Why do some companies consistently win in the marketplace, while others struggle from crisis to crisis? The answer, according to Allen Pathmarajah is Leadership, a skill with which one is not born, but one that needs to be learnt.

Allen drew on established international research to demonstrate that companies have life cycles similar to living organisms. They face similar challenges and go through the normal "problems" at each stage of their life cycle, and are faced with transitional problems of moving to the next phase of development. If they are able to address the challenges and overcome the problems, companies continue to grow, but if not, they die.

Allen reflected that the vast majority of companies do not survive infancy, let alone adolescence with 80% not surviving two years and then 80% of those remaining not reaching Year 5. Key to their survival and success is their leadership and the different skill set's and leadership capabilities required at each stage of development.

Winning companies have great leaders with an entrepreneurial mindset who know how to make smart decisions and implement them quickly. These leaders are agile, flexible people who anticipate the life cycle changes and respond instantly to new realities.

They recognize their own limitations, as well as their strengths, and are always willing to employ people who are better than themselves in particular areas and at specific stages in their company’s life cycle when new or different skills are required. They happily develop others to be leaders as well.

"The company is born when risk is taken," Allen Pathmarajah talks about early stage.

These leaders know how to communicate effectively which means to both inform and persuade others to realize the common corporate goal. Communication needs to be simple, concise and comprehensive. Allen also emphasized effective communication is more about listening than talking. "That’s why God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth," Allen quipped, adding, "You will notice the word ‘listen’ has the exact same letters as the word ‘silent’."

A successful leader needs to have high Emotional Intelligence: to know and manage their emotions, recognize emotions in others, continue to motivate oneself in a positive way and handle relationships effectively. "Success is 90% EQ and 10% IQ."

A good leader must be able to build an exceptional team (Together Everyone Achieves More) with strong goal synergy. When the members of a team are positive and goal driven, they see the objectives of the Corporation as greater than their own. Consequently, there is strong group solidarity and high morale be high which leads to extraordinary performance.

The 5P’s of a successful team of people: Passion, Positive, Pride, Patience and Persistence

It is like putting together a sports team with a range of skills and capabilities: a team purely comprising attackers will loose as it has no defense. So, a good leader needs to identify these different, complementary attributes in the people within their team to optimize the team’s performance.

However, at least as important as skills and performance are the team members’ values. Team members must be categorized according to both their Performance and Values. Their values must match the values of the company.

Ideally your team should fall within the high values and high performance. Anyone with low performance but high values should be persisted with and given a second chance to improve.

A team member with low performance and low values is an easy decision but less easy is a person with high performance and low values. However, this is a dangerous individual, and someone should be asked to leave ASAP! Such people may be high performers but without sharing the company and team values, not walking the talk, they will erode the cohesion and performance of the team and business.

Allen pointed out that today many companies are over-managed and under-led. Depending on the stage of a company’s life cycle, there may be a need for good management which focuses on the bottom line, relies on controls, accepts and maintains the status quo and asks how and when things get done.

However, for a business to succeed long term and to be able to reinvigorate itself as it passes through its prime stage of life and approaches the stable stage, it must have a good leader. This is someone who has the vision (and clearly communicates it), relies on trust, challenges the status quo and asks what and why. These are the entrepreneurial leaders who make commercial enterprises grow to greatness.

Allen strongly believes in the "whole person concept" and that a good leader has to embrace this whole person concepts and ensure a balanced life which includes work, family, health, mental wellbeing, community and spirituality.

Allen concluded with a Sanskrit saying: "Look to this day, for yesterday is but a dream, for tomorrow is but a vision. Today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope."

The applause of the large audience reflected their agreement that Allen Pathmarajah is a leader who talks the talk and most certainly walks the walk.

Allen J Pathmarajah is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and Fellow of the Marketing Institute of Singapore.

He has extensive experience in Financial Services, Industry and Management Consultancy in England, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia.

He was with the Oversea–Chinese Banking Corporation Group (OCBC) for over 22 years. Initially as Executive Director of Specialists Services Pte Ltd (Management Consultancy Company of the Group) and concurrently Special Assistant to the Group Chairman. Thereafter for over 12 years he was with Great Eastern Life Assurance Co Ltd as General Manager and subsequently as Managing Director. He continued as a Director until May 1998.

He currently holds a number of board positions.

Allen Pathmarajah, Shaur (Claymore Capital,) Damien Abdallah and Robert Pryce(Alcatel)

John Ellison (Centrepoint Asset Management), Lionel Lee (BSI Capital) Allen Pathmarajah and Ivan Kaye

(BSI Services)

Trent Watson (Centrepoint Asset Management), Ida Lichter (Constable Vineyards), Gil Nafte (Corprofit), Ralph Silverman (Skyecloud) and Adam Buck (Evergreen Equity)

Robert Pryce and Damien Abdullah of Alcatel

Steve Alais (BSI People) and Adam Bateson (NetReturn)

Kris Polson (Fat Prophets) and Nitij Pal (Parry Carroll Lawyers)

Tim Green (NZ trade and Business) Donald Gubbay (International Civil & Mining Engineering) and Frank Dorian (World Authority on RFID)