With a Global Mindset and Flexibility You Can Outpace Any CompetitorPeople who make it work for others are often rewarded with bigger and bolder opportunities.
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In order to run a successful business on a global scale, it is important to bring fresh perspectives to common commerce-related issues.
Leaders with the ambition, courage and creativity to think outside the box and develop new ways to solve problems rack up the most wins and usually become famous in the process.
Just think ofRichard Branson, the creator of the mega brand, Virgin. By applying a new-age, hand-holding, people-first type of leadership, heredefined the successful CEOfor generations and became one of the richest people in the world. He followed his vision and achieved unprecedented success in his business as well as philanthropy -- all at the same time.
Global business leaders need to have the ability tothink differentlyabout overcoming common growth obstacles.
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Finding balance in flexibility.
When faced with rising competition and a slump in music sales while helming Virgin Records, Bransonhad the foresightto develop the "next big thing" in retail and began shaping his plans to conquer other media such as books and video.
When his airline hit turbulence because of the rise in terrorism in the 1990s, he lured customers from competitors, and kept it alive.
Branson followed this success with a forceful move into telecommunications, which secured his empire and enabled him to try his hand at combating social ills. We can attribute much of his success to thinking on his feet both faster and more accurately than the next guy.
Everybody has ability to think outside the box. The hardest part is how to structure an idea, devise your business plan and then bring it to reality. The concept must also be potentially profitable while creating true value to its customers. To do this, one must have an experienced and well-trained CEO at the helm.
Look for sectors that are ripe for innovation.
Similarly, the late Steve Jobs' iPhone is consistentlyruling the global telecommunications industrybecause he had the foresight to see that people not only wanted easily portable communications tools, but devices that would combine his flexibility of state-of-the-art-technology with all the benefits and dots and whistles of personal computers. Jobs identified the need and worked fast to accommodate it.
No matter which industry one is trying to make a mark in, it is crucial to assess the current needs and find ways to satisfy them. There are many business sectors ripe for reinvention. Healthcare, for example, is still in dire need of assistance both in the way it's delivered to the consumer and in the way providers are compensated.
What brilliant mind will take the time to fully assess the situation and create a solution that has the potential to transform society?
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Space exploration has currently slowed to less than half the pace it had enjoyed in the 1960s and 70s. It needs an outside-the-box thinker who can devise a way to kickstart the aeronautics industry back in action while at the same time keeping the safety needs of its workers and the fiscal needs of its investors in mind.
即使在小范围活动,比如smooth operation of a business workspace, it is the quick and flexible mind that will rise to the top.
So, if you don't have the genius to reinvent the wheel or the money to start a new company, you can still make an impression in someone else's enterprise by thinking grander and harder than your coworkers and helping to make your CEO more successful.
Those that are successful in this manner often become impatient staying in one firm so they bring their capacity for lofty ideas to other work offers and chart innovative ways to continue to make a difference.
Business leaders that consider and incorporate these factors and combine them with skills to reinvent are good choices to recreate their success overseas. The individual who has most successfully navigated the treacherous waters of commerce in his or her own country is best poised to adapt thoughts to most easily reach the minds of leaders of foreign companies.
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It is important to keep in mind that the effective business person has developed his/her drive, vision and inspiration from experience dealing with customers and making "brain connections" with them. Branson is such perfect example.
A novel idea will translate in different languages and in many locales. If you approach a problem with a great deal of enthusiasm and motivation, and you are willing to push yourself and think creatively and act rapidly upon further refining your concept, you will win the game.
