Those of us of a certain age or generation will be familiar with the bigger conglomerates in the industrial world. The giants of industry they were referred to. Some of the business CEOs are still names we can remember now because they literally stood out in their field and helped to shape their company and it’s standing in this ccountry and aross the globe. We have many of those now – constantly in the media as moguls for their multi billionnaire lifestyles. Many of today’s ‘heroes’ met at university or college and had backgrounds in making deals asnd winning what they wanted early on. Same ethos but different modus operandi. The bottom line is that for a busisness leader to be truly successful, they need to be able to assert themselves and not get bogged down with the small stuff; they need to be able to visualise the much bigger picture and know how to achieve that. The old adage about knowing where one wants to be in five years time has to be varied now. Folk have far shorter attention spans and what was a fantastic ideas for a compay or supply system a year ago could well be so yesterday now.

There has to be a certain ruthlessness about business leaders – it’s no good grizzling at the first objection or if a commentator makes a snide remark – true stiff upper lip and backbone is needed to stop the business entrepreneur from caving in early on. There has to be an element of care and compassion for colleagues and the workforce too – this may not seem obvous with todays moguls, but remember all those folk you stamp on and upset on your way up . . . . may well be the same ones you are begging to bail you out if the worst happens and the business crumbles. The best and most sustainable businesses are those that have strong management and leadership, who do invest in their workforce and understand the needs of employees and staff will not all be the same.