Latest news with #success
Forbes
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Defying Racist Bullying To Achieve Huge Business Success
Rudy Heywood 'Don't dream too small - and if there's no obvious path, create your own.' These are the words of Rudy Heywood, a Birmingham-based entrepreneur who did exactly that after a chance conversation with actor Idris Elba. But not before enduring a level of bullying that might have destroyed most people. He is the founder of Famous Wolf, a successful digital marketing agency that holds the record for one of the highest-performing ad campaigns in the U.K. As he explains, the road to success was far from easy. Along the way, he had to contend with vile racist bullying, but refused to let it destroy his passion and determination to succeed. A tough start Born to a Jamaican father and a White British mother, his parents worked long hours and lived from one pay packet to the next. By the age of five, he'd already experienced direct racism from a toddler league football coach and had noticed verbal racist abuse directed at his parents on the street. His dad always told him he'd have to work ten times harder just to be seen as equal, and this has driven him throughout his life. 'When my dad gave me that advice, I was very aware that I was looked at and treated differently,' says Heywood. 'It didn't discourage me or upset me, it simply made me more determined and lit an unquenchable fire that still drives me today.' Stage and screen After leaving school, he pursued his dream of becoming an actor, securing an agent and landing a scholarship at the prestigious East 15 Acting School. He won roles on the West End stage and in numerous TV shows. But the industry was tough, especially for Black and mixed-race actors, and within a couple of years, Heywood was questioning his choice of career. The tipping point came after a chance meeting with actor Idris Elba in a Covent Garden health store. 'That was a defining moment for me,' says Heywood. 'Idris had just secured the role in The Wire, which was also a defining moment in his career. He noticed my Spotlight card in my wallet as I was paying for a protein shake and asked me how long I'd been acting. I told him I was thinking of quitting, and instead of asking why, he said, 'It's hard at the moment for us, isn't it? The roles for people that look like you and I are very slim, but don't worry, I aim to change that one day.' Discovering a new talent Although after this meeting, Heywood decided to switch careers, Elba's words stayed with him. 'He made me realize that if I want things to change, I needed to create my own path and be the changemaker in whichever career I move into, which is my primary goal today.' Charting a new career course, Heywood secured a graduate job in advertising sales, where he quickly discovered he had a real talent for impactful, results-driven marketing. He says: 'The interview process was roleplay-led, which played to my acting skills. I realized I was good at it when I sold a £27,000 marketing campaign to a high-end furniture brand that delivered a ten-fold return for them. As a result, they offered me a position in their marketing team.' Racist bullying His career rocketed as he built high-profile creative campaigns, closed seven-figure partnerships, travelled the world and sold hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of ads. In just a few short years, he had worked his way up to become a regional director for a global multimedia agency, overseeing 150 staff. But behind the scenes, he was suffering racial abuse at the hands of senior directors. 'The racial abuse that I experienced was incredibly direct,' he recalls. 'Racist slurs were being said in my presence. Some senior directors made comments about black women being seen as ugly, in text messages, emails and in meetings. It was raised with HR, but they ignored it. That was when I decided to resign; the best decision I ever made as it drove me to start my own agency, Famous Wolf.' Entrepreneurial spirit Heywood threw himself into launching his new business, which was completely self-funded. He set about networking, building relationships with business owners, knocking on doors and cold calling. Within the first month, he was winning business. He quickly earned a reputation for delivering results, and thanks to word-of-mouth recommendations, Famous Wolf began to scale. In March 2020, he encountered his first major challenge. The business had been running for a year and had scaled to £10,000 per month when the pandemic hit. 'We lost 75% of our monthly revenue practically overnight,' says Heywood. 'I had to think quickly to assess the new landscape, pivot, and adapt to keep Famous Wolf alive.' He spotted a significant gap in the market. COVID had severely impacted the ability of small businesses to keep trading because traditional marketing methods had been rendered ineffective. Many small firms were unfamiliar with digital marketing and couldn't afford agencies to support them on a retainer. Heywood's solution was to establish the Famous Wolf E-learning platform, delivering regular, updated monthly step-by-step video training directly to SME's that they could implement directly into their businesses for a small monthly subscription fee. 