Rooted Leadership: What Business Can Learn from the Natural World The modern business landscape pushes for relentless acceleration, propelled by an undercurrent of continuous innovation, rapid scaling, and an 'always-on' operational mindset. Leaders are under pressure to deliver continuous growth and chase new milestones which often inadvertently cultivate a "hustle" culture. However, this pursuit of acceleration exacts a heavy toll: employee burnout, resource depletion, and a struggle for sustained relevance. We have collectively fallen for the myth of endless productivity, believing that the more efficient our processes, the more work we can (and should) undertake. This mindset traps us in a loop of constant doing, neglecting the essential value of pause, renewal, and strategic timing. In contrast, the natural world…
The Emptiness After the Big Win As the year comes to an end, this is the time when we reflect and take stock of everything we’ve accomplished. Yet, for many of us, we've certainly done a lot of work, but the outcome feels insignificant. It stirs a quiet unease: the sense that, despite the projects delivered, the milestones ticked off, we have this feeling that we still haven’t done enough. This is the arrival fallacy at work, the belief that once we reach a certain goal, we’ll finally feel complete. We chase goals believing they hold the feeling we’re missing, only to discover the feeling never stays. We continually chase more success, more recognition, more wealth, believing that the next…
Article 2/2 Leadership and Sales: Bridging Strategy and Execution Building on the discussion of sales team hiring and building a high-performing sales team in Article 1, this second article delves into the Leadership Role in Sales and Sales in a Changing Environment, with an emphasis on how AI and technology are transforming sales functions. The discussion will conclude with Professor Cespedes’s practical advice for SMB business leaders looking to improve their sales performance. About Professor Frank Cespedes Frank Cespedes teaches at Harvard Business School and for 12 years was Managing Partner at a professional services firm. He has worked with companies on go-to-market and strategy issues, and has been a Board member at consumer goods, industrial products, services, PE and…
Future-Proofing in an Uncertain World: Preparing for the Storm Before the Sun Economic conditions are shifting rapidly, with rising operating costs, supply chain instability and unpredictable shifts in consumer demand across most industries. Globalisation has accelerated growth and expanded market access for many businesses, but it has also made businesses more susceptible to external shocks - where geopolitical tensions and policy changes such as trade tariffs can rapidly disrupt entire value chains. The interconnectedness of global markets means that disruptions in one region can reverberate worldwide, amplifying financial risk and strategic uncertainty. The global economy no longer moves in cycles of calm and chaos; instead, instability has become constant. In this context, the ability to lead with clarity and composure…
Image by patpitchaya on Shutterstock So, you may be wondering, is corporate social responsibility (CSR) really necessary? Couldn't corporations just focus on their primary purpose: providing shareholders with satisfactory returns? Well, that line of thinking, quite frankly, is now considered as outdated as fax machines. While it's true that businesses exist to make a profit, the measures of corporate success today have broadened. The emergence of CSR as an essential primer of modern corporate governance is no accident. It's a reflection of the evolving societal expectations of corporations. So, why has CSR become a non-negotiable for businesses? What is the definition of CSR? "Corporate Social Responsibility means pursuing business objectives in a manner that enhances your company's positive impact on society…
