Leadership advisor Simon Mainwaring shares six tips for CEOs

What practices are company CEOs applying today to lead successful brands? How do businesses deal with crises and the challenges of the future?

In his talk, Tomorrow’s CEO: Mindsets for Building Successful Brands, Simon Mainwaring, founder and CEO of We First, shared six mindsets that CEOs are implementing today.

“These are practices that we teach CEOs to ensure they not only build their business but also make a difference. Keeping that in mind, we recognize that leadership has never been more important,” Mainwaring said.

The speaker, who is also a brand consultant, said that since the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been necessary for young entrepreneurs to have a new mindset to get different results, based on the context of today’s market.

CONECTA shares advice and ideas given by the speaker during Tec de Monterrey’s entrepreneurship festival, INCmty 2022.

1. Prepare to lead in turbulent times

Mainwaring gave his opinion on the global crises that society is facing today and the different ways they are impacting on companies and businesses.

“We live in a world of concurrent and complex crises. These problems, these challenges, and these crises are not waiting statically in the future for us to reach them. They are worsening as we speak,” he said.

He said that crises such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine have had an impact on the supply chains, for example, and he invited attendees to think about whether they are capable of handling different crises at the same time, asking them:

“Are you prepared to lead in these challenging and turbulent times? Are you willing to start a business, not just to make money, but to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem?”

He suggested that leadership within companies should not be linear but rather exponential because of the way global problems play out.

2. Look into the future, do not build on the past

The author of the book Lead With We also said that emerging companies often look to the past to see the strategies that worked before. However, he said that they are only managing risk if they do so.

“They gradually innovate and repeat what they’ve been doing to make improvements, then try to balance risk and opportunity, but that doesn’t do much good because the future has less to do with the past as all of these challenges and crises are connected.

Using the past as a guide for action in the future isn’t very useful. We need to apply reverse engineering to the future so that when we work with other companies, we can ask what their industry will look like in three to five years,” he said.

To apply this mindset, Mainwaring suggested thinking about what the world will require from companies in the future, as well as the problems associated with different industries.

“Are you prepared to lead in challenging times? Are you willing to start a business and not just make money but be part of the solution?”

3. Reassess challenges as market opportunities

The speaker said that instead of being discouraged by current problems or crises, business leaders should focus on finding opportunities to solve them.

“Hidden within these challenges are startups waiting to be born. Each worrying problem also represents a solution waiting to be found,” said the author.

Mainwaring recalled that even legacy industries have the opportunity to do different things, to innovate, and change their practices to find solutions to humanity’s new challenges.

“We can ask ourselves how this problem can be turned into a business and be an advantage in the long term.

“We should reassess challenges as opportunities. What worrying social or environmental issues can your company resolve through your leadership as CEO?” he added.

4. Leverage purpose to increase growth and impact

According to the brand consultant, the purpose of companies should not be a static idea sitting in an annual report or painted on the wall of a boardroom.

Your purpose should be an active verb, not a passive noun,” he stressed, adding:

“You can lead from day one as long as your main purpose is truly aspirational and reflects the integrity and goal of your company.”

The speaker highlighted the importance of a good definition of company purpose as this will help them to work, accelerate growth and increase their impact.

He said that with adequate leadership based on purpose, everyone touched by the business can expand their knowledge of the company and accelerate their mindset growth.

“You can lead from day one as long as your main purpose is truly aspirational and reflects the integrity and goal of your company.”

5. Use the company to lead conversations that drive movements

Simon Mainwaring said that people today are interested in what companies represent through their products. As an example, he talked about how responsible these companies are in terms of how they manufacture their products.

He said that this mindset sees the future of marketing as a way for companies to analyze their purpose and think about how to become a jumping off point for conversation within their industry in a way that is meaningful to all stakeholders.

“If you’re going to lead conversations to create movements, ask yourself as an individual in your company, what conversation can you start right now in your industry that will shape the culture?” he said.

He invited attendees to think about the companies launched in recent years in connection with issues such as climate change or war, issues that are part of the conversation in the business landscape.

“In today’s reality, if you want to be in a specific business niche, you need to lead a conversation that can drive the movement that will build your company,” he added.

6. Lead together, not alone

Mainwaring said that in business terms, collective leadership is best in order to accelerate and increase the response as it combines efforts.

“One of the fastest ways you can accelerate awareness and adoption of your products is by planning partnerships from the beginning to make it happen,” the author said.

He suggested finding partners with whom you can align efforts and share values to forge a greater market share.

“The question is which partner could you work with to accelerate your impact? Think of someone you know in your network who you could be working with next year,” he said.

“One of the fastest ways you can accelerate awareness and adoption of your products is by planning partnerships from the beginning to make it happen,” the author said.

The 10th anniversary of INCmty 2022

INCmty, the largest entrepreneurial festival in Latin America organized by Tec de Monterrey, celebrated its 10th anniversary.

“During these ten years, INCmty has planted a seed of character and entrepreneurial spirit in many people. I’m sure that it’ll continue to transform lives,” said Rogelio de los Santos, President of INCmty.

The festival lasts three days and has returned to the face-to-face format. It’s being held at Cintermex, in Monterrey.

It includes more than 200 networking events, investment opportunities, and the participation of more than 100 international speakers such as Jay Shetty, James Clear, Alina Morse, and Penny Locaso.

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