As we exit 2008, it will certainly go down in history as one of the most historical yet challenging years in recent memory.  However, even as we put the year’s challenges behind us, business-wise, there are still many uncertainties that abound, which will certainly impact us in 2009 and beyond.  Let’s take a look at some of them.

 Have you ever wondered about success, either for yourself or what has helped someone else?  Have you ever tried to uncover whatever “it” is that catapults some individuals to success and leaves most others stuck on the launch pad. Since this blog focuses on a variety of perspectives that can enhance the success of senior business leader, we are going to focus on a book about success and an interesting perspective it offers.  Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Blink and Tipping Point, is out with his latest work titled “Outliers: The Story of Success”.  In the marketing of this book he caught my attention.  He noted that success isn’t directly attributable to intelligence and ambition, but to things that surround us like customs, family, quirks of timing or perhaps the year we were born.  So does this book have the “huh factor” and does Mr. Gladwell deliver?

 On a day to day basis, we are so busy running our businesses that we often get a little too close to our business.  We end up seeing the eyelash on a gnat but we don’t see the bird about to gobble up the gnat.  Rough metaphor, but it highlights a challenge many of us face as business leaders and that is, we are so stuck in the details that we can’t see the bigger picture.  What if you had a group of success-oriented professionals that can function as your “reality-check” and help you see things you might overlook or come up with ideas that you may not think of?