Global Business Leadership to Learn from

The way a leader steers an organization in today’s global market is vastly different from leading in global markets ten years ago. For a leader to effectively guide an organization through murky unknown waters, (s)he must be aware of potential pitfalls as well as opportunities that may not be apparent until validating research is done. A leader must research current global trends in order to know what interests, opportunities, and knowledge to be learned lies within. To further understand what the consumer base wants in a global market, a leader must get to know AND lead in the vision that the mission statement speaks to, ensure others are in line with it (and if not-why), the consumer base, and other options of the product or service that consumers can go elsewhere to find.

Mission statements must be well thought out and not so wordy in order to grab the attention of customers. The mission statement of The Coca Cola Company paints a word picture to capture attention using words like "enduring", "refresh", and "inspire" to create a feeling of positivity. Although the Coca Cola Company dominates the global soft drink market, the verbiage used throughout its mission statement never refers to its products. Instead it speaks through its purpose in a way that motivates and inspires. By doing so, this develops a healthy relationship with the market by speaking to positive actions and feelings it creates. Mission statements should be revisited and reflected upon in times of successes and failures so that the organization can compare past, current, and future practices to its vision.

Some may argue that globalization may not allow for the development of relationships, due to the high volume of people, distance, and the vast array of cultural differences. However, when a company meets one customer’s need on a regular basis, then 10 customers, then 1,000 customers, they are understanding WHO their customer is. This can lead to developing a relationship on a...