Insights from Head of Coaching

In the West, corporate leaders often tout the importance of applying entrepreneurial thinking, taking initiative and leveraging an awareness of global concerns while innovating. And we sometimes tend to think of this combination only in terms of major leaps forward, such as when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak built their first pre-assembled computer (the Apple-1, which sold, in 1976, for $666.66 and which cost them $250 to build!).

Yet, there are perhaps many significant innovations, which reframe a category or cause us to think completely differently about a new product or service, in a given year. The WSJ article below features one such case, highlighting “out of the box” thinking (no pun intended), creative courage and the addressing of meaningful global concerns (including recycling to minimize waste and supply chain issues), within the fascinating story below.

While the “success” of this particular service remains to be seen, the story is, in any event, demonstrative of the attributes that leading global firms seek among their new hires. The willingness to take a risk on a completely new way of viewing/solving a problem – or more than a single problem – is a trait that international firms eagerly seek in among their recruits.

Plainly said, it’s hard to argue with a company tagline like that of On brand:  “Turning Emissions into Running Shoes.” (see https://www.on-running.com/en-us/articles for more details)