ONE major weakness in our culture is the manner in which we share data. This is evidenced by our limited knowledge of the winning strategies created by many of our Jamaican and Caribbean business leaders. I can only hope that what has been initiated with the selection of The Observer Business Leader project, and the exciting interviews, conducted by Desmond Allen, will evolve into such a scholarly venture.

Until then, we will have to draw inspiration from others who have taken the time to do this work. Such a project was published in 2005 based on a survey of 7,000 executives by Harvard Business School’s Anthony J Mayo and Nitin Nohria for their book, In Their Time: The Greatest Business Leaders of The 20th Century (Harvard Business School Press, 2005).

Mayo and Nohria arrived at the position that great business leaders possess more than celebrated traits like charisma and an appetite for risk. They have contextual intelligence – a profound ability to understand the zeitgeist of their times, and harness it to create successful organisations.

Based on a comprehensive review, Anthony J Mayo and Nitin Nohria present a fascinating collection of stories of the people that their respondents considered to be the 20th century’s greatest leaders.

The book identifies three distinct paths that these individuals followed to greatness. In fact, the authors show – through engaging stories of entrepreneurial innovation, savvy management, and transformational leadership – how these great leaders created, grew and revitalised outstanding American enterprises simply by “reading” the context they operated in and by embracing the opportunities their times presented.

The three types are described as The Entrepreneur, The Manager, and The Charismatic.

Which kind are you?

You can find out by taking the following quiz which was published in fastcompany.com and created by one of the book’s co-authors, Anthony J Mayo.

The leadership test

1 In which business life stage (or cycle)

have you been most successful?

a Start-ups

b Mature businesses

c Turnarounds

2 What is your tolerance for risk?

a High

b Low

c Moderate

3 How important do you consider prevailing

economic conditions in determining business

success?

a Not very important

b Extremely important

c Somewhat important

4 What best describes your approach in business?

a Innovator

b Grower

c Problem solver

5 Businesses, you feel, most effectively generate

value through…

a Innovation

b Optimization

c Reinvention

6 What type of business environment best suits

your personality?

a Fluid and unpredictable

b Highly structured

c High risk, high reward

7 Where do you see the greatest

opportunity in a business?

a Launching a new product or service

b Dramatically expanding a successful product or

service

c Redesigning a product or service for a new

constituency

8 What is your definition of successful leadership?

a Creating something new

b Maximizing potential

c Managing change

9 What is the best way to defeat your business

competitors?

a Invest in a new product or service offering

b Offer the best value for your customers

c Join forces or consolidate offerings through

mergers

10 What business executive do you most admire?

a Bill Gates

b Meg Whitman

c Jack Welch

The answer key

If you chose ‘a’ four or more times:

It may be because you’re a great entrepreneur. Your type breaks through the mold of your time to create opportunities for success. You create new, sustainable concepts for the future, revolutionising industries, processes, or businesses. Plus, you often overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to create and sustain success. Perhaps you’d like to start a new industry today?

If you chose ‘b’ four or more times:

You love maximising the value of a company that already exists. In other words, you’re a true manager. You might not transform what a corporation is, but you can certainly change its size and scope. You deeply understand the landscape in which you operate and take advantage of the hand you’re dealt to shape businesses that thrive in this environment. You’re adept at tapping into the unique psyche of your times. And you tend to hog the remote.

If you chose ‘c’ four or more times:

You’re a charismatic leader. You can convince people to do just about anything – which is why you’re much like Lee Iacocca, the Chrysler CEO who turned the company around in the ’80s. You’re not exactly an innovator, though. You find the value in the trends and contexts set by your predecessors. Still, you’ll often consolidate businesses and industries and are skilled at taking advantage of their situation.

In every age, during every period of adversity, there have been leaders who have forged significant success. This is true in every country around the globe. Here in Jamaica, we need to start by embracing what is ours, by identifying what opportunities our unique set of circumstances has produced.

To spend our time wishing for other circumstances, or a previous time is futile. We need to work with what we have. As Goethe said, “Anything you can do or dream, you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it”.

Dr Semaj is a frequent facilitator for Strategic Planning Retreats, Cultural Alignment and Organisational Restructuring. He conducts Staff Selection and Development Programmes for different business sectors across the Caribbean.