External Perspective — An Under-Utilised Strategic Leadership Capability

An external perspective is a critical but under-developed strategic and business leadership capability. Competing effectively in the today’s business conditions relies on a high level of customer and supply chain knowledge, and on best practice operational delivery, learnt directly from experience or vicariously from competitors. Yet increased competition and shortening product and service life mean sustained advantage can only be gained by leapfrogging competitors through changing the rules of the industry’s competitive game. Successful businesses exploit ‘industry breakpoints’ to create value and wealth in a different way by challenging received wisdom, and looking outside their industry to source innovation (Hamel, 2000a). Developing an ‘external perspective’ therefore becomes both an organisational and individual strategic leadership capability.