I was recently asked by the Principal of a local Hawke’s Bay primary school what I considered the key characteristics were of a person that typically lead to success. The Principal had just finished talking with a student on this topic.
I said, “in a nutshell, it is comes down to a person’s ability to closely observe the world around them, and then their willingness to act as/ when observed opportunities present themselves, and finally their determination to stay doing the thing which they have committed themselves to do.“
I said, “in a nutshell, it is comes down to a person’s ability to closely observe the world around them, and then their willingness to act as/ when observed opportunities present themselves, and finally their determination to stay doing the thing which they have committed themselves to do.“
I went on to comment that yes, traits such as confidence, communication and leadership are important; but nowhere near as important as a person’s ability to look outside themselves to observe and understand the world around them – and act on opportunities as they come along.
What I see happening increasingly is business people (students and practitioners alike) becoming more and more introverted (inwardly looking); which is typically meaning that they focus the lion’s share of their time and efforts on fine-tuning operational elements of their business rather than be concerned with thinking strategically.
Strategic thought capability (which calls for a business owner to consider the greater world around them) is an essential practice for business survival – without it, businesses tend to repeat doing the same things year in and year out, with successively smaller financial returns being realised each year as competitor activity overtakes them.