The Value of the Modern-Day Explorer

You have an ambitious goal. Are you exploring enough of the world to achieve it?

Jul 31, 2024

How we explore the world matters.

Many business leaders would benefit from seeing themselves as world explorers. Rather, they see themselves as experts of the world that is, sticking with the known, safe, and familiar.

For many, especially during the middle of the year, foreign travel often means soaking up the sun on the Mediterranean, relaxing on a beach at a resort in Asia, or enjoying the long hot days in a bustling city like New York. For some, it’s skiing in New Zealand or taking a safari in Africa.

When our exposure to the world is confined to occasional holidays and business trips involving interactions with familiar faces and places, we risk stagnating as the world shifts around us. Large parts of the world remain unexplored. Our blind spots and biases aren’t just persisting; they’re deepening.

Our ventures - both physical and digital - shape our leadership and strategic vision. In our increasingly interconnected world, shifting global dynamics are influencing who will be the next generation of global leaders.

Leaders are modern-day explorers navigating a world that is shifting in new, unfamiliar ways. How we engage with the world today, by way of who we connect with and form relationships with, will shape our future interactions with worldwide customers, clients, talent, investors, partners, regulators, collaborators, as well as competitors.

The Leader Who Stopped Exploring

It’s not uncommon for leaders, bolstered by their current roles, past achievements, company prestige, or their country’s position on the world stage, to believe they know what’s best. In international boardrooms, leaders from advanced economies across North America, Europe, and Australia often do not fully acknowledge their counterparts from high-growth regions and companies around the world as equals.

This disparity can be partly explained by Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions theory1, developed by Geert Hofstede. This framework shows the effects of a society’s culture on the values of its members, and how these values relate to behaviors, using a structure derived from factor analysis. In particular, high power distance and low uncertainty avoidance in Western cultures may result in these leaders subconsciously perceiving their methodologies and standards as superior. This perception influences their interactions and can result in a lack of integration with leaders from low- and middle-income countries, hindering mutual respect and limiting the potential for collaborative global progress.

These are leaders who do not explore the world. The world is set. Their role is cemented.

Yet, the shifts occurring globally increasingly render this worldview and leadership approach risky, with the potential to isolate leaders from crucial socioeconomic, geopolitical, and technological developments and partnerships that will determine future success.

An Expanding World

The global landscape is experiencing a significant shift. Exploring high-level changes in global population alone reveals the transformation underway.

By 2030, approximately 1 billion people in the Global South2 will reach working age, starkly contrasting with aging populations in many advanced economies. Nations like India, Nigeria, and Indonesia are poised for a workforce surge3, offering unique global business opportunities and challenges.

Increasingly, new leaders, companies, and innovations are emerging from these regions, where entrepreneurialism, vast domestic markets, and scalable technology-driven products and services are driving the creation and capture of new value and power4.

We already see these established players on the world stage, and many more are emerging:

Infosys: As a global leader in technology services and consulting, Infosys helps clients in more than 50 countries to create and execute digital transformation strategies. Through its offerings in business consulting, information technology, software development, and outsourcing services, Infosys drives innovation and efficiency for businesses worldwide.

Tata Motors: Known for its significant global presence, Tata Motors is a major player in the automotive industry. The acquisition of luxury car brands Jaguar and Land Rover marked a pivotal expansion into the high-end market. Tata Motors continues to influence global automotive trends with a focus on innovation and sustainability.

Gojek: Starting as a ride-hailing service, Gojek has transformed into a comprehensive digital platform providing a wide range of services including payments, food delivery, and logistics in Southeast Asia. Its rapid growth into a tech giant shows the potential of digital platforms to scale across diverse markets and sectors.

These companies illustrate the entrepreneurial spirit and technological innovation driving new value in these regions.

Additionally, leaders from India have significantly influenced the global technology landscape. Figures such as Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc., Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, and Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe Systems, highlight this impact. These leaders have steered their respective companies through major technological advancements and market expansions, reinforcing India’s role as a major player in global technology innovation and leadership. Their contributions confirm how Indian executives are pivotal in shaping the digital world.

Diverse Exploration Possibilities

Leaders outside the Global South may overlook these shifts if they maintain a localized view within their company, industry, or country. Those operating in multinationals or scale-ups implementing ambitious goals to expand into these high-growth markets possess a distinct competitive edge. Leaders that expand - who they know, what they know, and how they work - set to win in a world exploding in decentralized opportunity.

With international travel rebounding to pre-pandemic levels - 285 million tourists in the first quarter of 2024 alone - in principle, it is possible for leaders to expand their worldview by getting out into the world5.

However, physical travel is not the only way to expand horizons. Digital connectivity continues to rise with 5.55 billion active internet users globally, representing more than 70% of the world’s population. A network of fibre optics, cables, and satellites enables seamless global communication and collaboration. Here, digital natives possess the competitive edge, connecting with peers and building relatinships in the virtual world to achieve ambitious goals.

Help shape global conversations. Share these insights and inspire others to lead with a global perspective.

Unventured Leadership

While many leaders have the opportunity to explore the world to expand their understanding, the world remains deeply divided. Venturing into the unfamiliar can feel unsafe due to persistent geopolitical tensions and ongoing wars in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa6.

In boardrooms, zoom rooms, and around meeting tables, it’s common to observe the networks of leaders often not being diversified globally, sticking with familiar contacts. A study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) reveals that despite improved recruitment of diverse talent, significant advancement barriers remain, particularly for underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. This lack of diversity at the top persists in many industries, leading to ineffective solutions and missed opportunities for gaining diverse perspectives crucial for innovation and strategic decision-making7.

Awakening The Inner Explorer

Significant shifts in global demographics, along with the resulting opportunities and challenges for business leaders everywhere, prompt us to reconsider:

What should leaders learn about the world?
How can leaders effectively enhance their global understanding and engagement to navigate shifts in the international competitive environment?
As a new generation of leaders emerges in the Global South, when should we identify key players relevant to our business interests and invite them into our inner circles to better understand the opportunities and risks stemming from their regions?

To achieve ambitious goals in the next five years and beyond, deeper, more immersive global engagement is critical.

If a significant business opportunity or threat emerged in countries like India, Indonesia, or Nigeria, who would be your first contact? Could you mobilize a response to the situation within 12 hours?

There is more to the world than what we see.

Explore and experience the world.

As the world shifts, awaken the inner explorer.

The Value of the Modern-Day Explorer

You have an ambitious goal. Are you exploring enough of the world to achieve it?

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