The rules of the game have changed indeed, and we're learning a whole new vocabulary. A few years ago, President Ronald Reagan observed that we were entering again into an Entrepreneurial Society in which the driving forces of progress are found in small, innovative, and aggressive firms rather than in the industrial giants. The greatest competitive threats to larger firms are frequently small, entrepreneurial businesses that have found new ways to respond quickly to changing customer needs and wants, or to take advantage of new technology. New realities lead to changed rules, and changed rules call for different skills. The champion managers of today and tomorrow need more than just technical competency.
Innovation is now a critical success factor in even the most tradition-bound industry.
Champions need well-developed analytic skills in order to find better solutions to old problems and develop successful responses to new problems. Champions need a vision, and they need to be able to clearly communicate that vision to people both inside and outside the organization. Champions need to be good team builders. They need to understand how to select and compensate the right people, and how to develop individuals into a winning team. Finally, champions have to be flexible enough to recognize the winds of change and adjust their course accordingly, all without abandoning the commitment that keeps everyone focused on the ultimate goal.