Leadership is the art of communicating the right things at the right time to the right people for achieving a shared vision. The ability of a leader to communicate can make the difference between success and failure of a mission. The best of intentions need to be backed up with good communication & leadership skills to make things happen.

Studies have shown that if you want to be an effective leader, you need to excel in communication. Infact, inadequate communication is directly related to the bottomline for organisations. Research conducted by Society for Human Resource Management found inadequate communication can cost large companies a loss of $64.2 million every year. For smaller organisations, they risk losing almost $420,000. The habits of communication can make a difference to the fortunes of organisations and build people to achieve challenging missions.

1. Information Sharing

Leaders need to share and keep their subordinates informed about their organisation. The ability of a leader to share key nuggets of information builds trust and confidence in the team. Even when things are going wrong, information and data can be used for corrective measures.

When a new policy is introduced, it is the job of the concerned leader to articulate it to the organisation. Successful organisations share relevant information that pertain to employees, vendors and customers to win their trust.

2. Active Listening

Many times, leaders live in a silo, and fail to listen to their teams. This is more so when the leader is the most intelligent person in the room. Teams can often feel overwhelmed and not communicate freely with the leaders. But the best leaders make conscious attempts to listen, understand and respect the opinions of their people. Nothing makes a leader more effective than active listening skills.

Leaders can get signals and clues on many important things by listening. Interrupting your teams when they are speaking, completing their sentences and a know it all approach can be counterintuitive for leaders. Good leaders engage in a conversation, they ask questions, take notes, feedback and most importantly respect the opinion of the other person.

3. Setbacks

Leaders are often facing setbacks due to volatile business situations, hard to reach targets and often find themselves in an isolated position. When things are going wrong, it becomes important for leaders to rally their troops. Leadership needs to handle setbacks by aligning their teams and resources in the right direction. They have to ensure that they are forging forward in any situation towards achieving their goals.

A leader’s ability to handle setbacks as a challenge, take feedback and opinion of his team in tough situations can build a great organisational culture. When things go wrong, every team member should be able to walk up to the leader and seek the way forward.

4. The Focal Point

Great leadership skills are all about making people achieve things beyond their imagination. It is possible by narrowing your focus on the most important things and doing them to the best of your abilities. When leaders articulate the priorities, teams can deliver impeccable results.

A lot of teams fail, because they keep changing the directions too often. Despite the changing business models, priorities and situations, great teams stay focused and achieve their vision. Leaders help their teams focus on their core activities, deliver their best work and eliminate other distractions. They work with focus and resolve until they meet their targets. Leadership takes responsibility for people climbing the right ladder for their individual & organisational success.

5. Ego

Leadership is about connection and communication, not about superiority. When leaders communicate with a sense of ego, the team suffers. The best leaders know how to manage their egos and sense of importance. They understand what they do is more important than who they are. This is true for every individual in the team.

A good team may have star players, but the team is always bigger than an individual. The best leaders maintain consistent standards and policies for everyone. They’re considerate but never unfair. They communicate with good self awareness and understand how to take people alongside them.

6. Blindspots & Self Awareness

Everyone has blindspots, but the blindspots of a leader get highlighted more than others. A leader who knows his blindspots and trusts people in his team to cover up those aspects earns the respect of his team.

When a leader communicates with awareness and knows what he doesn’t know, he appears more authentic and trustworthy. A good leader builds a team that helps each other do better every day. They complement each other, resolve conflicts and do their best work together.

Failing to acknowledge the blindspots and communicating with confusion can often create hurdles in leadership. A leader often needs to build a team of trustworthy lieutenants around him. For e.g. a CEO with a strong sales expertise may not need help in understanding modern technology aspects and how they affect business. A good CEO will often have a few trusted people who will guide and drive the technology strategy of the company.

7. Difficult Conversations

Leadership is not about being good and pleasant with others, but creating an impact and achieving the desired results. A leader needs to have difficult conversations with people on his team, provide constructive feedback and get things moving.

Great leadership skills are needed in times of complexity, conflicts and difficult situations. The best leaders learn the art of negotiating with people, whether it is their teams, customers or other stakeholders. They identify conflicts, problems and work towards resolutions early.

