We are often all a product of the environment in which we live in, but should we be defined by our environment? It takes courage and a sense of duty, to take a walk on the wild side and break away from traditions and pre-set business moulds.
If nothing is impossible, then why not think bigger!
Leaders are fixated on the competition, that they benchmark their business growth aspirations on the next-door neighbour. Instead, leaders of tomorrow should dare to dream and strive to reach successes that break away from market standards.
The biggest factor that plays a fundamental role in ordinary thinking is fear, leaders are often restricted to exceed their capability due to fear embedded within which comes from society. Unfortunately, this fear also fuels business entrepreneurs all over the world, the World Bank reported statistics on the percentage of individuals that avoided to start a new business, due to fear of failure.
The United Arab Emirates reported the highest fear rate with over 60% of the population held back to start a business, but this fear exists in leading economies too. These included Japan, Australia, Canada, Luxembourg and Thailand, that all reported percentages above 40%. The United States and the United Kingdom fear factor was over 30% with France at 39%.
So what are we doing wrong? Why are individuals so scared? Why is fear holding back the leaders of tomorrow?
These questions have a simple answer, we do not like to take the risk. The risk factor in decision making has turned leaders to opt for safer methods, which inevitable either sees the business fail within the first 3 years or just stay afloat. The intelligent leader is bold to take a risk as the benefits outweigh the alternative option.
Leaders need comfort in knowing, failure is experience, it is acceptable to fail trying than not trying at all. As industry leaders, we are obligated to face fears and lead a new generation to excel ordinary thinking. As a society, we need to provide mechanisms to assist businesses to flourish and provide a platform of expertise.
By encouraging bold and innovative thinking we are paving the way for leaders of tomorrow. Social tools available today, have changed the dynamics of how business is grown organically around the world. Businesses no longer require international sales agreements, as entrepreneurs can manage sales from their laptop anywhere in the world. Tech tools are the way forward, allowing leaders to penetrate international markets and audiences at the touch of a button.
Fear of technology can also penalise the seasoned leader, as embracing new alien technology seems too scientific to understand. This fear is worse than fear of failure, as this type of fear will not lead to empowering a generation but watching one take lead. We must think bigger and adopt tech to pave the way for forward thinking.
Imagine in our lifetime how technological advancements have shaped business engagement, we can only dare to think of the tech tomorrows leaders will have at their fingertips. However, given all these tech advancements, why are we still living in an age of fear. As tech cannot teach a generation how to lead and interact with other humans. We can conclude knowing the basic skills of human interaction is priceless if we want to think bigger.
We live in the new age of surplus investment capital, billions of pounds are available for start-up investment. Forbes reported in 2018, Venture capital investment had surged to its highest level ever, with $148 billion invested in 2017 alone. Then why does the average business entrepreneur not understand the business investment available or how to access capital? Because venture capital is not for the average business entrepreneur, it is for risk takers that dare to think bigger and go above and beyond. VC funds don’t invest on ordinary, they want extraordinary risk, that’s worth taking.
Here are the five fundamentals to thinking bigger:
- Passion is what drives a great leader and what can triumph fear, if you are not passionate about your business, ask yourself honestly, why are you doing it? It is easy to lose focus during the journey but never lose your passion.
- Have an opinion, don’t be the quiet one in the room, that is forgotten, be the voice that stands out in the crowd and leads.
- Knowledge is power, share and connect with others, we always need a new perspective. Often if you stay sitting in the same seat, you will experience the same view, same people same circumstance. Get up and sit in another seat, see a new perspective and be open for new experiences and innovation.
- Find a way, no matter what circumstance or obstacle you face, you were given wisdom, use it, find a way. There is always a solution, be a problem solver, stay focused and driven.
- Just Believe! David took down Goliath because he believed, he was fearless and unstoppable. Overcome your giants, stand proud in the face of fear and watch your giants fall before you.
Be a visionary leader, impactful in society, fearless and dare to think bigger.
