two jobs any leader faces. The first is to
make today as good as possible. The
second is to prepare for tomorrow.
Recognizing that these are fundamentally different tasks is a critical
component to sustaining growth.
Underinvest in today and you leave
yourself open to attack from hungry
competitors. Only invest in today and
you miss tomorrow’s great growth
opportunities. Balance is key.
chain of English education schools in
China, which is another great example
of leveraging an underlying
capability—in Disney’s case one of the
world’s great brands—to move into a
new market.
IS THE 2016 ISPA
CONFERENCE & EXPO THEME!
P: What is your advice to help entrepreneurs to find their perfect match
when looking for business partners?
A: I studied economics in college, so
forgive me for “geeking” out for a
P: What is the biggest challenge
minute. But what you want is a circumbusinesses face in today’s market
stance where both you and a partner
economy, and how do you propose
see “comparative advantage.” The best
they overcome this challenge?
partnerships are based on respect—
To know more and register for
A: It used to be that we would work
when both sides recognize the other
the 2016 ISPA Conference & Expo
does something better than it does.
hard to develop a strong market
(Sept.
13-15
at
The
Venetian
in
That requires a fundamental humility. I
position and then exploit it. But today’s
Las Vegas, Nevada),
remember once, we met with a much
world moves so fast that the second we
visit
attendispa.com.
bigger consulting company that told us
get an inch of advantage, we have to
they did everything we did, but better
deal with a new competitor or a fresh
and on a broader scale. Now, our clients would disagree, but it
crisis. To overcome this challenge, I propose that companies
didn’t matter—we politely stopped the conversation and moved
infuse a sense of curiosity in day-to-day routines. The curious
on. If you don’t perceive that there’s something to gain from a
organization discovers new things, intersects with people who
partnership, it’s hard for it to end up being anything other than
think differently, experiments just to try things and invests in and
exploitative.
celebrates learning. This isn’t an overnight thing, but it is the best
way to build resilience into an organization.
P: What sort of traits/characteristics should a company
look for when hiring employees?
P: Can you give three case studies where businesses have
A: In the book Mindset, Carol Dweck from Stanford showed how
successfully expanded into a larger market?
some
people have more of a “fixed” mindset, where they think
A: There are obvious classic studies, like Apple entering into the
how to optimize and do the best they can in a static world and
mobile phone market or Amazon moving from books to...everysome have a “growth” mindset, where they see possibilities. It’s
thing, but I thought I would highlight more hidden stories. A few
like the old parable of the two shoe salespeople who go to a
years ago, Helen Eaton, the executive director of the Settlement
remote village where everyone is barefoot. One sends a note to
Music School in Philadelphia, was thinking on ways to expand
the home office saying, “there is no market here, I am coming
the school’s reach. For more than 100 years, the school had
home” while the other says, “I need more shoes—the market is
primarily focused on educating children, so Eaton and her team
wide open!” Not to support delusional thinking, but we need
developed innovative programming for adults, like Adult Rock
more people with the latter view. n
Band, where a group of former strangers would jam under the
Be sure to attend the premiere spa
industry event to not only gain access
to a wealth of expert insights, but also
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mentor and open a world of opportunities for you!
tutelage of a master. Another fun example is how Rovio—the
Finnish game company behind Angry Birds—went from smartphone apps to branded merchandise. That’s straight out of
Disney’s playbook. Speaking of Disney, that company now runs a
FOR MORE about this issue’s featured
expert, click here.
May 2016
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