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Awaken Group has been surveying US executives as part of our Global Leadership and Innovation Survey (GLIS) (please click for survey) to find out top priorities and challenges (current and next 3-5 years), strategies for innovation and new market entry, and how organizations are preparing for global growth. Over 200 executives have participated in GLIS since we first launched our research in 2010; our GLIS reports are based on key insights from survey responses in addition to in-depth interviews with 20% of participants.

Confidence dropped between 2010-2011 amidst a rapidly growing global competitive landscape as leaders feel less prepared to meet the challenges of global growth (see Exhibit 3).

We also saw a shift in US-specific leadership challenges—while leaders were more concerned with how to manage through downtime in 2010 in the aftermath of the economic crisis, in 2011, there was increased focus on global competition, the need for a paradigm shift, and education (see Exhibit 4). Executives suggested that the current US education system is not preparing people enough for global competition and there is a significant need for building greater cultural awareness and understanding of the world.

How are leaders currently preparing for global growth?

We found that the #1 strategy for preparing for global growth in 2011 was to find the right local partnerships to enter new markets (37% of respondents), as a VP of a $2 billion manufacturing company shared, “[Local partners] are critically important because the time and resources required to organically generate a positive reputation, especially in emerging markets, would require far more time than working with an established local partner.” Executives understand they cannot grow globally on their own; they need to seek and develop partnerships who understand local markets.

Innovation is another key theme of GLIS. Our research indicates that increasing employee empowerment and accountability are directly linked to innovation within organizations due to more engaged employees who contribute new ideas to drive change, improvements, and innovation.

As globalization continues, we want to know how this is impacting your organizations. What are you doing now to prepare and what are your top leadership and strategic priorities? What are challenges you anticipate and how will you address them? What do you consider as critical for success? If you are a CEO, C-level executive, President, Vice President, Director, Founder, Owner, or key decision maker in your organization, we invite you to participate this year in the 2012 GLIS surveys. Your participation is valuable and you will receive a complimentary copy of the final report once it is published this year, where you will learn from other leaders who share their perspectives. We will also select one survey participant at random to receive a complimentary executive coaching and assessment (US$15,000 value).

Please participate in the Global Leadership and Innovation Survey today: click to participate

2012 marks the third annual GLIS in the U.S., and we are excited to expand our research in Singapore this year.

Previous GLIS Reports:

GLIS 2011 U.S. Report (includes sample of report)
GLIS 2010 U.S. Report

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So-Young spoke at a TEDxSingaporeWomen event in December 2011. Please see below for the video of her talk, “What are the masks you wear?” She shared her personal journey of finding true meaning, joy, and beauty by choosing to be her authentic self. The road to uncovering her true self was not easy but the results made it worthwhile to, sometimes, relive painful memories in an effort to become more integrated and whole.

Please feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comment box below!

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So-Young Kang and Mark Wee were invited to speak at the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) on October 21, 2011. They introduced the concept of Design Thinking (DT) and, specifically, how to apply DT to create a beautiful vision and strategy, and how to create innovative cultures.

So-Young and Mark with Navy officers

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On Saturday, October 15, 2011, Awaken Group facilitators So-Young Kang, Antonia Nicols, and designer Trina Tay led a Design Thinking workshop for 15 teenage girls and their mentors, all of whom participate in the Beautiful People program. The workshop was designed to walk the girls through building their own beautiful business using a Design Thinking methodology, from creating a vision for their business, to researching underlying needs, prototyping, and designing the space and the processes.

About Beautiful People:

Beautiful People builds valuable relationships with the teenage girls through group activities and one-to-one mentoring, becoming a trusted friend and positive influence in their lives.

Their flagship programme ‘My Beautiful Life’ was launched in 2009 to tap into their resources as a network of diverse and caring volunteers. It is an intensive mentoring and career guidance programme that aims to equip the Little Sisters with the tools, skills and relationships to help her map a career direction and get a headstart on a fulfilling career. Key components of the programme include life skills training, financial education and job exposure opportunities.

The Beautiful People Club was launched in 2011, as a platform to keep Little Sisters connected, to engage in social and career development activities and lead in service learning projects.

Please visit www.beautifulpeople.org.sg for more info.

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Awaken Group Global Leadership and Innovation Survey (GLIS) 2011
U.S. Report
By: So-Young Kang, Hanna Kim
Contributors: Luke Chua, Chao Xiang
Now available in English PDF
18 pages. Publication date: October 3, 2011.
Press Release: PR Newswire

Awaken Group conducted its second annual independent survey and study, the Global Leadership and Innovation Survey (GLIS), to better understand global leadership and innovation challenges that executives face in the United States, and how priorities and perspectives have shifted in the past year. Over 100 CEOs, Presidents, founders/owners, and other executives from various industries and company sizes participated. The report is based on analysis from survey findings along with key insights from in-depth interviews with 20% of survey participants. Readers will find case studies around global expansion and innovation, and discover what leaders will focus on in the next 3-5 years and how they plan to address their challenges.