'We helped over 200 businesses to survive and thrive throughout the pandemic,' says Heywood. 'It also acted as a nurture programme for Famous Wolf, which encouraged those businesses to become clients and kept a steady flow of revenue coming in. Award-winning agency Now one of the U.K.'s fastest-growing digital marketing agencies, Famous Wolf has grown 300% in the last 12 months and holds a Meta U.K. record for one of the highest performing ad campaigns. It has also established a broad and increasingly global client base. German audio equipment manufacturer Sennheiser began partnering with Famous Wolf in May this year to accelerate its digital growth strategy. 'In just three months, our Google Ads conversions increased by 70% under Famous Wolf's guidance,' says content coordinator Chris Smee. 'Rudy Heywood's entrepreneurial vision and data-driven approach have not only optimized our campaigns, but also but also laid the groundwork for sustained, market-leading performance. We're looking forward to a long and successful partnership with Famous Wolf.' Another client partnership was established much closer to home when tech retailer Box and Famous Wolf crossed paths during a power outage last year in their shared office building in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter. Emma Powell, marketing manager at Box, says: 'Rudy and I both stepped out of our offices wondering what was going on and ended up having one of those classic 'what do you do?' chats. It turned out, we were looking for video support, and they were just two doors down, specializing in exactly that.' Since then, Famous Wolf has helped Box to bring bespoke video production back into its offering. 'Their support has been instrumental in helping us produce high-quality, platform-ready video content that fits seamlessly into our social commerce strategy,' adds Powell. 'As an online tech retailer, engaging, agile video content is key, and their team consistently delivers work that's both creative and commercially effective.' Transforming dreams Heywood attributes his business success to resilience, skill transfer and adaptation, visionary mindset, and relentless hustle. His advice to today's young entrepreneurs is to understand that true entrepreneurial success is born from boldly transforming past skills into new ventures, embracing challenges as opportunities to pivot, and harnessing the resilience and mental toughness to turn setbacks into fuel for growth. Having overcome the trauma of bullying, he says: 'Being an entrepreneur demands relentless perseverance regardless of background, so building strong networks, staying agile and being customer focused, while holding fast to a visionary mindset, will transform dreams into lasting impact.'
Al Jazeera
7 hours ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
The Egyptians finding a ‘second home' after migrating south to Tanzania
Cairo, Egypt – When Ahmed Ginah first left his village in Egypt's northern delta for the Tanzanian capital in 2017, it was with little more than a dream. Four years later, he named his company after that dream. 'When I first came to Tanzania at 28, no one imagined why I would head south,' Ginah, who is lightheartedly called the 'Mayor of Egyptians in Dar es Salaam', told Al Jazeera, saying that in the minds of many of his friends and family back home, countries in sub-Saharan Africa are tainted by stereotypes of famine, poverty and disease. But when Ginah arrived, what he found were opportunities – and a chance to build something new. 'In 2021, I established my company, Dream [Trading],' he said, in recognition of his 'dream' to be a success. He set it up with savings of $3,000, tapping into a growing market importing and exporting aluminium household goods. As the years progressed, he expanded into the steel business. But beyond work, the 36-year-old is also somewhat of a benevolent godfather figure for other North African migrants making the journey southward. Ginah has a standard daily routine. Every morning, his driver, Hamed, drops him off at the household goods warehouses attached to Dream Trading. A while later, he drives him to City Mall, the most popular shopping centre in Dar es Salam's Kariakoo neighbourhood. Ginah is a regular at the Somali cafe there, where he sits until about noon, meeting other Egyptians and Tanzanians, often over a breakfast of mandazi – deep-fried dough fritters dusted with powdered sugar – or a chipsi mayai, a popular street food omelette with French fries, tomato sauce and vegetables. Typically, Egyptians who move to Tanzania already have a relative or friend living there. For those who don't, Ginah helps them find a place to stay, sometimes offering them a job at Dream and helping cover their rent if they're an employee. He also introduces them to the work system in Tanzania, and gives them a lay of the land about cities where they can potentially work. 'However, the most important thing I provide,' said Ginah, 'is a trusted, guaranteed translator.' In urban centres in Tanzania, people speak English. But many village residents only speak Swahili. This could lead to misunderstandings and expose newcomers to 'fraud or scams', Ginah said, so he lends a helping hand. But Ginah is determined to help only those who want to help themselves. 