Many companies claim to be customer-centric, but in practice their listening stops at English. Most research is based on customers in the US or UK and then applied everywhere else. The result is predictable: cultural blind spots, costly rework, and frustrated global customers. In this post, I explore why true global listening begins when localization insights are treated as part of the customer voice
Reorganizations are disruptive. For localization teams, they bring a double challenge: the fear of being affected and the pressure to keep global launches on track. While executives focus on restructuring, customers still expect consistent experiences across markets. That’s why reorgs can be an inflection point an opportunity for localization leaders to show resilience, protect business continuity, and earn a stronger seat at the table.
Usually, when we want to improve something in our Localization strategy, we first set an ambitious goal. From there, we design a strategy to reach it as quickly as possible. If we don't see rapid changes, we feel like we're not improving. To break this cycle, we can try changing the way we set goals—smaller, but consistent objectives that, when we look back, show us that we are indeed making progress. This progress can be the driving force for us every week, every month, every year.
Here are some ideas on how we could apply this Kaizen methodology in the Localization world.
"The Localization Accountability Ladder" explains how to go from avoiding responsibility to becoming a leader in localization. The blog covers seven simple steps, showing key behaviors, skills, and tasks to help teams improve.
I'm passionate about Localization metrics, but it can be frustrating. We live in a data-rich world, allowing us to measure our impact better. However, this data abundance brings challenges when building a Localization metrics system.
In my experience, two main pitfalls emerge (but they are not the only ones 😅). One is overemphasizing Localization ROI, which can lead to unproductive discussions. The other is tracking effort-related KPIs without translating their impact on company success into terms that matter to leadership and product owners.
Several factors affect the duration of localization for a digital product, including translators' availability and the technology setup level. This blog post explores the various elements that impact the amount of time needed for product localization.
Seven years ago, my twin Maria and I stood on the LocWorld stage in Warsaw and talked about Cultural Intelligence ….how culture shapes trust, feedback, leadership, and collaboration. Back then, the big question was: How can humans work better across cultures?
Today, that same question still matters but with a twist:
How can AI LLMs can work better across cultures?
In an AI-driven world, we’re seeing that language alone isn’t enough. Multilingual doesn’t mean multicultural. And as we rush to scale AI globally, cultural nuance is too often left behind.
Maybe it’s time to rethink how we build. Maybe it’s time for Cultural LLMs.
Before any great translation comes great source content. In this post, I compare what I’ve learned from golf lessons to the localization world: success depends on how well you set up from the start. I share real examples, red flags to watch out for, and four practical pillars : governance, clarity, style, and global mindset that can make or break your localization process. If you want smoother workflows, better quality, and fewer headaches, the fix might not be downstream… it might be in your stance.
Talking to executives is never easy and feeling ignored makes it even harder. I’ve been there…..pitched a localization project I truly believed in… and never heard back. That experience stayed with me. Over time, I’ve learned what works (and what doesn’t) when trying to influence decision-makers.
In this post, I share 5 practical tactics that helped me go from feeling overlooked to getting buy-in (without changing the heart of what we do in Localization)
“Welcome to my blog. The space where I document my passion about Localization, Project Management and Leadership”
November 1985 Queen released a great song “One Vision”. That song was inspired by the famous Martin Luther King speech. During 4:02 minutes Freddie Mercury surrounded by his faithful friends sang to the world about the importance of remaining together to create a vision. 30 years later we can not enjoy the presence of Freddy Mercury among us anymore but we can use his strength and charisma to help us define a vision following the Agile Framework!
Being manager for the very first time is tough. Mainly for the misconception that we have about what it truly means being a manager. In this personal post, I share some learnings that I learned hard way the first time I was promoted to Localization Manager...
Why do we do what we do? How do we create new habits? Why Florentino Perez has time to lead Real Madrid and being the CEO of ACS while I struggled this morning to find time to buy some fresh vegetables? In this post, I write about my main 3 key takeaways while working to shape new habits. Lessons learned!
During 40 years I thought this was a gift, not a skill that it could learn, cultivated, trained and polished!
Join me in this post where I share some advice about delivering webinars and the benefits of them!!
Toastmasters organization rocks! my learnings while working towards getting my competent communication award.
Easter break! what a great opportunity to grab a cup a coffee or a glass of wine and immerse you in the pleasure of reading .. but, do you know how to read? do you really know it? Have a look at my latest posts in case yu are not sure of the answer :)
What's the role of a manager in a self-organized team? Letting them performance and sit down in a comfy chair to enjoy a cappuccino? maybe .. or maybe not :) let's think about this in my new post ....
Last Thursday I had the opportunity to deliver my speech number 6 in my Toastmasters journey ... and I realised how difficult it is to master the vocal variety. If you have 5 minutes you can read in this post some thoughts about how I approached it.
Not being bossy and learn to make powerful questions is the way to go ....
We are paid more than ever paid to think instead of just doing routine tasks. More people than ever need to produce complex pieces of work and more people than ever are having problems to produce high quality tasks to an elite level …. and I'm one of those 😃
Body language ... such an important tool nowsdays to reinforce my message. In this post I share what I learned while preparing my latest speech in my Toastmasters journey.
Many companies claim to be customer-centric, but too often that promise stops at English. Surveys and focus groups are run in the US or UK and treated as if they represent the entire customer base, leaving most global customers unheard. In this post, I share a practical framework 5 audit questions to help leaders test if their strategy is truly customer-centric or just a slogan.