The conversations and communication are an integral part of leadership. The work and personal relationships are built on these communications. Every failed communication can impact a relationship, whereas every successful communication strengthens it. Good leaders learn to communicate successfully & build a shared consensus among their teams to achieve a great impact.

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The human race keeps moving forward with myriad innovations and developments that improve the standard of living around the world. The most innovative countries push the envelope for developments that benefits humans around the planet. Bloomberg measures
the innovation of the countries around the world in terms of their research and development, patents, high-tech density and other ways to abet innovation. The most innovative countries in the world are contributing in the fields of healthcare, smarter living, organic meat and technology etc.

The Bloomberg study evaluates seven weighted metrics for assessing innovation. It takes into account research and development activity, manufacturing, productivity, researchers & patent activity to rank the innovative countries around the world.

Most Innovative Countries

South Korea has grabbed the top spot on the list of most innovative countries in 2021. South Korea was at the second spot in 2020. The country has been prominently held as an innovator bagging the top spot for six consecutive years from 2014 to 2019. The South Korean economy has been a story of remarkable turnaround based on its innovation. It has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the 1960s to the world’s 10th largest economy in 2020. 

South Korea has access to almost no natural resources & has a high density of population on its land. But the resurgence of South Korea owes to its education system that has been driving the technology boom and preparing ground for its economic development. A high number of research activities, adoption of the latest technology and skilled workforce make South Korea a force to reckon in the world today. The country is also among the leading R&D investors of the world in proportion of its GDP.  The Asian country has been among the leading exporters of technology around the world. South Korea received a score of 90.49 on the Bloomberg innovation index. 

Singapore is the second most innovative economy in the world behind South Korea. It improved its ranking from 2020 where it was ranked third on the index. Singapore has been investing in building a digital and future driven economy to address the national and societal priorities. The country ranks highly on most development indicators for measuring standards of living of its residents, not just innovation. Singapore received a score of 87.76 in 2021.

European Dominance Among Innovative Economies

Switzerland grabbed the third spot among the most innovative economies of the world this year. It was ranked fourth in 2020. The country is the most innovative economy in Europe. It has a highly developed infrastructure, education, research, facilities and training system for its citizens. Switzerland also invests a significant portion of its GDP on R&D activities to foster innovation. It received a score of 87.60 on the innovation index.

Germany moved from the first spot in 2020 to the fourth spot in 2021. The country saw a decline of three positions as its innovation score fell by 3 points at 86.45 in 2021. Germany has been at the forefront of R&D, innovation and has a highly productive workforce. It has shown the ability to innovate, adopt modern technology & has high quality of education. The European country has shown its research as a top innovator in the automobile industry. It has led the technology for driverless vehicles, digital networked mobility and electric cars. 

Sweden & Denmark round off the fifth and sixth positions among the most innovative countries. Sweden’s position remained unchanged from 2020, whereas Denmark gained a rank two positions higher this year. Sweden and Denmark scored 86.39 and 86.12 respectively on the innovation index. Sweden has been consistently ranked among the most innovative countries in Europe and the world. The country has invested in zero emission electric cars and investing in innovative technologies to deliver citizen services.

Small But Highly Innovative Country

Israel is the seventh most innovative country in the 2021 Bloomberg innovation index. Last year it was ranked sixth. Israel is among the highest spending countries for R&D for its GDP. Israel spends nearly 4.9% of its GDP on R&D every year, which is the highest in the world. The country has been a bedrock of innovative technologies and breakthrough concepts for the world. Israel is home to more high tech startups per capita on the globe. The flexible stents used for opening up artery blockages, free voice calling app, & firewall for protection against malware are some just some of the innovations from Israel. The country is also known for a high number of patents for a small country.  Israel received a score of 85.5 on the innovative index. 

