I remember dumping the puzzle parts on the floor and immediately feeling overwhelmed. I considered myself a pro at jigsaw puzzles, but then again I was five and had never tackled one with more than 20 pieces. The picture on this particular puzzle box had grabbed me right away: planets, moons, stars, and a blue spaceship stuffed with exotic animals. It was cool, but it had 100 pieces. I felt defeated before I began.

“You've got to build it piece by piece,” my mother chimed in as I was tossing the parts back in the box. “Just start by collecting all the pieces with blue on them.” That sounded do-able, and so, eventually I put my spaceship together. Then I tackled the animals, the planets, and then the stars.

Creating an event held in another country is much more complicated than engineering a domestic one — whether it's a corporate meeting, an incentive travel program, or an association meeting or trade show. Kind of like putting together a puzzle that has a lot more pieces than you're used to. Well, for those of you just starting out to tackle the world, and even for those who have a few international meetings or incentives under your belt, we offer you a “piece-by-piece” guide to international event planning and management.

This eighth edition of Beyond Borders gives you nuts-and-bolts information in key areas of event management: from shipping to tax laws, from promotional strategies to tips on budgeting and protocol. There isn't any fluff here. Just the stuff you need to get your job done, without feeling defeated before you've even begun. Good luck!