tariffs struck down by the US Supreme Court.
• In the old days, this would be considered criminal.  Now it will be looked upon as purely insane.

Note:  The Global Small Business Blog has been in operation since 2004 and is ranked number one in the world for entrepreneurs and small businesses interested in going global.  As of May, 2026, we average between 700,000-900,000 readers a month.  Thank you for your engagement!    

Practicing Gratitude

©2026 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"I don't have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it's right in front of me if I'm paying attention and practicing gratitude." – Brene Brown

Are You Defaulting to Vague Positivity Instead of Honest Specificity?

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Consider this: Find one place in your professional life – a team update, a newsletter, a public statement – where you’ve been relying on vague positivity instead of clear, candid detail. Rewrite it with specific, honest information. Then choose one concrete action you want your audience to be able to take afterward. That combination of clarity plus a next step is what creates trust that lasts when things get difficult.

Where is this coming from?  Find out here.

August 2026 Global Trade, Customs and Shipping Policy Update for Exporters

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This website is designed as a quick-reference compliance resource for monthly planning. If your business trades across multiple markets, use it to coordinate procurement, pricing, logistics, customs brokerage, and customer communication in one place. 

The overview focuses on official measures that are effective or applicable in August 2026, while also flagging items that should not be mistaken for August-start rules.

Are You Chasing a Future That Isn't Actually Being Built?

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Love this Opinion Guest Essay by Julie Averill, a former chief information officer of Lululemon. 

Averill says, "Companies these days are quick to stick “A.I.” in news releases, in earnings calls, in product names, in job postings and in titles at the top of their organizations. The real question is what strategy sits behind the abbreviation. A title costs nothing, but it doesn’t produce anything, either."

And she says that's a problem.  

When companies mistake an announcement for a strategy, they spend real money — and sometimes cut real jobs – chasing a future that isn’t actually being built. And in doing so, they’re persuading Americans to reject a powerful innovation that could do so much good for all of us.

Company leaders think A.I. is magic.  But Averill says the way out of this is not more hype. It’s honesty.

Read Averill's entire Opinion Guest Essay for the NY Times here.

wegg® showcase with Jacquie Cleary at Atlas (August, 2026)

©2026 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global.  All rights reserved.

The latest wegg® showcase interview (8/3/26) with Jacquie Cleary, Founder and CEO, Atlas, Making "What Ifs?" Possible for Her Clients and Employees.

Today in Global Small Business: Global Engagement At Schools

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What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• Global entrepreneurship program (global engagement) – UC Santa Cruz
• Global entrepreneurship program – Gies College of Business
• Global entrepreneurship program – Penn GSE
• Quote of the week: “Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art. It is a practice.” – Peter Drucker
• Global entrepreneurship program – Babson Global
• Global entrepreneurship program – Stanford University

Note:  The Global Small Business Blog has been in operation since 2004 and is ranked number one in the world for entrepreneurs and small businesses interested in going global.  As of May, 2026, we average between 700,000-900,000 readers a month.  Thank you for your engagement!