Finland & Netherlands are the eight and ninth most innovative economies of the world. They scored 84.86 and 84.29 respectively on the innovation index. Finland was ranked seventh in 2021, while Netherlands made an entry into the top 10 this year, last year it was ranked thirteenth. The Finnish Ecosystem is developed to create innovative models by linking startups with large companies, universities and government offices. Finland is among the top breeding spots for startups in Europe and driven by a strong support system from the governments there. Finland’s innovation model is driven by adopting information technology for economic growth and improving quality of life for its people. 

Austria rounds up the tenth position for the most innovative economy in 2021. Austria moved up from the eleventh spot in 2020. The country received a score of 83.93 on the innovation index in 2021. The most innovative economies in the world are driven by the EU members. As many as seven out of the top ten countries are from Europe. The European countries are increasingly adopting digital technologies for innovation, aiding productivity, & improving the quality of life for its citizens. The region is also known for its collaborative framework for advancing innovations and technology.

Conclusion:

The rate of innovations matter and have a significant impact on humanity. As 2020 saw the worst of the Corona pandemic, the innovations for healthcare and the technologies that have made it possible have been lauded around the world. The speed at which countries can adopt new ideas, experiment and innovate to build solutions for the world gives them an edge. Many of these innovations are now driven by the fourth industrial revolution with digital technologies taking the center stage. 

Competitive parity is a measure of the key metrics for a business against its competitors or industry average. As businesses compete to gain the edge, competitive parity is an important way to keep score of the most vital aspects.

Companies use competitive parity to improve their performance, especially in non areas of their business. For e.g. the concept of competitive parity is used in marketing. Pepsi and Coca Cola are competitors and often look at the marketing costs for a region. None of them wants to be behind the other, so they benchmark the promotional, advertisements and branding costs for a specific territory. The concept of competitive parity helps a company stay on par with its competitors for a chosen metric like marketing expenditure, quality standards for a product or use of technology etc.

Here’s a look at some of the types of competitive parity that influences your business: 

1. Quality of Products & Services

When Apple launched the iphone, it had set a standard that challenged smartphone manufacturers. Companies like Samsung and Google etc. were compelled to improve their technology to meet the consumer expectations.

In any industry or market segment, the quality of your product or service has to meet the expected standards for it to perform. Whether it is the incumbents or new startups, your products or services have to measure up against your competition. You cannot create or sustain a business in a competitive landscape with substandard products or services.

2. Best Practices & Processes

Is your company measuring up against its competitors in terms of the best practices and processes? For e.g. are you following and sticking to standard processes for building your products or services? Are you meeting the regulatory needs? Are you following up with quality standards and streamlining things for your employees?

When businesses adopt standards and processes, it helps them to stay focused and meet the market needs. Despite the ongoing disruptions, changing market situations and chaotic business dynamics, the best practices can still be followed. The best businesses are driven by key best practices in various disciplines. For e.g. a company may check to see the best practices for the human resources to meet the industry standards. It may not invent these things, but follow them to meet certain guidelines in order to be competitive. 

3. Pricing Strategy

When you’re servicing a niche segment of clients, you can charge a premium for your services inline with the value you provide. But if you are into a customer space with many competitors, you have to measure yourself against existing competitors.

Your products or services have to be developed and benchmarked against the industry average. Your pricing strategy needs to take into account the customer options and evaluate your offerings for them. When you’re offering unique capabilities, niche services and innovative products above market standards, your customers will be happy to pay a premium. 

4. Use of Technology

Is your business up to date with technology standards? Are you measuring favourably against your existing competitors & new technology innovations? For e.g. banks today need to provide state of the art technology services for their customers, they are also challenged with innovations happening in the financial technology space by startups.

A business needs to be aware of the latest trends affecting its customers, employees, industry and business. As the rate of technological evaluation is phenomenal, businesses that are not proactive get left behind. The demand for the latest tools and technologies has become a necessary obligation for companies to force their way forward today.

5. Expenditure

The expenditure of a business for various business functions like marketing, product or services development, advertisements, human resources, technology, IT services, & R&D etc. is often benchmarked against the competitors for establishing competitive parity.

Although companies have different levels of resource utilisation, efficiency metrics and output levels, expenditure into some of the business functions helps them boost their presence in the same space vis a vis competition. 

