Steven Spielberg and Anil Ambani

One of India's wealthiest business leaders, Anil Ambani, invests $325 million in Steven Spielberg's movie studio DreamWorks — something unimaginable just five years ago. In turn, Warren Buffett invests $230 million for a 10 per cent stake in Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD, the same investor who shunned technology investments earlier this decade. It's obvious the top entrepreneurs and investors understand that India and China are the future of our global economy. Do you?

With over one billion people moving into the middle class, effectively increasing the global market for products and services by 50 per cent over the next decade, can your firm afford to ignore the single largest market opportunity in the history of business? It's time you consider "going East" as part of your 2010 strategic plan. And it's as critical for small to mid-size firms to make the move as it is for top investors and large corporations.

When the champions are asked which countries they're focused on for the next decade, it is India and China. And while it might be too late for manufacturers outside these countries to make inroads as quickly, the customer service models and cultures of the West will not be easy to imitate by the eastern entrepreneurs. This is the distinct advantage, plus a long history of good management practices, that entrepreneurs in the West have as they pursue these eastern markets.