A lot of passionate words have been spoken on our epic Cricketing defeat. It just got me thinking what can Leaders learn from this game of life! Life does not give you many chances, neither does it give you any sign before it puts/lays you in tough situations. It is the actions and choices made in such moments that differentiate a leader from the rest. My business career has put me into plenty of such situations and trust me, these are some of the most testing moments in one's lifetime.

Be it defining the culture in the business of Cinemas or setting new trends in Talent Management or bringing innovations to gain Customer Loyalty or launching a new concept in Sports, my experience is defined by those tough moments where a decision can make or break my business and/or my reputation. When in such situations, you can't be resting on your past laurels.

My learning has always been that decisions are not just about the right and wrong, they are more about the choice between what is needed and what you are ready to let go. These are not easy choices but this is where leaders are either worshipped or hated, there is no mid-way. True leaders never fall for popularity contests, their true love is only their vision/purpose. This is the sole reason why they are ready to sacrifice the comforts and take calls which are tough but needed to move ahead. We have read of many such stories predated to times as old as our mythology where great warriors had to take tough decisions which later became milestones in history. We are experiencing these redefining decisions even in businesses around us today. Look at Maruti breaking its own image and establishing a completely new product range anddealer network of upmarket Nexa.  While on the other hand we have experienced the once great Blackberry phones going down, just because they chose to hang on to their past laurels and did not act in the situations when the entire market was changing.

I always wondered why some people are able to take such decisions and some not. Then I got insights into this realm whilst working shoulder to shoulder with some of the business thought leaders and top sportsmen. Their differentiating traits were Agility and Absorption. Leaders use agility to spot and respond to changes in the market and practice absorption to withstand any market turbulence or competition shifts. Both these traits are in some way contrasting to each other but when balanced, the outcome is a thought through response to exploit tough situations. The current market scenario is an odd combination of these two traits. The companies that have been in the market for long are tilted more towards absorption while lacking agility, and the startups are high on agility while lacking absorption. The prime reason why there are so many neonatal deaths in startups is because of the leadership team lacking the knack of absorption. Only the companies that display both the traits are able to withstand the test of these turbulent times. This was best showcased by Jeff Bezos from Amazon. The company under his leadership has taken some tough decisions while not losing the momentum of the market at any point. Companies like Nokia failed the test of agility and are struggling to get a foothold in the market now.

The lesser the baggage from your past laurels, the faster you run, and you are more akin to make bolder decisions in the moment. So my advice to the next gen leaders would be not only to exploit the moment but, also to absorb the pressures and take decisions with your vision at your forefront.