Anthony Mitchell
It’s time… to hand over the leadership reins
Some years ago, I was advising two of the most impressive entrepreneurs in the country. They had built an amazing national brand and were going from strength to strength in terms of geographic coverage, revenue and customer numbers. But, they were having challenges managing the business now that it was so large. They explained: “We’re […]
The science behind successful business leaders
“Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal” – TS Eliot,1920 (“The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism”) TS Eliot’s famous epithet is both witty and profound. It is also wonderfully contrarian. We are taught that we should never steal or plagiarise, that we should find our own path. Yet here is one of the greatest poets of […]
The power of ‘brain theft’: Why you should copy others if you want to be a great leader
We are relentlessly told that we should be ‘authentic’ and find our own approach to leading. The idea of emulation is almost frowned upon. But while many people will say that you need to create your own style, not copy others, the neuroscience of performance has produced some very different answers. In any domain where […]
How can a young leader be a great leader?
More than ever before, we are seeing young people taking on significant leadership roles. Your employer might have put you on the fast track to leadership. Or if you’re following in the footsteps of someone like Mark Zuckerberg, you may have founded a start-up and successfully grown it. Either way, you will have likely found […]
How to become a world-class leader
The only standard that matters any more for leaders is world-class. Only world-class leaders can make their companies world-class and companies without this leadership excellence will inevitably fall short of being world-class themselves. So, how do you become a world-class leader? My company has spent the past two years researching the capabilities, routines and mental […]
Saying goodbye to Henry Ford: seven areas where you could modernise your business
In decades gone by, businesses sometimes set the trends for society. Fast forward to today where things move so fast that businesses are having to catch up with society. Even though most CEOs would not want to admit it, their organisations probably still look and operate far too much like a system designed for Henry Ford’s […]
Leadership succession: how to step into the shoes of a founder and build on their legacy
It’s not always easy to take up a CEO role. It can be easier if no one liked your predecessor. It can be harder if you’re taking over from the founder and harder still if the founder is still in the business. The nature of the challenge depends somewhat on the stage at which the […]
Strategic delegation: a ‘must’ for business leaders striving for a competitive advantage
Over the past 10 years, we’ve seen AirBnB become the largest accommodation provider with no properties, Uber become the largest taxi company with no cars and Alibaba become the largest retailer with no stock. Tesla, which is changing the rules of the game in the automotive industry, is led by someone with no industry experience […]
So, you’ve inherited a leadership role. What can you learn from your predecessor’s exit?
It’s January. Over the break, you discovered that your CEO or senior executives won’t be coming back after the holidays or if they are, they won’t be staying for long – and you’ve been selected to fix up the mess once they’re gone. How should you go about it? It depends on where your predecessor/s went wrong… […]
Five tech waves SMBs should ride next year
New technologies continue to launch in the blink of an eye meaning it isn't always easy for business leaders to discern which will and won't advantage their organisation. To help you identify the best tech bets for 2017, here are five guiding principles. 1. Spot the exponential curves and work out the customer value proposition within them Disruption by low-cost competitors […]
Donald Trump won. What does this outcome mean for business leaders across Australia?
Yesterday, Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States of America. For many, it was an unexpected and alarming result. For others, it was a win against the establishment. But what does it mean for Australian business leaders and how can it help us improve? Perhaps what has chilled people most about […]
Where leadership is blossoming in Australia
This year I’ve been vocal on why leadership is failing in Australia. In my recent interview with Dynamic Business, I drew a sharp contrast between fields of elite performance (such as sports, chess, science, music and the performing arts) and the mediocrity of business leadership. My thesis was a simple one. In these elite fields, […]