'I help those who come to work, not those who lie on their laurels and delegate the work to the translator or others,' he said. 'In such cases, I advise the person that this country has a lot to offer, but it doesn't give to the lazy or dependent.' Ginah has gained a lot in eight years. Today, his company distributes products throughout Africa, and he has helped dozens of young men from his home village relocate and establish themselves in Tanzania, where an estimated 70,000 Arabs live – including 1,200 Egyptians, according to figures provided by Egypt's ambassador to the country, Sherif Ismail, in 2023. South-south migration While Europe fortifies its borders against North African migrants, ambitious young Egyptians in a struggling economy are looking for alternatives to emigrating to the West, according to Ayman Zohry, a demographer and expert on migration studies at the American University in Cairo. This south-bound migration has accelerated significantly in recent years. Official statistics show the number of Egyptians in non-Arab African countries increased from 46,000 in 2017 to 54,000 by 2021. This trend stands in stark contrast to the perilous journeys many Egyptians still make across the Mediterranean. In 2023, Egyptians represented more than 7 percent of all arrivals in Italy along the Central Mediterranean route, making them the fifth most common nationality, according to a report by the Mixed Migration Centre. The European Union recently responded with a new 7.4 billion euro ($8.7bn) agreement with Egypt, partly aimed at boosting border controls to reduce irregular migration to Europe. Zohry explained that Egypt's youth migration trends are undergoing a notable transformation. 'While traditional destinations were the Gulf and Europe, there is a new trend towards the south, specifically some African countries,' Zohry told Al Jazeera. 'Economic migration' sees young people seeking investment opportunities in emerging and promising markets. 'This trend has grown in tandem with the expansion of the Egyptian government's diplomatic and commercial relations with several African countries.' However, Zohry said, migration to Africa is often circular or temporary. 'This means that the migrant returns to Egypt after a short period, or moves between several countries according to available opportunities.' The back-and-forth flow is evident every Friday night in Dar-es-Salaam, as an aeroplane takes off from Julius Nyerere airport, heading to Cairo. During high seasons like Eid al-Adha or Eid al-Fitr, whole families fill the departure gates, as Egyptians take their earnings home to visit family, contribute to building a new home, prepare a family member for marriage, or help their parents fulfil a dream of performing the Hajj pilgrimage. 'Open to Egyptian skills' Across the African continent, diaspora communities of Arabs and North Africans are growing. South Africa accounts for the highest percentage of Egyptian residents in Africa, accounting for 85 percent, followed by Nigeria, Kenya and Senegal. Ginah recounts a story from the late 1990s which has since become an urban legend among youth seeking greener pastures in Africa. 'A young man went to South Africa on vacation to visit a friend. Bizarrely, he was arrested in Cape Town for a visa irregularity,' said Ginah. 'When he was released, he was broke. All he had were some aluminium utensils, so he sold them to make enough money to buy a ticket home.' That's when the word got out, he says, and people discovered the huge demand for Egyptian aluminium household goods. Young people realised they could make money – and that's how the home appliance and home goods trade between Egypt and other African countries picked up. Since then, Egyptian business interests across the continent have diversified to include manufacturing, agricultural processing, and mining. Although North Africans have long travelled south, the trend surged following the 2011 mass uprisings in Egypt and the ensuing political, economic and social change, Ginah says. 'There was a new wave of emigration within Africa – both [to] South Africa and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa – as the Gulf and Libya were greatly affected by the political turmoil.' Locally, migrants have also found a more friendly working environment, many say. The government of Tanzania has made strides to support entrepreneurship and foreign investment. According to Lloyds Bank country profile, foreign investors can benefit from many fiscal and non-fiscal incentives. 'Tanzania has natural resources and significant investment opportunities,' said Makame Iddi Makame, the commissioner general and chief of staff at the Tanzanian embassy in Cairo. He said the country established the Tanzania Investment Centre to manage investment affairs. This includes reducing customs duties to 5 percent in priority sectors and 0 percent in leading sectors; providing tax exemption on mining, agricultural, and industrial inputs; facilitating the issuance of residence, work and business permits, and the repatriation of capital gains abroad; and deferring taxes and VAT for loss-making projects for up to five years. The country's political stability also provides a high degree of investment security, as there is low inflation (4.2 percent) and stable exchange rates, he added. 