Leadership

VUCA = Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. In essence VUCA is a crazy environment and one that you might not think you can control.

It was on the Island of Kos, in Greece, that a very young Angelo Zalalas started playing soccer and began his life-long love of the game. Fast forward to today, and Angelo is still in love with the game and has been a top influence in the soccer apparel world.

Executives have taken to using the military acronym VUCA – Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity – to describe the crazy world in which they operate.

1. Jeff Bezos of Amazon is a pioneer in the world of internet commerce, and was instrumental in defining the space that is now defining may aspects of the internet world.

In the recent past, we’ve witnessed the public downfall of leaders from almost every area of endeavor—business, politics, religion, and sports. One day they’re on top of the heap, the next, the heap’s on top of them.

Leaders come in all shapes and sizes, all personality types and with a wide variety of backgrounds. But, in all cases, great leaders share characteristics that make their companies successful and their people loyal.

Entrepreneurs are known for taking huge risks. It takes guts to get to glory and recently Forbes Magazine asked several well-known entrepreneurs what their greatest risk had been.

Entrepreneurs taking the leap of faith and beginning a new business need the basic fundamentals of business knowledge, but many start with low levels of competence in operations, finance, sales marketing and HR. Even so, they survive, thrive and go on to be successful. How does this happen?

When the term “Entrepreneur” was first coined in 1723 (a French term credited to the French economist Jean-Baptiste Say) it was used to refer to qualities of leadership, initiative and innovation in manufacturing, delivery and services.

As we’ve discussed this month, peer groups are a dynamic forum for executives to continue learning, exchange ideas and stay current with best practices. According to research from the Maxim Consulting Group, here are the major reasons why CEOs participate in peer groups and the value they gain.