Below is a sample of the report:

CONFIDENCE AMONG US LEADERS HAS DROPPED IN THE PAST YEAR (2010-2011)

US leaders’ confidence has dropped amidst a rapidly growing global competitive landscape as leaders feel less prepared to meet the challenges of global growth

Fewer GLIS participants overall feel very prepared for global growth in 2011 (23%) vs. 2010 (33%), while more leaders feel little or unprepared in 2011 (24%) vs. 2010 (20%) (Exhibit 3). We interviewed US executives who shared the specific challenges they face in preparing for global growth including:

• Lack of clear new market entry strategy
• Resource limitations (e.g., capital, people)
• Limited knowledge and understanding of new markets (e.g., local consumer behavior, how to adapt products and services to fit local context)
• Global growth not a current priority; more focused on the US domestic market (e.g., strengthening presence and rebuilding growth)

The drop in confidence of US leaders reflects a real shift happening in the global economy. It has been a tough few years for the US economy and the near future outlook is still bleak. The United States (previously ranked #1 in 2008-2009) dropped two ranks to #4 on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 2010-2011* rankings, behind Switzerland, Sweden, and Singapore respectively. The GCI ranks countries (139 in 2010) based on key areas of global competitiveness (e.g., infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, education and training, goods and labor market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, innovation); essentially, the GCI measures the productivity of countries. It may still be too early to tell whether the US is truly in a long-term declining trend in global competitiveness, but the drop in the GCI rankings for two consecutive years is worth noting and paying attention to. In addition, the recent debt crises point to deeper issues that leaders in the US need to deal with, which will only exacerbate current challenges.

* The Global Competitiveness Index 2010-2011, World Economic Forum

To read the rest of the report, please purchase here:

Awaken Group Global Leadership and Innovation Survey 2011: U.S.

2011 GLIS Report (18 page English PDF) $9.95

Please note: upon receipt of payment, your report will be sent within one business day to the e-mail address you use to purchase the report.

If you have any questions, please contact us at: contact@theawakengroup.com

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So-Young Kang attended the 1st Annual Women Leadership Summit, which is a part of the annual NAAMBA (National Association of Asian MBAs) Leadership Conference & Exposition, on September 9, 2011 in New York City. She was a part of a panel discussion on “Developing Multicultural Women Leaders.”

The overall theme of the conference this year was “Leadership to New Heights”, held in Manhattan from September 8-10, 2011. Approximately 2,500 people attended the conference from the U.S. and Asia. Conference attendees included: corporate and diversity executives, HR and working professionals, MBA students and alumni, community and business leaders who engaged in powerful professional development.

Photos from the event:

So-Young with other panelists

“Developing Multicultural Women Leaders” discussion

For more info about the conference, please visit: www.asianmba.org

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So-Young was invited to speak at CPFB’s Learning Forum on June 27, 2011. 150 public officers attended the event where So-Young spoke about “Human” Leadership and Design Thinking: Creating Beauty at Work. She shared how the three core elements of design thinking—creativity, empathy and rationality—can be applied to creating better work environments for employees in addition to better understanding and then serving customers’ underlying needs.

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Konnect Magazine recently interviewed So-Young around what it is like to be an entrepreneur and how she came to launch The Awaken Group. Please click here for the full article.

Thank you, Konnect Magazine!

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So-Young Kang was invited to be the guest speaker at the Ministry of Health (MOH) Singapore’s Staff Recognition Day on May 10, 2011 in Singapore.

Human Leadership: Creating beauty at work

So-Young spoke to an audience of about 300 people about ‘what does it mean to be human?’ What do people care about? What drives us? What makes us different? By understanding what it means to be human, she shared how to apply this understanding to creating beautiful work environments and fostering cultures of creativity and innovation. She also shared examples and stories on how beautiful cultures are created in organizations and the impact they have around them – to their employees, families, organizations and to themselves.

What participants had to say:

“This talk serves as a timely reminder for many of us as we all got caught up with the day-to-day work.”

“It is an “awakening” talk.”

“The talk is useful, inspiring and very relevant.”

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So-Young Kang was invited to speak to the largest professional women’s association in Singapore, PrimeTime, at an event on March 21, 2011 on the topic of “Driving Innovation for Growth.” This workshop introduced a new way to better understand customers and drive innovation through Design Thinking, a process that combines creativity, empathy and rationality to help resolve issues and create innovative solutions.

We enjoyed meeting all of the amazing women who attended this workshop. Thank you to everyone who attended!

What some of our participants had to say:

“I realized that I knew the process, but this workshop gave me a better idea of how to implement.”

“This workshop was very linked with personal lives and personal values.”

“We could do a lot more with design thinking!”

“Imagining a future that doesn’t exist today was a surprising insight for me.”

About the workshop:
Do you really know your customers? Innovation to best serve their real needs.

As Small Business leaders, we are constantly trying to come up with new innovations (e.g., business models, products, services, client delivery models, partnerships) to help us sustain ourselves and grow.

What if there was a way that could help you better understand your customers and drive innovation?

This workshop introduces a way to do this through Design Thinking, a process that combines creativity, rationality and empathy to help resolve issues and come up with innovative solutions by designing beautiful experiences for your customers. We will cover our 5-step framework, share case studies of how this works and provide practical tips to get started.