Effective decision-making, problem solving and planning are key qualities of a high-performing professional

1. intheblackleadership . strategy . business
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2. Effectivedecision-making,
problemsolvingandplanningarekey
qualitiesofahigh-performingprofessional.
Hereare11strategistswhoaresuccessfullyshapingtheirorganisations.

3. “Strategyisalwaysateamdecision.
Clearstrategycreatesbuy-in.Itmakes
people’srolesandpurposeextremelyclear.
Ithelpspeopleseewhereweneedtobe,
whereweneedtogo.”
Sunita Kaur
CEO
Spotify Asia

4. Sunita Kaur
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5. “Atleastfourtimesayear,leadersshould
askthemselveswhatnewdevelopmentsthey
canutilisetocreateanewneedorgivethe
customeramorecompellingexperience.”
Ram Charan
Business management consultant

6. Ram Charan
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7. “Clearthinkinghasbeenat
theheartofsuccess–itmaysound
likeanobviousrequirement,butmany
aninvestorwilltellyouthatmany
anentrepreneurdoesn’thaveit.”
Tony Faure
Founding managing director
Yahoo Australia

8. Tony Faure
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9. “Tosetstrategy,Ispend
30percentofmytimeonresearch,
40percenttalkingto customers
andtherestmanaging
myteam.”
Kate Burleigh
Managing director
Intel

10. Kate Burleigh
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11. “Whenitcomestostakeholders,
it’snotamatterofkeepingthingsin
balance,butasacontinualgrowthprocess
ofharmonisingandre-harmonising
andre-harmonisingagain.”
R. Edward Freeman
Business theorist

12. R. Edward Freeman
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13. “Thestoriesthatcompaniestellthemselves
abouttheirpastwillplayapowerfulrole
inshapingtheirfuture.Strategyisactually
aboutbeliefs.Beliefswilldrivechoices.
Choiceswill driveinitiatives.”
Angus Dawson
Partner, corporate finance practice
McKinsey Asia

14. Angus Dawson
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15. “Anystrategyhastobetailoredinorder
forittobesuccessful.Ithasgottoworkin
aparticulargeography.Youcan’tapply
aone-size-fits-allandexpectittowork.”
Alan Osrin
Managing director
Sage Software Australia and HandiSoft Software

16. Alan Osrin
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17. “Youcanthinkthatyou’reinadifficult
positionstrategically,butthereisalogical
waytogoaboutbreakingdownproblemsand
engagingyourteam,andpotentiallyoutside
help,tofigureoutwhatyou’regoingtodo.”
Alison Watkins
CEO
Coca Cola Amatil

18. Alison Watkins
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19. “Whenwe’vegotinterestingchangesorimprovements
tohowthebusinessworks,ratherthanusinghierarchy
andbureaucracy,wehaveacross-functionalsweepof
people,usuallythehighestperformersatmultiple
businesslevels,andweputthemaroundsomething.”
Andrew Harding
Head of iron ore
Rio Tinto

20. Andrew Harding
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21. “TheUSisoneofthe most
sophisticatedmarketsintheworld.
ItwaslikeanMBAinretailmarkets.
It’sveryhardtopenetrate,andveryfew
brands,Australianorotherwise,have
been abletobreakinhere.”
Soula-Marie Perdis
Napolean Perdis Cosmetics

22. Napolean Perdis and
Soula-Marie Perdis
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23. “Marketingdecisionsshould
bebackedbyhardresearch
andtherearescience-backed
marketinglaws.”
Byron Sharp
Business academic

24. Byron Sharp
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