Chris Young says a lot of people misunderstand his responsibilities as Georgia’s chief of protocol.

When the state hosts visiting dignitaries, the Fitzgerald, Ga., native does arrange flags, gifts and seating, but the demands of his job go well beyond these details, he told GlobalAtlanta.

On a day-to-day basis, Mr. Young spends more time setting the stage for business than setting tables for banquets.

“I tell people that protocol is the science of creating the right conditions for business and diplomacy to succeed,” Mr. Young said in a video interview at the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s offices. 

It's not that attention to detail isn’t important.  Mr. Young is quick to point out that missing the smallest of cultural cues could ruin an event.  He spent hours melding Korean and American protocols when Kia Motors announced in 2006that it would build a plant in Georgia.

But the picture is much bigger. Protocol is about removing hindrances – cultural or otherwise – that might keep meetings and partnerships between officials and businesspeople from reaching their desired goal, he said.

On some days, Mr. Young might be arranging travel for a team of Georgians going on a trade mission.  On others, he might be welcoming those he calls “VVIPs,” high-ranking politicians or global leaders like United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who visited the Governor’s Mansion last year.

Handling Georgia’s global interaction has become increasingly demanding since Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed Mr. Young to his post in April 2005. With recent announcements that the Bahamas, India and Ireland will open consulates in Atlanta, the number of nations with an official presence in the state stands at 63.

“We're edging up on a third of the world having a presence here in Georgia, and that number has grown a baker's dozen in four short years.  That is an enormous selling point for us,” Mr. Young said.

The rapid growth is no accident, Mr. Young said.

While he admits that the integration of the world economy explains some of the increased interest, a better reason is the state’s strategic effort to land diplomatic ties betting that business and educational links will follow.

“Are we aggressive?  Heck yeah we're aggressive; that's part and parcel of what we do,” Mr. Young said.

“Here's why: If a government comes to Georgia and locates a consulate or a trade office … that is a very strong signal to the business community back in that country that this is a good place, this is a good city, this is a good state, this is a good region for their businesses to do business.”

Consulates not only offer a seal of approval for the state, but they also provide tangible benefits to companies looking to set up in the U.S.

Instead of having to do all the groundwork on their own, they can tap into the consulate’s built-in network of government officials and businesses.  The consulates also help them link up with other companies from their countries that have already been successful here.

“It begins to spiral out like a network, a web.  They would have to do all that on their own if they didn't have governmental support here,” Mr. Young said.

They’d also have a lot more trouble with visa and passport issues, finding schools for their kids and locating the best places to live, he said.

It’s vitally important that Georgia courts international businesses, because they create jobs and investment in the state. Georgia is now competing for economic development projects with nations, not just other states.

“It would be foolhardy on Georgia's part not to recognize that the world is indeed shrinking, the geopolitical and economic boundaries that have separated us in the past are dissipating, and in the current economic climate in which we find ourselves, there are some unique opportunities that come out of that,” he said.

Mr. Young says his global focus really took shape as a student at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the climate of international fervor that followed the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta

He grew up miles away from the State Capitol, in Fitzgerald, Ga., population 9,000, but small-town life taught him “how to treat people,” which Mr. Young considers an invaluable lesson in a job that allows him to meet officials from all over the world.

Since the time of the Olympics but especially in the last few years, smaller communities in the state like Fitzgerald have taken on a global perspective, Mr. Young said.

Every year the state takes consuls on the International VIP Tour, which allows them to get a better glimpse of parts of the state outside Atlanta. 

When small communities receive these delegations, there’s a high level of professionalism and a recognition that they can’t function without foreign influence, Mr. Young said.

“When you hear these mayors and commissioners and chamber presidents get up and address these groups when we go in these small towns, you hear them talk about the world is flat, you hear them talk about the fact that little small towns, in rural Georgia or even in middle-sized towns spread out through Georgia, to survive in the 21st century, they've got to go global,” he said.

To learn more about Mr. Young and the challenging protocol situations he’s had to face, watch the videos above or e-mail him at protocol@georgia.org. 

2010 The Agio Press, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without expressed permission.