Braving The New World Is the world getting smaller, or are our horizons getting bigger? Esteemed economics expert and author Rosabeth Moss Kanter reflects on the phenomenon of growing globalization in an exclusive interview.

Economics is often called the "dismal science," and aHarvard professor of business administration who holds 19 honorarydoctorates might not sound like someone you'd want to haveexplain it to you. But when it comes to the new global economy, noone is clearer, more down to (the whole planet) earth, and has moreto say about your business than Rosabeth Moss Kanter, whose bookWorld Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economy (Simon& Schuster) has received critical acclaim since it came out in1995.

Kanter grew up in Cleveland, which she cites as an example of acity that has had a renaissance, in part because it's learnedto adapt to the new global market. In the book, she also analyzesthe strengths and weaknesses of other cities worldwide that havegrappled with how to help local business meet increased competitionfrom abroad while exploiting export opportunities. And she says youneed to be "world class" even if you have no interest indoing business outside U.S. borders.

Kanter has written or edited a dozen other books. Her first,Commitment and Community (Harvard University Press), cameout in 1972, and her most recent work, Rosabeth Moss Kanter onthe Frontiers of Management (Harvard Business School Press),was published in 1997. She is also co-founder of Goodmeasure Inc.,a consulting firm that specializes in the management of change,and, in 1980, produced one of the world's bestselling videos onworkplace diversity, "A Tale of `O': On BeingDifferent." Kanter agreed to share some of her insights on howsmall businesses can not only survive but thrive in this brave newsmaller world.