Global Mindset Book
First Edition · 2022
Stand Up & Be Counted with a Global Mindset
The original 2022 field guide for SME owners ready to think beyond borders, build export capability, and turn local strengths into global opportunity.
- Original edition
- first published 2022
By Imtiaz Rastgar
Manufacturer since 1967 · Former CEO, Engineering Development Board · CBI Netherlands Export Expert
By the time I retired, the company I built was exporting heavy axle parts to more than 70 countries. This book is that road, distilled.
The thought
If your best product left the factory tomorrow, which country would want it first — and do you know why?
— a page from the book
Your move
write here
Every page pairs one short provocation with space for your own thinking.
First Edition · 2022
One thought per page.
Room to write your own.
This is a book about your SME business — and how to scale it into a global player in whatever you do. It’s written for the owner caught in a familiar bind: small size, small resources, and advisors who have never been through the mill themselves.
It comes from a life that started a metal-casting business in college — no money, fees to pay, a supportive father without deep pockets — and ended with the Rastgar name recognized worldwide. Metallurgy to product development, branding to distribution, trade fairs to building systems for export: continuous learning, set down plainly.
The narrative is deliberately short and crisp, because owners are busy. Every page leaves you a single thought to sit with — and the space beside it to answer in your own words. By the last page, you’ve drafted the future shape of your own business.
◆ A read-and-reflect workbook, not a 400-page lecture
Who it's for
Written for the owner in the thick of it.
Not for consultants who theorize from the sidelines. For the person who signs the cheques and carries the risk.
01.
The bootstrapped founder
Small size, small resources, no rich backers — building something real from the ground up.
02.
The manufacturer eyeing exports
Ready to sell beyond the local market, but unsure where the first serious buyer comes from.
03.
The owner short on time
Wants signal, not noise — a book that respects the hours you don’t have.
04.
The next generation
Turning a family business into a name that travels, on systems that outlast any one deal.
The mindset behind a name that travels.
The book moves the way the author’s own career did — from the shop floor outward to the world.
01. Think beyond borders
Why a global mindset — not just a bigger sales target — is what actually changes a small company’s trajectory.
02. Build systems, not one-off sales
The shift from chasing chance orders to designing a repeatable machine for worldwide export.
03. Product, brand & distribution
From product development to branding to getting goods into distant markets — the full arc, made concrete.
04. Trade fairs & market entry
How to show up in international markets and be taken seriously — lessons paid for in real experience.
Imtiaz Rastgar
Manufacturer, export strategist, and mentor to globally-minded SMEs. He writes the way he built his companies — practical, direct, and rooted in what actually works on the factory floor.
- Founder & Chairman of the Rastgar Group, established 1967 — a leading manufacturer and exporter of heavy axle parts.
- Former CEO of the Engineering Development Board (2004–2007), tasked with taking Pakistani industry to Europe.
- CBI Netherlands Engineering Sector Expert — training and mentoring SMEs across multiple countries into export readiness.
- Author of three books bridging boardroom strategy and shop-floor execution.
Rastgar Engineering supplies world-leading OEMs — Toyota, Hino, Nissan, Isuzu, Mitsubishi Fuso, Massey Ferguson — with over 70% of output exported to 70+ countries.
Get your copy
Choose your format.
In print across Pakistan, and on Kindle worldwide.
- Most popular
Print · 1st Edition 2022
Rs. 2,500
Delivered across Pakistan by Daraz
- Physical read-and-write workbook format
- Cash on delivery available
- 14-day easy return
- Sold directly by PMX Consulting
Kindle eBook · Worldwide
On Amazon
Read instantly on any device
- Instant delivery, anywhere
- Read on Kindle, phone, tablet or web
- Ideal for international readers
- Also available in paperback on Amazon
The book that started the Global Mindset conversation.
This page preserves the First Edition published in 2022. The original book was designed as a practical read-and-reflect workbook: a short thought on one page, with space opposite to record your own thoughts, hunches and action points.
Start 2026
with a
Start 2026
with a
Stand Up & Be Counted
The Global Mindset
This Book is about and for SME businesses and how you can scale it up to be global player in whatever you do !
It is intended to benefit the SME business owner, who is caught in a fix with small size, small resources and advisors who have themselves never been through the “mill” !
Stand Up & Be Counted
The Global Mindset
This Book is about and for SME businesses and how you can scale it up to be global player in whatever you do !
It is intended to benefit the SME business owner, who is caught in a fix with small size, small resources and advisors who have themselves never been through the “mill” !
Imtiaz Rastgar, sharing insights at the National Incubation Center for Aerospace Technologies (NIC), NASTP, demonstrating experience across high-value engineering/manufacturing SMEs
Imtiaz Rastgar
About Author
Former CBI Netherlands Senior Trainer and Internationalization Strategist
Imtiaz Rastgar helps manufacturing and engineering SMEs expand confidently into international markets. With over a decade of experience as an Engineering Sector Expert, Trainer, and Coach for the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI – Netherlands), I have guided numerous companies in developing countries to become export-ready and establish successful business relationships across Europe.
Read More
My consulting practice is built on the CBI Export Coaching Methodology — a proven, structured system that evaluates export readiness, builds management capacity, and creates tailored strategies for sustainable international growth. From export audits and market-entry strategies to partner identification, quality management, and training, I work closely with businesses and institutions to help them build competitiveness and achieve long-term export success.
- Expert in CBI Export Coaching Methodology
- International Business & Strategy Consultant
- Mentor to Successful Global SMEs