Companies that are well established and market leaders often spend more for marketing & advertisements. New entrants are generally more focused on innovative strategies to build differentiation and brand recognition. But businesses of all sizes need to guard against their competitors and new entrants in their customer space.

6. Finer Details 

The best businesses are often built on finer details that are missed by others. Attention to details in design, features and functions of your products and services is crucial for gaining competitive parity. Companies that study the competitors products, their features and details can uncover many opportunities for working finer details that add value to their business.

The best companies are not doing incremental stuff, but they work backwards from what the customers need. Sometimes, if you need to improve things 10x, it needs a completely innovative mindset. It can be done by working on the finer details and building a new experience for the customers.

Companies that pay attention to customer needs and aspirations can create out of the box experiences for them. They usually innovate with the customer needs in mind & understand the current pain areas for them. It helps them pick up finer details to improve the customer experience.

7. Strategy

Businesses need to have a strategic perspective of things to stay in touch with ground realities. Whether it is competitors or market demand, companies need to be able to establish and constantly update their standards for some of the following:

Automation: Are your competitors using automation for key processes? Can your business deliver better results with algorithms, data and technology?
Business goals:  What are their business goals?
Key Drivers: What are the key drivers for your business and how you can build on them?
Products: How do you plan to differentiate and add value to your products & services?
Markets: What are the key markets & locations for your business?
Customer Service: How are you measuring your customer service levels?
Experimentation: What is your framework for experimentation and moving forward against your competitors?

Companies that have a deep understanding of the strategic framework for their business operate with strong fundamentals. The decision making is done using data to uncover new business opportunities & gain competitive parity in their business.

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Reid Hoffman is a regular guy who built LinkedIn. He knows a thing or two about entrepreneurship and how to build companies. An early investor in AirBnb and someone who’s been at the helm of affairs while building the world’s largest professional network community, Reid Hoffman is a widely admired figure. Entrepreneurship lessons from Reid Hoffman are
invaluable nuggets of wisdom from his early days at LinkedIn, AirBnb and several other companies.

Hoffman serves on the board of many public and private companies, devotes his time for several philanthropic initiatives and works as a venture capitalist at Greylock. He is known to be generous among his friends and close associates. Here’s a look at some of the key entrepreneurship lessons from Reid Hoffman:

1. People are Complicated & Flawed, Learn to Deal with it
Reid Hoffman understands people better than most. He’s built the networking platform for professionals that connects people across the world. But when it comes to building and maintaining relationships, he’s a master at it.

One of the keys to be a successful entrepreneur is to build strong relationships. People in startups and life tend to have complicated attributes, they cannot be classified as good or bad. Labeling them as great or stupid, doesnt truly justify them as human beings. Reid is known to be forgiving and helpful to people.

He often maintains a good deal of information about a person. Infact, even when you make mistakes or your weakness  gets exposed, it is just another attribute or piece of data about you as a person for him. He cherishes and preserves his relationships, which is a great necessity for an entrepreneur.

A lot of entrepreneurs tend to evaluate people by looking at their weaknesses first and not paying enough attention about their strengths and unique capabilities. A change in perspective on how you evaluate people can help you build relationships with them. By helping people and being generous with them, you have a better chance of being successful in your own endeavors too. Hoffman summarises it apty, “Your network is the people who want to help you, and you want to help them, and that’s really powerful.”

2. Speed & Execution

One of Reid Hoffman’s most famous quotes, “In founding a startup, you throw yourself off a cliff and build an airplane on the way down.” It captures what entrepreneurship is all about. It is about speed, execution and achieving the unthinkable.

The reason speed is so important for entrepreneurs is because the world is changing so fast. What you’re building will be outdated in no time. The value of what you build may no longer be relevant with new inventions coming up so quickly. 

Action bias, executing with nimbleness, assessing & taking decisions quickly are some of the most important attributes for entrepreneurship. When Hoffman was building LinkedIn, he empowered his teams to make decisions. He accepted the tradeoffs that come with speed saying that he’s okay with a fault rate of 10-20%, if it helps the team take decisions and move fast.

