Partnering Successfully With American Firms: How to Work Effectively with U.S. Companies and Businesspeople

BEST BUSINESS BOOK (General Business Category) 2025 Firebird Awards

America and its ever-expanding number of businesses have dominated global business and trade in recent decades.

While hundreds of books and articles help Americans conduct business outside the United States, surprisingly few resources are available for international executives and managers on how to partner with or do business with Americans.
Partnering Successfully with American Firms closes this gap, sharing insight on how international leaders can establish partnerships with American firms and how to become reliable and desired suppliers, partners, and customers.

American business culture is a unique and powerful force. Those who understand and adapt to it thrive, while those who don't often struggle. This book provides dozens of tips for understanding how Americans conduct business and why their foundation mindset is often “time is money.”

The authors (Ali Shami and Steven Howard), with their extensive 70 years of combined international business experience, are your trusted guides. They understand the nuances of global business and the potential pitfalls. They know what works and what doesn’t. They know what creates angst, anger, friction, and hurdles between American businesspeople and their counterparts across the globe. Most importantly, they share how to prevent these problems from escalating and causing less-than-optimal outcomes.

Bonus Section: American Idioms
Nearly 100 common American idioms are listed and defined, making Partnering Successfully with American Firms a key reference guide helping global businesspeople understand these often-used phrases that can be confusing for non-Americans.

Ali Shami is the CEO and founder of FTD Global, which provides training in cultural sensitivity and leadership. He has worked with worldwide clients, partners, and suppliers for over 30 years. During his extensive tenure as a senior leader at Boeing, he was at the forefront of assisting the aircraft company in marketing its products and services across multiple nations and markets.

Ali led teams in Operations, Customer Service, Customer Engineering, Sales & Marketing, Manufacturing, Product Development, Supplier Management, and Global Engineering. He also provided on-site leadership support to airline customers in Korea, Italy, and England.

Ali received multiple Diversity Awards and was listed among the top 100 Boeing managers who obtained the highest scores in the 2009 employee and business survey.

In addition to his interest in Mentoring, Leadership Training, Technical Research, and writing, he is a public speaker and musician.  He has several publications in the technical and leadership fields. Ali produced the first audio material that introduces the Lebanese dialect, which is spoken in the streets of Beirut.