Level Up by Looking Out
Who is the globally dominant player in your space?
It is far easier to study someone else’s ambitious goals and achievements than to set our own from scratch.
Observing from the outside, we can adopt a more objective stance, free from the personal biases, emotions, and overthinking that cloud our judgment when considering our own paths or those of our organization.
And there’s value in doing this.
In a world of unsolved challenges and rising nationalism, it may seem as though borders are increasing. The barriers to thinking, acting, and leading globally in business are diminishing. To level up in 2025 with a practical and actionable plan, it pays to study the globally dominant player in your space and understand what you can leverage to achieve positive-sum outcomes in your own context.
The Cognitive Trap
If the memo here was to devise a strategy for your global domination in 2025 you might switch off. This is to be expected.
Research provides insights into this cognitive phenomenon. The Load Theory of Attention and Cognitive Control1 suggests that under high perceptual load, our capacity to process additional information diminishes, leading to selective attention. In contrast, under low load, we process information more broadly, making it easier to understand external strategies.
While it is easier to evaluate someone else’s strategies rather than design our own, the irony is that although the stakes are higher for our own ventures, it is precisely this challenge that holds the potential for significant breakthroughs.
The Strategic Thought Experiment
The hack is though a thought experiment:
Who is the globally dominant player in your space?
The focus on global domination isn’t just about market share or revenue. It is not about dominating over people, a place, an industry, or resources. It is about achieving outcomes that are positive-sum - creating a win-win outcomes where value is generated across the board, whether in sustainable business practices, innovative products, or better customer experiences. Dominance, in this context, is about leveraging the tools, technologies, and trends that define the digital age.
Start by identifying a player that fits this description - the one who has moved beyond borders to lead globally with intelligence and a leveraged strategy.
Stuck for who to study? These lists of companies and individuals may spark some suggestions:
World’s fastest growing companies:
Financial Times’ FT 1000: Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies
Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies
Most impactful or innovative players or leaders:
Harvard Business Review’s Best-Performing CEOs in the World (published until 2020 - read why they stopped here)
(This exercise may also clarify how you do not want to lead, which is valuable. We will explore this further another time, focusing on the gaps to fill.)
Once identified, study them with a strategic lens.
Breaking Down Cognitive Barriers
To undertake this thought experiment, key to reduce the cognitive load that holds us back from creating our own strategies. Here are practical steps:
Start with Deconstruction: Break down your dominant player’s strategy into its basic components. Look at the problem they solve, where they are solving it, the technologies they use, the partners they have aligned with, the markets they prioritise, and how they have structured their operations. Distill these elements into manageable pieces that can be analysed individually.
Identify Leverage Points: In today’s interconnected world, leverage is about creating more from less. It could mean utilising technology to reach a larger audience, forming partnerships to extend capabilities, or using data to make smarter, faster decisions. Identify which leverage points your competitor is tapping into. How are they using these points to multiply their reach, influence, and impact?
Run the “What If?” Scenario: Take what you’ve learned and run a thought experiment. What if you applied similar leverage in your own business, suited to your context and goals? What would that look like in practice? Could it mean expanding a service virtually to reach international clients? Could it involve collaborating with an unlikely partner to tackle a significant challenge? Consider co-creating with this globally dominant player on a specific project - how do you compliment them to enable their outcomes to be achieved faster, smarter, and more impactfully? This exercise helps to create a strategic roadmap for 2025, one grounded in possibility rather than barriers.
The Value of Global Thinking
The goal here is not replication. The idea is to understand the core principles and adapt them within your own environment to maximise your impact. The players leading globally today have often embraced a broader perspective (some may be leveraging legacy).
Most understand that the biggest opportunities aren’t confined within national borders or traditional definitions of business. They look beyond - not just in terms of geography, but in terms of collaboration, positive-sum thinking, and in leveraging modern tools and technology.
Level Up to Lead the Way
Setting ambitious goals and charting a global path isn’t easy - it involves cognitive strain and feels fraught with risk in a changing and complex world. Yet by first studying others, understanding what makes them successful, and translating those insights into your own strategy, you can lower the barriers to global thinking and make strides towards being a player of consequence in your space.
Who knows? You might find yourself not only levelling up, but leading the way.
Who is the globally dominant player in your space?
You are welcome to share here and we can together explore a 2025 strategy.
If you are clear that you want to be the globally dominant player in 2025, yet the pathway is not clear, feel free to be in touch for resources.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8359206_Load_Theory_of_Selective_Attention_and_Cognitive_Control