Rules of engagement for success

Smart, collaborative, forward-looking competitive strategies are the key to success. We live in a knowledge-based global economy where skills are the critical ingredient for success. Instead of focusing on one’s insecurities, the task should be to work on a strategic competitive plan for your company and not incremental fixes to immediate small problems.

We know that every major country in the world is getting in the game, is trying to compete harder, and is trying to create an environment for innovation—we are no longer the only game in town. Whereas just about twenty years ago we were trying to convince the world to adopt free enterprise and attract foreign capital and get into trade, I don’t think we have to do any more convincing. People have gotten the message and they have caught on to it pretty fast and well.

Success or failure depends on a company following a three-level process:

It is basically planning (i.e. having in place the infrastructure to meet the world, talent, and execution). Or we can say it in the following terms: where, who, and what are we going to do when we get there?

We focus on companies not having to deal with that uncertainty and/or fear, and help them identify the right markets and their ideal customers, equip the team with the skills and tools necessary, and coach them on how to succeed in their venture. They need to know how to manage the complexities, contradictions, and conflicts associated with going global.

Some of the skills the leadership in every company need to adopt include functioning in a world of high-speed change in which skills of letting go are as important as skills in taking charge, more ambiguity, dealing in an environment that may not always be clear, and having all the components necessary to make a decision. All this has to go hand-in-hand without neglecting the local business environment, corporate, and the specific country or countries in which they need to operate.