The success of startups lies in its ability to ship and build things faster than the incumbents. It helps them seize the opportunities and create greater value for everyone involved. Hoffman says a lot of intelligent people over analyse and suffer from paralysis of analysis, which makes them indecisive. 

3. Outwork & Outlast Competition 

Entrepreneurship can be hard, it can really take a toll on people when they’re not really deeply passionate about what they’re doing. Infact, it is the love of the game that inspires the best entrepreneurs to continue in times of difficulties. Passion and love for your job is what separates successful entrepreneurs from others.

The best entrepreneurs are not motivated by the rewards, but by the fun they have while building things. It is this excitement and passion that gives them the energy to outwork and outlast their competitors. In Reid Hoffman’s words, “The person passionate about what he or she is doing will outwork and outlast the guy motivated solely by making money.”

In the long run, what you’re building has to be meaningful for you. It should give you fulfillment and reason to outwork others who’re in it for the short term rewards.

4. Competitive Advantage

Reid Hoffman explains his theory for competitive advantage in his book, “Your competitive advantage is formed by the interplay of three different, ever-changing forces: your assets, your aspirations/values, and the market realities, i.e., the supply and demand for what you offer the marketplace relative to the competition.”

Your competitive advantage is shaped by what you offer to the world and the supply & demand for it. Your values and aspirations are what help you to excel at what you do. It gives you a strong grounding and belief system that propels you to differentiate yourself from others. Your assets are your strong capabilities that help you gain an edge over others. For e.g. an entrepreneur who excels at coding can contribute and develop technology platforms.

Great entrepreneurs are driven by a strong value system that helps them build remarkable things. Many entrepreneurs discover their hidden talents & assets while they’re striving to build their companies.

5. Identify & Address Misaligned Incentives

The key to success in any partnership is right alignment of the expectations, more so in a startup. Navigating through points of misalignment and disagreements can keep the relationships on track. Ben Casnocha co-authored a book titled, ‘The Startup of You’ with Reid Hoffman shares an interesting anecdote.

When the book was about to be published, Reid Hoffman had a meeting with the publishers. The publishing house wanted to sell more copies of the book, whereas Reid Hoffman & Ben were more interested in spreading their ideas around the world. They weren’t necessarily bothered about the formats and considered even lesser pricing and free distribution of the ebooks. The publishers agreed to this. There were initial misalignments, but these were sorted out by articulating and addressing them.

In a start-up, the employees, co-founders and other stakeholders all invest their time and energy. There are often disagreements, misalignments and difficulties that can be handled by identifying and addressing things. When people are invested in the success of the enterprise, they work harder.

Entrepreneurs need to learn the art of negotiating with all stakeholders any misalignments and come to a common goal that benefits everyone. Every day is a great opportunity to build a better tomorrow and shape the things to come. Reid Hoffman nails it aptly, “Each day presents an opportunity to learn more, do more, be more, grow more in our lives and careers.”

Your life goals reveal a lot about the type of person you are. Successful people often keep track of their life goals. These life goals help them develop the right perspective for long-term thinking. Success is never a matter of accident, it happens with consistent efforts and habits over a period of time.

These life goals can have a great impact on the type of person you can become. All great men and women who have walked on this planet have found ways to better themselves to a point, where their presence helped other people become better too. Life goals are one of the best ways to create a meaningful impact & live your highest ideals. One more thing, research has shown that keeping your goals secretive gives you a much better change of achieving them rather than disclosing them.

Do you set life goals? Do you share them with others? Well, setting life goals is a great way to keep your life on track for the things you want to accomplish. But sharing them with others prematurely doesn’t help. Research has shown that sharing goals with others can reduce your chances of achieving them. When you talk about your goals with others, it triggers a false sense of accomplishment. Your brain gets a virtual signal that you’ve achieved your goals and you lose motivation to make it happen.

1. Reading 

Reading is one of the best ways to develop your brain, thinking and reasoning capacity. The most successful people in various fields owe a lot to their ability to read. Whether it is Bill Gates, Warren Buffett or Mark Zukerberg, all of them aspire to read a certain number of books every year.

