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Nathan Goode calls for a change of narrative in the sustainability debate.

Crowdsourcing is not a new concept. I see it as the guiding principle underpinning democracy; the wisdom of the crowds pick a better leader than any individual could (we hope!) But what about using crowdsourcing to develop business strategy?

Nathan Goode welcome growth opportunities extra government scrutiny brings

The technology sector is riding the crest of a wave. We interview approximately 150 technology companies around the world every quarter through our International Business Report (IBR) and what’s struck me since the beginning of the year is how bullish the leaders of these companies are about their growth prospects.

One of the greatest challenges with using social media strategically is measuring its success. Boards need to understand how social media is helping meet their strategic objectives and need to set goals and define success early in the planning stage. Measurement is crucial to understanding whether these goals have been achieved.

As the global economy slowly recovers its verve, so business leaders in the hospitality and tourism sector are looking at new ways to grow their operations. So says our International Business Report (IBR), which interviews around 150 senior executives in the sector globally every quarter.

When it comes to charities and the not for profit sector, social media has often outpaced organisational change. Social media has huge potential to deliver services, foster internal values and sharing, and achieve strategic goals beyond communications.

Do leadership styles differ around the world? This is one of the questions explored by our recent International Business Report. We asked 3,400 business leaders working in 45 economies to tell us how important they believe certain attributes are to good leadership.

We launched our annual M&A report – ‘Dynamic businesses at the forefront of M&A optimism’ – in Hong Kong last week. The report has provoked a good deal of debate and I just wanted to share two highlights from the data.

Denmark has made some fantastic television dramas over the past few years. ‘The Killing’ and ‘Borgen’ have been compulsive viewing in the Lagerberg household. Both place intelligent, strident women as the main characters and, in the case of political drama, Borgen, imitate life itself by prophetically telling the tale of a female Prime Minister – Helle Thorning-Schmidt becoming the first Prime Minister of Denmark in 2011.

Wherever I go in the world, I’d rather be walking a dog than stroking a cat. Some things are the same wherever you are. But does this include business leaders? Working with senior business people across the globe, I’ve found they do share a lot of traits – valuing integrity, a positive attitude and the ability to communicate – even across wide cultural divides.

The role of leaders in creating successful businesses and driving growth is crucial. How these leaders run their teams and make decisions can be the difference between success and failure. But do the leadership characteristics displayed by leaders vary from region to region?

I read a fascinating article in the Wall Street Journal the other day which suggested that my region could broadly be thought of as two separate entities.

The lure of China’s less well-known cities and the opportunities they present has been picking up speed for years, along with their impressive growth. In fact, while they are often described as ‘second-tier’ cities, many are in fact now wealthier than their ‘first-tier’ counterparts.

John Geldart has spent a lot of time in China over recent years. It is an amazing country which fascinates and surprises him every time he returns, but perhaps no more so than over the past few months when he has been lucky enough to interview the chairmen of some of its most dynamic companies.

Scaling a tech business is like walking a burning tightrope. The faster you go, the more you risk falling off. But go too slowly and the rope will burn through.