'Given the limited opportunities within Egypt, some African countries may appear less competitive but are more open to Egyptian skills in sectors like construction, agriculture, education, and information technology,' according to migration expert Zohry. Yet, despite the potential opportunities and generally more welcoming atmosphere, migration to African countries is still limited, compared with the Gulf and Europe, he added, due to a stigmatised mental image many North Africans have about the rest of the continent. However, there are signs the continent may become a gradual alternative for some youth seeking opportunities beyond traditional borders. Business opportunities, shared friendships Some 550km (340 miles) southeast of Dar-es-Salaam is Mayan village. There, Mohamed el-Shafie, 34, another Egyptian, built two cashew-processing factories in the Mtwara region in 2018, tapping into a strategic crop that accounts for 10-15 percent of Tanzania's foreign exchange earnings. 'Cashew sales are built purely on trust,' el-Shafei told Al Jazeera. 'The cashew growing and harvesting operation is meticulous and requires sensitive handling by farm workers to produce a pure cashew nut. This is followed by the 'processing' stage to prepare it for export in good condition.' Tanzania is one of Africa's leading producers and exporters of cashew nuts, ranking among the top three on the continent and eighth globally. El-Shafei's company has customers across the Arab world and Turkiye, and employs some 400 Egyptian, Chinese and Tanzanian workers, besides the seasonal labourers hired during the cashew harvest season in October. His foray into the cashew industry was accidental, said el-Shafei, who studied Chinese as an undergraduate at Cairo University, before moving to Beijing to continue his education. 'At the time, I had a lot of Vietnamese friends who worked in the cashew industry. That was when I learned that Tanzania had a promising business opportunity and that Chinese equipment specialised in cashew crop processing was a gap that I could fill,' he said. With a little help from his friends, he connected with cashew farmers in Tanzania in late 2017, and with a small capital investment of 200,000 Egyptian pounds (about $11,000 back then), el-Shafei set up shop and imported two cashew processing machines from China to start the business. In 2023-2024, Elshafei Investment Limited had made 13 export shipments with a total value of approximately $719,700. El-Shafei decided to relocate his small family to Dar-es-Salaam so his young children would not be far from him. Today, they all live amid the Arab and Egyptian community, as well as Tanzanians of Yemeni, Omani, and Iranian origin who moved there during the Arab rule before the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution. Egyptians in Tanzania are not isolated from the local population, el-Shafei says. 'We share celebrations and holidays such as the July 7 Saba Saba Day, which marks the founding of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) in 1954, a significant step towards independence and nation-building. We also celebrate Swahili Language Day and Eid al-Adha through communal meals held in cashew farm villages,' he says. For Ginah, living in Dar-es-Salaam with his wife and children, Egyptians are part of the fabric of their new community. 'We maintain good relationships with Tanzanians, and we share friendships,' he said, including meeting at work, mosques and social clubs. But amid the successes, there are also difficult moments in living far from home, he said. 'The pain of alienation hits hardest when someone dies. We [Egyptian immigrants] know each other well, whether in East or West African countries, so it's very difficult. We immediately band together to make arrangements for the body to be repatriated, and we support the family financially and emotionally, whether they remain in Tanzania or return home to Egypt.' But when there is family by your side, 'the feeling of alienation disappears,' Ginah said. And thanks to technology, 'we can see family and friends on a daily basis on mobile phone calls.' Ginah feels Tanzania is the country where he was destined to make his living. 'It has certainly become a second home for me, where my children are growing up,' he said. 'When will I return to my homeland, I don't know.' This piece was published in collaboration with Egab.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
How Carlyle CEO Harvey Schwartz Made It to the Top
Wall Street is a place where who you know—as much as what you know—can make all the difference. For a young Harvey Schwartz, that axiom took on a very different meaning than its usual combination of wealth and privilege. Now the chief executive of The Carlyle Group Inc., Schwartz, 61, climbed an unlikely path to the top. It began with a teenage struggle for success both in academics and athletics, navigating the mental health issues of his parents and eventually failing out of of high school in Morristown, New Jersey. On this episode of Bullish with Sonali Basak, we sit down with Schwartz to hear how the hard lessons of his difficult early years, and the helping hands of key people in his life, turned everything around.