How many books do you read every year? Even if you read 1 book every 2 weeks, it still gives you time to finish 26 books every year. When you spend around 10 years of time reading books, it makes you stand out and accomplish more in your life.

2. Traveling 

Traveling opens up your mind to a new world altogether. When you travel in different countries or cultures, it helps your brain pick up new habits. A broad worldview and ability to understand can give you an excellent perspective in life.

Many great leaders and successful people consciously travel to learn. So, despite their busy schedules and work, they plan to travel and learn new things about the world. Traveling gives you a chance to come out of your comfort zones and explore new things. It adds to your adventure and way of life. 

3. Friendships & Relationships

Your friendships and relationships reveal a lot about the type of person you are. Successful people develop the skills required to connect with their friends and build meaningful relationships. They build habits to stay in touch, talk and manage their relationships despite the busy schedule.

Managing quality relations with friends and family requires energy and efforts. While it may be possible to connect with many people, building deep and meaningful relationships is possible with a limited number of people.

4. Professional Skills

Any person who wishes to rise and succeed in the competitive world constantly refines his professional skills. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an entrepreneur, a top executive or starting your career, everyday is a new beginning. You start from scratch and cannot rest on your past.

Successful people narrow their focus areas and develop skills that help them reach to the top in their fields. They learn new skills which help them stay sharp and on top of their game. They have the motivation to improve and better their performance in the past. For e.g. personal skills require you to focus on contributing more value everyday.

5. Self Education & Learning

What is the last time you learned or tried something new? Self education and learning is a great way to make your life adventurous. .Learning to play a new instrument, language or picking up a new craft can activate your brain in compelling ways. It helps you pay attention, concentrate and keep yourself young.

Do you have a list of things you want to learn? Are you ready to stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone and devote 10 hours every week to learn new stuff?

Self education gives people the ability to comprehend and develop new skills that may be complementary to their professional skills. When the world around changes fast, your ability to learn fast, adapt and face new challenges is a rare and valuable trait.

6. Health & Hobbies 

An investment in health pays one of the best returns for your future. You may have everything else, but without good health, everything is meaningless. Exercising 5-6 days a week for at-least 30 minutes everyday can unlock great energy for you. When exercise is a priority, you can perform much better in your life. Taking care of your physical and mental health is a must in today’s demanding work routines.

Pursuing a hobby gives you mental space for recovering from fatigues. It also helps your mind find new neural ways to strengthen its functioning. Some of the greatest and most successful people have diverse interests and are able to connect the dots when it matters.

7. Time Boxing

Your life is what you do everyday. When you spend time on social media feeds and spend hours scrolling your smartphones, you are wasting your days. Successful people control their day with time boxing. For e.g. they wouldn’t watch their social media for more than 30 minutes everyday. They limit the time for activities that take away attention from their core tasks.

Time boxing is based on Pomodoro technique and is a master strategy at focusing on completing tasks within a given period. It helps people do more in their day, week, & months. All this adds up and compounds over time. Successful people invest their time in activities that add up in the long run.

8. Social Impact

Your life goals will mean a little, if they did not help others around you. It could be starting with your immediate family, friends and then the society around you. Great people always strive towards creating a social impact with their day to day work. They invest time in helping as many people as they can to reach their goals and mentor them.

What do you care about the most in your life? What are your goals for creating a social impact? Working for a social cause that is dear to you and contributing your time, efforts and money to make it happen can help you discover a meaningful life. 

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Competitive advantage is the basis of differentiation, growth and prosperity for a business. It makes a business better than its competitors. Without significant competitive advantage a business may flounder. Great companies are built on competitive advantages that makes it hard to replace them. Think of it, Apple, Google, & Amazon are all companies with remarkable competitive advantages compared to their competitors. In many cases, companies like Google, Facebook & DeBeers are able to establish monopolies because no competitor can match them.

While it may not be possible for most companies to establish monopolies, however, strong competitive advantages can help them grab a greater market share and dominance. Here’s a look at specific ways and sources to build competitive advantage for a business.

1. Products & Services

If your business offers better products and services than its competitors, it is a great competitive advantage. The products and services could be better for a specific customer base or location. Great products attract customers, build loyal following and help a business. A lot of companies make the mistake of marketing things without paying enough attention to building products or services.

