I have a personal connection with the World Cup. I am not a particularly fanatical soccer fan but for some reason my business cycle is in tune with this global event.
A case in point: in 2006 during the World Cup in Germany, when I noticed Yahoo! perimeter advertising boards; this was the spark that fuelled me establishing a partnership with Yahoo 20-months later, which resulted in Yahoo! South Africa launching from this observation and determination.
In 2010, a few months before the World Cup kick-off in South Africa, I hosted a conference in Cape Town of global digital media companies from Ukraine, Israel, Greece, Romania, Turkey and India. It was at this conference that I made some valuable friendships that turned into even more valuable partnerships.
Two weeks ago, while watching Spain play Honduras, on a giant screen on a beach in Tel Aviv while drinking a Gold Star Dark lager on invitation from these business partners I met when I hosted them in Cape Town four years earlier, something dawned on me.
It dawned on me how valuable global partnerships and conferences are in connecting with like-minded media CEOs from countries as diverse as Poland, Brazil, Serbia, France, Spain, UK and Israel.
We might not all speak the same languages but we share a brotherhood of shared expertise’s and the knowledge that collectively we can overcome any challenges, together.
Here are some lessons I extracted from my trip:
– Getting stuff done is better than talking about getting stuff done.
– Asking for help is better than trying to do it yourself.
– Old industries: competition breeds value erosion.
– New industries: competition drives value creation. Collectively building an industry as oppose to protecting your turf.
– Global influences drive local innovation.
Furthermore, there is no substitute for T.I.T.S, a cycling term for ‘Time in the Saddle’, which means the more time you spend on your craft the better you become.
At the time of writing this, the list of final 16 teams for this year’s instalment of the World Cup is being finalized.
And my attention is squarely on 2018 and ensuring that the partnerships we have are stronger than they were today, and looking out for new partnerships for tomorrow.
Will Green is CEO: Apurimac Media