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Power Of Growth: Five Steps To Rewrite Self-Limiting Beliefs
Farshad Asl, Regional Director of Bankers Life, Founder of Top Leaders Inc , John Maxwell Coach, International Speaker, Best-Selling Author. getty Your outside success can only grow as large as your inside allows. I learned that truth the day I stepped off a flight with a duffel bag, a one-way ticket and $400—and barely enough English to order coffee. The setbacks came fast. My accent triggered giggles whenever I pronounced "deductible." A friend told me, "Your English will scare clients. Find a real job." He was echoing the chorus of good-hearted relatives who urged me to "play it safe." That advice collided with my dream of entering financial services. The fear was real: What if they were right? Today, as regional director of Bankers Life, founder of Top Leaders Inc., a John Maxwell Leadership coach and an Amazon bestselling author of four books, I've coached thousands of professionals across four continents. The turnaround wasn't luck; it was the result of five daily practices that converted doubt into momentum. If you're a new entrepreneur, salesperson or emerging leader, use these same principles to expand the ceiling of your success. While it's hard to nail down an exact figure, I've seen estimates that from 50% to 80% of all available jobs are never publicly advertised. This is one reason we rise—or stall—to the level of the company we keep. My first network consisted of kind friends with modest dreams. Their caution was sincere, but it shrank my vision. My breakthrough occurred when I joined a leadership mastermind group, where I found myself surrounded by quota-crushing leaders who aspired for greatness. Proximity rewrote my story. Daily Action: Map your 10 closest contacts; color-code who stretches you and who slows you down. Within the next 72 hours, book a 15-minute coffee (virtual or in person) with one high-growth connection. Think of this as curating your personal leadership team: Boston Consulting Group found that companies with culturally and gender-diverse leadership teams generate 19% greater innovation revenue—proof that surrounding yourself with varied perspectives sparks better ideas and opportunities. 2. Invest in yourself every day. Confidence grows in proportion to competence, and "bite-size" learning, or microlearning, pays off. A Software Advice survey found that 58% of employees said they were more likely to use their company's online training if lessons were broken into 5- to 7-minute segments. In my early years, I devoured tapes by Zig Ziglar, read 10 pages of a leadership book at lunch and spent weekends at sales seminars even when I understood only 70% of the content. Those reps rewired my brain faster than any paycheck. Daily Action: Block 15 minutes on your calendar for learning: an audiobook in traffic, an article during lunch, a course module before bed. Discomfort is the tuition you pay for growth. 3. Journal to learn from failure. The only difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you record them. In Writing to Heal , James Pennebaker shares studies on expressive writing that show how journaling lowers stress and increases cognitive processing. Rejection letters became raw material for my 5 a.m. writing sessions. Over time, those pages formed the backbone of four books. My "Rule Of 5" Morning Routine: Reflect, write, read, pray and inspire—every day at 5 a.m. Daily Action: Before you check your phone, jot down one lesson from yesterday and one intentional action for today. The habit is more than feel-good: A 2018 randomized controlled trial in JMIR Mental Health found that a 12-week, 15-minute "positive affect journaling" practice significantly boosted participants' resilience compared with usual care. 4. Think like an entrepreneur. Even when you're on someone else's payroll, you don't have to act like a renter of your own job. When I began treating my territory like a startup—tracking P&L, innovating client-education webinars and branding myself as a retirement-readiness advocate—my commissions tripled and my role evolved into regional director. Daily Action: Ask, "What would the CEO of my life decide here?" Break one strategic goal into three executable steps this week. McKinsey's global survey of agile transformations found that organizations with highly successful, enterprise-wide agility programs achieved "around 30% gains in efficiency, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and operational performance." 5. Embrace a no-excuses mentality. Talent is a gift; grit is a choice. Angela Duckworth's research in Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance shows that perseverance predicts achievement better than IQ. Every language barrier, no-show appointment or declined policy could have validated my critics. Instead, I adopted a rule: knock again. That bias for action carried me to stages in several different countries. Daily Action: Attack one task you've been avoiding: make the cold call, send the bold proposal, ask for feedback. Momentum compounds. The Invitation Your outside world expands only as far as your inside world will allow. Surround yourself with uplifters, feed your mind, document your lessons, own your career and refuse excuses. Millions measure success in square footage, followers or stock price; lasting growth is measured in the size of your mindset. Start the journey today: Schedule that first coffee chat, crack open a book and set your 5 a.m. alarm. When your inside grows, I promise your outside will outgrow even your imagination. Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
Are We Thinking About Innovation All Wrong?
