The company and its environment

Every company needs clear objectives, as well as executives who are dynamic, enterprising, skilled and supportive. It also requires a fluid and constant relationship with its environment, both within and beyond its operational boundaries, fostering effective understanding vertically between executives or leaders and horizontally amongst peers at the corporate level.

This is necessary to ensure that the company can adapt to the complex interplay of interests and competences that arise amongst the many different types of organisations: manufacturing, services, management support, technical and technological development, communications, advertising, marketing, etc., which form the web of corporate connections and interrelationships.

A company cannot be viewed as an island in the midst of an ocean of opportunities. A company is a vehicle for personal, group and social development, in which countless interests intertwine in a web of interactions involving many factors.

Whilst opportunities may be vast, depending on the time and geographical location, the chances of getting lost amongst them are also infinite. It is like a labyrinth where one can lose one’s way on the intricate path towards the goal, because there is only one path that leads to it with the prospect of success. This is how business or entrepreneurial ventures behave.

Failures are part of what we plan, albeit unconsciously; that is to say, they arise by chance without us even realising it. They are there, like the sword of Damocles, hanging over our destiny and lying in wait to bring down the hopes and aspirations of many, such as ourselves, who, even whilst striving with all our might, encounter obstacles—small or large—that either prevent the ultimate goal from being achieved or cause it to be postponed, pushing it further down the list of things to be done.

But such is life, full of obstacles, with the human will to face them head-on and turn them to our advantage: resilience. Let us make the negative work in our favour and bend to our will. This is where a virtue of character comes into play: perseverance and steadfastness. ‘He who perseveres, prevails.’ And with steadfastness, we can overcome any failure, mistake or obstacle.

In any enterprise, business or corporate activity – whether small or large – equipped with the tools of knowledge, one can successfully manage these tasks with a competent and psychologically resilient team, in order to achieve the goals and meet the established objectives.

A person’s commitment is to themselves, to their family and to society at large; they must fulfil, through their actions, the tasks for which they have been called upon. The individual and the organisation, the organisation and the individual, must be viewed as a synchronised pair, not as a dichotomy in which each acts independently; for, at the end of the day, it is the individual who drives the organisation, and the organisation cannot function without the individual’s intelligence.

The individual acts as the driving force that plans and sets in motion all the initiatives leading to success. That individual—whether as an executive, an employee or a promoter—will bear the great responsibility of managing the circumstances that arise with balance and sound judgement, implementing the appropriate measures and solutions required to move forward.

The relationship with the wider community forms part of business management; looking after employees, their families and society at large must be among an organisation’s objectives. As Jack Welch said, “Social responsibility begins with a strong, competitive company. Only a company in good health can improve and enrich the lives of people and their communities”.