Making Global Shifts Make Sense
When you sense shifts occurring globally, yet lack the strategic intelligence to fully understand and act on these changes, it's time to see more of the world.
To achieve stronger results and generate win-win outcomes, we can gain a competitive edge by seeing more of the world than most leaders do.
Consider making an important presentation to secure buy-in or backing, but doing so with a worldview that includes blind spots and biases. This can be disastrous on many levels, especially when we intuitively sense these shortcomings and fail to address them. Have you ever found yourself in this situation? I have.
That Fraudulent Feeling
Earlier in my career, at times I felt like a fraud when presenting with blind spots, anxiously hoping that more informed executives would be kind when noticing any glaring gaps. I didn’t know exactly what these gaps were or even where to start to fill them, but I was aware that there was more to the world than what I was putting forward.
It’s particularly negative when these gaps remain unidentified early on, leading to failed strategies, wasted resources, and diminished interest in investing in growth areas. Negative impact can be felt across both organisational performance and professional credibility.
Your Gap Is Another Leader’s Gain
Today, our understanding of the world is often constrained by the narrow lens of our tech devices. As leaders, our perception influences how we convey understanding and make decisions. Yet, what we know about the world and how we communicate it says everything about us as leaders. And, it shapes our future and our ability to lead next-level success. In light of this:
Is it time to update how we see and make sense of the world?
I think it is.
Relying on mainstream news and engaging in the dominant narrative can lead to several limitations, including:
Incomplete strategic insights.
A preference for local economies or cultures similar to our own.
Predominantly negative narratives about emerging economic superpowers.
Scarce positive news from distant regions.
Reinforced biases and blind spots due to a lack of broad dialogue.
If you sense global shifts occurring yet lack the strategic intelligence to fully understand and act upon these changes, you are not alone. What you decide to do about it, however, is crucial.
Despite most leaders being time poor and working with budget constraints, the payoff from an expanded worldview is often substantial.
Shifts In How The World Works
The interconnected nature of the world impacts our organisations, industries, and countries. The most significant trends, technologies, and threats increasingly originate from far beyond where we live and work.
How do we know there are shifts occurring beyond our line of sight?
Typically, we see these shifts clearly when innovative business models and technologies become familiar, once they have reached the global stage. For example, it might have been noticeable when, suddenly, everyone under 20 was using TikTok.
Worldwide disruptions and breakthroughs are set to continue, and quite possibly at a faster rate than ever before. Vast amounts of economic value - trillions of dollars - will be captured by those who know how to create it1.
Standout Breakthroughs
Notable examples of breakthroughs from low- and middle-income countries, which were largely absent from the radar of leaders in high-income nations until reaching global prominence, further highlight this dynamic:
M-Pesa (Kenya): Developed by Safaricom, M-Pesa is a revolutionary mobile money payment system that has transformed the financial landscape in Africa. It allows users to deposit, withdraw, transfer money, and pay for goods and services easily with a mobile device. M-Pesa was the mobile banking pioneer, partly due to the relatively undeveloped banking sector in some African nations, and has significantly influenced mobile payment solutions globally. This includes high-income markets, where it has prompted systems like Apple Pay to further adapt and innovate in mobile money solutions.
Huawei (China): As a leader in telecommunications, Huawei has significantly impacted the global telecom industry with its early rollouts of 5G technology. This pushed Western telecom companies like Ericsson and Nokia to accelerate their own developments in 5G infrastructure in Europe and North America, transforming the pace and implementation of new digital communication technologies across these regions.
TikTok (ByteDance, China): TikTok has changed the landscape of social media with its innovative short-form video platform. Its immense popularity has led to the introduction of similar features in Western platforms, such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, which were developed to compete directly with TikTok’s high-engagement format.
And a key point is not whether these innovations are inherently good or bad, albeit it’s a necessary discussion, but rather how they show the potential for global influence. Viewing the world, for a moment, with paused judgement can help overcome biases and blind spots, pulling into focus strategic, global-level insights.
Further, it’s valuable to recognise and understand these innovations as they emerge and yet before they become disruptive forces - regardless of their geographic origin - to make more informed, strategic decisions in an evolving, interconnected global economy.
How can we avoid blindspots and biases?
A starting point is to understand the role of nations making significant contributions to global economic growth. Why is this important?
An expanded worldview helps us comprehend where a country stands today. A strategically expanded worldview goes further, evaluating how that country will shape and shift the global landscape tomorrow. Ultimately, we make better sense of the world as we see more of it.
A look at China2 illustrates this point.
Spotlight on China
As of 2024, China’s startup ecosystem continues to grow with a strong presence of unicorns - privately held startup companies valued at over US$1 billion. Key insights on China-based unicorns3:
Number and Growth: China accounts for about a quarter of the world’s unicorns, significantly contributing to the global increase in unicorn numbers since 2019. The total number of unicorns has tripled during this period.
Industries: Chinese unicorns are primarily concentrated in Artificial Intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and new energy sectors. These sectors are aligned with China's strategic priorities and its push for technological leadership on a global scale.
Investors and Market Impact: Major global investors like Tiger Global, Softbank, and Hong Shan actively invest in these startups and drive ambitious growth and scaling efforts.
Global Influence: The influence of Chinese unicorns extends beyond local markets, affecting global technology trends and market dynamics. As mentioned, companies like Huawei have led developments in technologies like 5G, setting benchmarks globally.
Public Market Trends: A notable number of Chinese unicorns have transitioned to public markets. This indicates a robust ecosystem that supports the growth of startups from inception to public listing.
Overall, the landscape of unicorns in China confirms the country’s rapid technological advancements and its ability to lead in high-growth industries. This reflects broader trends of technology-based business models with global ambitions that originate from China.
Given the strong growth of China-based unicorns, together with the rapid acceleration of technology and the pace of global scaling, we can anticipate the emergence of global leaders in AI, semiconductors, and new energy sectors, among others, within the next 2-3 years.
Each will feature strongly in boardroom discussions and strategy sessions - either proactively today, or reactively tomorrow.
To lead next-level success, it is necessary to first understand the world. New rules are being written about who wins in business, with key players emerging from around the globe. To rule the world and positively impact what matters most to you, understanding how to navigate this global game is essential.
It’s difficult to lead confidently with known blind spots and biases, even though it’s not uncommon to see some succeed through sheer bravado (I like to think their days and winner-takes-all approach are numbered).
Are you confident in your ability to lead to next-level success based on your current worldview?
I hope you are - the world is in desperate need of new, next, and better leaders.
https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/03/24/sp032424-md-cdf-remarks#:~:text=Zooming%20in%20on%20China%2C%20we,there%20are%20also%20tremendous%20opportunities.
https://www.hurun.net/en-US/Info/Detail?num=9K1G2SK5X7CX