LEADERSHIP HANDLES FACTS AND ATTITUDES
Leadership is as much about getting your facts straight as it is about having the right attitude. Here is an interesting example of that. When you analyze the nearly $100-billion revenue to smartphone companies last quarter, the clear market dominators are Apple followed by Samsung. Those two companies collectively enjoyed over 60% of the quarter’s revenue. The remaining revenue was split up among Huawei, LG, Xiaomi, Lenovo, ZTE, Oppo, Microsoft, and many smaller companies.
One of those smaller companies is HTC. HTC’s leadership reveals that it not only understand the facts, but it also brings the right attitude (Ashlee Vance, “Smartphone Margins” Bloomberg Businessweek . 10/12/15–10/18/15, pp. 33–34):
“ HTC is also moving beyond phones by forming partnerships with companies such as Under Armour, helping the sportswear brand build mobile technology into its products. ‘It could be very easy to get depressed around Apple eating all the margins,’ [HTC president Jason] Mackenzie says, ‘or you can be super optimistic around everything in the world being connected.’ ” (p. 34)
Sure, get your facts straight, but be sure to bring the right attitude. It is sort of like the difference between the two bicycle salespersons. Once comes back from the assigned territory gloomily complaining:
“ Nobody here rides bikes! ”
The replacement salesperson comes back from the assigned territory joyfully exclaiming:
“ Everyone here needs bikes! ”
