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At a recent event honouring business leaders, the various category winners were asked about the secrets of their success. As you can imagine the diverse group of award winning leaders gave a diverse range of answers.

There  were a number of answers suggesting some of the more familiar themes, skills and attitudes; seeing things from your customers point of view; it’s easy to do well if you love what you do; surround yourself with capable people; be brave and hold your nerve etc etc.

There were some however, which are close to my own heart and which I think deserve particular mention. The first was “Trust the people to whom you have given responsibility to make the right decisions”. Once you have hired the right person or mentored and promoted a member of your existing team it is pointless if you do not trust them to do what you are paying them to do. You appointed them so let them get on and do the job. This will free you up to focus on strategic issues and grow your business. Trust me, you will never be able review, let alone make, every decision a growing business needs to make.

Another one that got my attention was “Always be ready to adapt when things change”. Things are always changing, and “change” is good since it can provide  a business with the opportunity to grow – for example, some see Brexit as an opportunity for growth and not something to be afraid of. The trick is to adapt in time to make the most of the change and outperform your competition. Of course, it helps if you are first able to recognise change when it occurs, which brings me to the last one; “Involve a diverse group of people”.

I think diversity of thinking is the most important aspect of how a company navigates its way through the business environment. Without diversity you would have a team with similar social back-grounds, education, work experience, interests, motivations etc etc. Everyone would see the world around them in the same way and if one of them missed the fact that things had changed, for example, then they probably all would. You must have a diverse group who see things differently and are less likely to miss key opportunities for growing your business.  A diverse board, a diverse leadership team and a diverse workforce.

If you would like some help reviewing your organization capability at any level, then please contact us at www.crescus.com.