Great companies are always built on the quality of their products and services. Take for e.g. how Apple was able to dominate the smartphone market by launching the iphones. Zappos created a market around its much touted customer service.

2. People

The top companies in business are built on its people. More so if you’re in modern businesses, which are driven by software and technology. The ways teams work and gel with each other has a significant bearing on its products and services.

“The secret of my success is that we have gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world. And when you’re in a field where the dynamic range is 25 to 1, boy, does it pay off.”
                                                                                                                                                   Steve Jobs

A business can gain significant advantage when it has a stable talent pool and it can attract the best people to work for it. When the dynamics of a business change, its people can make a big difference. The best companies are built on the strength of its people. The hiring processes, retention strategies and long term growth prospects of a company are all integral to its success.

3. Operations & Processes 

The operations and processes of a company have a significant bearing on its key performance metrics. When the processes are well defined, it makes it easier for employees to excel. They know what is expected of them and what they need to do in order to excel. Companies with well optimised processes can deliver quality products with higher efficiency and quality than their counterparts. They can utilise resources better and deliver better products and services.

Companies with well defined processes and systems can be more effective in reaching their business goals like managing products, quality control, customer service, onboarding employees, and sales targets. Well defined processes and systems provide employees support for performing better. It ultimately leads to a significant competitive advantage.

4. Design Thinking 

Design thinking is the way different facets of a business fit together to provide compelling solutions to the end users. In the world driven by digital technology, design thinking is playing a prominent role in shaping the solutions. It is taking constraints, evaluating the user environment and providing solutions that work for the end users.

Companies like AirBnB have transformed themselves from a failing startup to a centi billion dollar public company riding on design thinking. The AirBnb team used design thinking effectively to solve problems for its users. They understood how key elements related to user experience needed to be solved with careful considerations of design.

5. Digital Tools & Technology

Digital tools and technology are at the forefront today. They are dictating the customer experience, driving business processes & innovations. Companies that are using technologies in their core business processes are reaping rewards for it. They are able to adapt faster and deliver state of the art services for their customers.

Many businesses have turned traditional industries on their heads owing to the use of technology. Companies are leveraging data and integrated systems to deliver them business insights for proactive decision making and management. 

Digital tools and technologies are assisting businesses to:
Improve communication between teams
Analyse business data with relevant action items
Improve Customer interactions and experience
Innovations with technology driven processes and patentable ideas
Flexible work environment
Personalisation for customers

Customers are far likely to do business with companies that use state of the art digital tools today. It helps them connect with them and get instant access to resources, products/services and support they need.

6. Innovations & Intellectual Property

The ability of a business to build new innovations contributes to its long term success. A viable business is born, when a company innovates and is able to grab the market effectively. The most successful companies build processes where its teams can experiment and launch new ideas.

Businesses have to evaluate their products and services in line with the changing landscape of the customer’s needs. They need to have a framework and processes for trying out new ideas to gain the competitive advantage. Here’s a list of some questions that can help you understand your position with respect to innovations: 

Is your business built on innovations that make a difference?
What are your key intellectual assets and properties?
Is your business strategically investing in building new capabilities?
Are you able to innovate and build better products or services than your competitors?
Is your business model ready to adapt to sudden changes in the marketplace?
Are you succeeding in winning customers with your innovations?
Are you building tools that are useful for your customers?

7. Leadership

The leadership of a business is its driving force. Businesses assume a personality of its leadership. One can never imagine Apple without Steve Jobs, Virgin without Richard Branson and Microsoft without Bill Gates. The leadership of a company drives its products, people and business.

Visionary leadership helps a company build a good differentiation strategy. It helps the company answer questions like why it exists with utmost honesty. This is what great leadership does. It gives a reason for people to believe in something, it gives them a cause they want to fight for, a wrong they want to right and a mission they’re ready to die for. This is what great leaders do for their companies. When people know what you stand for, they are invariably ready to lend support to you & help you in your mission. The way a company is being led can create an ultimate differentiation for its business in the long run.