1. Alar Kolk
President, European Innovation Academy

2. Global Fortune 100 visions & missions

3. What Makes a
Great Business?

4. ELEMENTS
GREAT
COMPANY

5. Ambition
# 1
The leadership team of every good company has a great
ambition for the company – usually one that addresses
an unmet customer need. The ambition is not one of
personal greed; it’s about building a company that
delivers on its promise and does it with a unique quality.

6. Customer
# 2
Every good company begins by meeting a customer
need. That need is often deeply understood by the
company’s founder because they, themselves,
experienced the need – and saw how that need was not
being well met. Sometimes the founder hands off the
leadership of the company to someone else who
operationalizes the idea.

7. Focus
# 3
Good companies stay focused on what they know and
can do well. When companies search for new ideas, they
often drift into unknown territory and get in trouble.
Good companies just keep growing and expanding into
familiar territory.

8. Execution
# 4
Satisfying a customer requires relentless attention to
execution. Building a company’s capability to deliver
makes the difference between turning a great idea into
a business or failure. But execution is not just about
delivering a product. It’s also about service.

9. Inspiration
# 5
Smart companies engage all of their associates in building the
business, from idea creation though delivery.
Everyone in the company feels that they own a piece of the action
and are accountable for how the company performs. The
inspiration for a company starts at the top, but good leadership
drives that inspiration deep into the company by engaging people
broadly in decision-making. People are more than mechanical
parts of the enterprise, and the more they are allowed to see
customers, the better their business sensibilities.