Davide Sartini, Chief Corporate Officer at G. Mondini Spa / Forbes Italy's Top 100 CMOs (2021) | Capital Magazine's Top 150 Managers (2020). getty We live in a Western world that has turned dreams and ambitions into a kind of new religion. We fight against the pessimism of those who have stopped believing in something and, whether we intend to or not, we help fuel a society that is increasingly competitive, where the driving forces are not only the ever-present pursuit of profit but also ideals of innovation. Everyone talks about innovation, but what does it mean? Here's the way I see it: The lightbulb wasn't created by tweaking the candle. It came from a fundamentally new idea. But are we sure our view on innovation is heading in the right direction? Are emotion and reason evolving hand in hand, or is there instead a predominance of irrationality, of an overly optimistic and, dare I say, superficial attitude toward success—one that risks shattering our ideas, consuming resources and ultimately compromising our most genuine aspirations? A handful of articles highlight a startling statistic: Out of approximately 30,000 products launched onto the market each year, 95% fail. This figure, drawn from a study by Harvard Business School, is sobering. It challenges the narrative upheld by a business model that often sacrifices dreams on the altar of productivity and efficiency. What's more striking is that this so-called 'tendency toward failure' affects both the world's biggest companies—those that can afford to lose millions without suffering lasting damage—and small businesses, where even a single failure can jeopardize their entire survival in the market. And if that weren't enough, consider the fate of startups—those shining emblems of contemporary innovation, often built on ambition, novel ideas and the passion of young inventors. It's also widely reported that up to 90% of startups fail. Even among those that survive, many find themselves unable to earn the profits they hoped for, falling short of the expectations of external investors who believed in the promise of quick or significant returns. Faced with these numbers, one might rightly question whether innovation—be it of a product, process, service or digital application—is truly as natural and widespread a result as we are often led to believe. Historical evidence suggests the opposite: that true innovation is a rare and fragile outcome, not an inevitable product of progress. Accepting this reality means approaching innovation with a sense of realism and, above all, with the humility it demands. We are living in a complex and unpredictable era. Our society is facing the fastest and most radical transformations in recorded history. We stand at a turning point—one that defies the linear models of progress we were taught in textbooks and have long taken for granted. The rules are changing, and with them, the very logic by which we interpret the world. In this shifting landscape, the role of a leader—and equally that of a capable manager—is not to resist change, but to equip organizations to navigate the inherent risks of innovation. Mistakes should not be viewed as failures or unacceptable setbacks, but rather as calculated risks—necessary steps in the iterative journey of progress. An innovative leader must operate within a framework of logic and rationality, but with a deep awareness that even the most well-structured processes are vulnerable to uncertainty. True leadership today lies in embracing that uncertainty, fostering resilience and building a culture where experimentation is not only accepted but expected. Such a perspective may feel disheartening, but there is a figure from history who can offer a different kind of response—one rooted not in grand theories, but in practice and principle. This person is not a billionaire entrepreneur, but rather an inventor who shaped the economic destiny of an entire nation: Toyoda Sakichi. In addition to founding Toyota, Toyoda's guiding principles have come to define the company's modern-day philosophy. His approach offers a compelling counter-narrative to the myth of innovation as pure hype. He emphasized loyalty to one's work and duties as a foundation for the collective good of the company. For him, study and creativity went hand in hand, forming the right blend to stay ahead of the times. He valued practicality and rejected frivolity—not out of coldness, but because staying grounded in real, achievable ideas requires focus, clarity and a refusal to be distracted by vague or inflated notions. He also championed a familial atmosphere in the workplace, one in which the warmth of friendship could thrive. And finally, Toyoda advocated respect for spiritual matters, open to personal interpretation. For him, spirituality meant cultivating gratitude for every moment of our lives, regardless of circumstances. Perhaps this is the perspective we need: not blind faith in success, but a mature vision that respects both failure and fragility. Innovation, when seen through this lens, becomes not just an outcome but a mindset—built not only on ideas, but on values. In conclusion, based on my own experience and the stories of remarkable individuals who have inspired me, I'm convinced that the structural foundation of any effective innovation process is a genuine belief in what you're doing. Innovation inherently involves variables that are unpredictable and often beyond our control—that's simply part of the territory, and it can't be entirely avoided. Yet I strongly believe that the most enduring and impactful innovations are those grounded in conviction—a conviction that aligns with the organization's core philosophy and originates from within. When change is driven by a shared purpose, when it begins with people and grows out of a common vision, it becomes more than just a strategic move—it becomes a cultural evolution. And that, in my view, is the strongest possible starting point for real, tangible and lasting innovation in any sector. Forbes Business Development Council is an invitation-only community for sales and biz dev executives. Do I qualify?
