My colleague, Matt Sullivan, showed me an article in Fortune about how John Deere is selling tractors designed in Pune, India, into the U.S. market (he knew I’d be interested, since it wasn’t that long ago that we both lived in Pune). But the story is of interest for another reason: it’s an example of a cycle of innovation between two very different regions in a global company, in an unexpected direction.

John Deere began operations in Pune, India, with a typical goal, to develop products customized for the local Indian market. The company recognized that the size and price of their American market products would not fare well in the Indian market, and adjusted their approach accordingly. Then some interesting things happened. An Indian competitor, Mahindra & Mahindra, introduced their Indian products into the American market, and John Deere realized that the products they had designed for the Indian market could be attractive to a different segment of the American market: small farmers and hobbyists. Deere is now selling a slightly modified version of the Indian tractors in the United States. No numbers are given, but as the author, Jenny Mero, notes, “the company surely sees financial benefits.”

This is an interesting twist on the typical international growth strategy: first, enter new countries to grow sales of existing domestic products; then leverage your international innovations to grow sales in the domestic market, specifically by addressing unmet needs in a different segment of the home market. It’s a great example of how global companies can learn from local differences, and take advantage of them for diversification and innovation.

Why was John Deere able to see these opportunities, where other companies often fail to understand regional differences, never mind see them as opportunities? I’m not a student of the company, but there’s an interview with the CEO in a recent Business Week issue that gives some insight into why John Deere was able to do this. First, despite its image as a traditional American company, the business has had global operations for many years, and more than 50% of its agricultural business is now international. Beyond operations in many countries, the company has several non-Americans on its board, and the CEO specifically cites the insights he’s gained from working with the international directors. Often the CEO sets the tone for the rest of the company, and my guess is that his interest and ability to learn from international executives has created a culture that enables managers throughout the business to identify, and act on, international opportunities.

I’d love to hear of other examples of businesses that have adopted innovations from one country into their other countries’ operations, and welcome your comments, or send me an email here.