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What does it take to succeed in business?
October 31, 2006
What does it take to succeed in business?
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Finding success in business requires a combunation of key traits, says one expert.
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Countless volumes have been written on what makes a businessperson successful. While each
has its own angle, most acknowledge that it’s a combination of key traits. According to one
expert on the subject, it takes a mix of intuition, wisdom, creativity, innovation, entrepreneurial
giftedness and managerial talent.
Larisa Shavinina, an internationally renowned professor of management at the Université du
Québec en Outaouais, points out that the brightest names in business can pull from an array of
entrepreneurial tools at their disposal.
“When Michael Dell decided to expand his young computer company internationally, they told
him he was out of his mind,” she says. Yet Dell’s first international expansion was to the United
Kingdom in 1987 and the business was profitable from its very first days.
According to Shavinina, all but one of the 22 reporters at the press conference announcing Dell’s
expansion predicted failure. They said it was a bad idea, that the direct business model was an
American invention that would not work in other countries. Even Dell employees believed it was
silly.
So what does Dell’s success say about leadership? In his own words, the lesson is “believe in
what you’re doing. If you’ve got an idea that’s really powerful, you’ve just got to ignore the
people who tell you it won’t work, and hire people who embrace your vision.”
Shavinina says that it was also tough going for other business superstars, like Sony’s Akio
Morita.
“An innovative business is one which lives and breathes outside the box. It is not just about
ideas. It is a combination of good ideas, motivated staff and an instinctive understanding of what
your customers want, and then combining these elements to achieve outstanding results”
— Richard Branson
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Morita could not find American distributors for Sony products—the same line of products that
later included Sony’s ubiquitous (and profitable) Walkman. “Sony’s Walkman is one of the best
examples,” says Shavinina. “It emerged despite strong market research that suggested that there
was no demand for this kind of product, but only Morita’s intuition saved it.
The professor points out that while one can’t underestimate the power of market research, it is
just one factor among many that can make a product or service a big seller. She says it’s
important to emphasize a combination of business traits because if, for example, intuition fails
an exporter, then managerial talent, market research and creativity can pick up the pieces. “We
know that if exporters have highly developed compensatory mechanisms, success is more
likely.”
Problem-solving tips
- The first option is likely to be the best
- Use analysis to support your intuition
- Put more energy into understanding than in deliberating over what
to do
- Do not confuse desires with intuition
- Think ahead
- Consult the experts
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Of these traits, intuition may be the most powerful. Herbert Simon, who won a Nobel prize in
1978 for his work on decision-making and problem-solving, explained why it is impossible to
make any important decision simply by gathering and analyzing all the facts. According to
Simon, there are too many facts and too many combinations of facts. The more complex the
decision, the faster the complications add up.
Researchers suggest that intuition, in the form of very large repertoires of patterns acquired over
years of practice, helps people make better decisions. Formal analyses can be valuable to
supplement intuition, but it cannot replace it.
Shavinina, who conducts workshops on developing these important business traits, says that
“tapping unconventional approaches, a good dose of creativity and the ability to solve problems
in innovative ways are great learning tools for today’s exporters. If it worked for Dell and
Morita, it could work for any Canadian exporter.”
For more information, go to www.innocrex.com.
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