Business Upside [BU]: What’s the core mission behind your business, and how has it evolved over time?
Adam Azim [AA]: It is almost as if the business has evolved into a “Bully Pulpit” of sorts, or a global classroom. The world is now my audience or classroom, thanks to the internet and technology first and foremost. It is almost as if I am proselytizing the manner by which empires have gone out to proselytize around the world during their peak. But I am doing it without much of an expenditure of energy and money and resources. It is much more cost-efficient than what unwieldy entities and empires and organizations and states have sought to accomplish in the past. Because of technology, a single individual can have greater capabilities than an entire intelligence agency in this day and age.
[BU]: What legacy do you want to leave through your business?
[AA]: Of course, all professionals and leaders want to leave a noble legacy behind. I haven’t gotten that far where I am thinking about legacy in all honesty, although it crosses my mind on occasion. I just started after all. But of course, a legacy of service and maybe even philanthropy is something which I am perhaps striving for.
[BU]: What is your process for setting short-term and long-term business goals?
[AA]: I take it one day at a time if you want the truth. Where we are heading in the very end is largely unknown. So you step back on occasion and let it all unfold day by day. At this point, I handle everything day by day. I try not to get ahead of myself or plan something which will then take a totally different direction down the road. As they say, if you want to make God laugh, make a plan. Or as Mike Tyson said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. There is a sort of balance that has to be kept between being proactive and receptive. A lot like the “yin and yang” of Buddhism or Taoism.
[BU]: How do you measure whether your business is truly successful beyond revenue?
[AA]: You can perhaps measure the success beyond revenue based on whether you are anticipating and shaping outcomes in international society in the right way and when social reality actually aligns with your discourse. We cast doubt on appearances, and then we anticipate and shape outcomes to the best of our ability. If you have been lying all this time or if you are totally off on all your predictions, does that really amount to success?
[BU]: How do you ensure your brand remains relevant as trends change?
[AA]: As we said before, remaining relevant in international society is perhaps even more difficult than finding and maintaining purpose. And a lot of it pertains to culture and health and lifestyle if you think about it. We are moving beyond philosophy and politics and economics now. Philosophy and politics and economics can take you to a certain point, and then there is a reality which goes beyond all of it. For instance, capitalism has set a particular kind of “libidinal infrastructure” into the world which is now evolving. One of the hints that this basic libidinal or social infrastructure is evolving is the “Great Resignation” of recent years. So in a sense, you remain relevant by shifting most of the focus on culture and health and lifestyle. We have generated a lot of toxicity in the public sphere, everyone is guilty of it, it is not just one individual or one party, and you overcome all of it through a particular focus.
[BU]: What’s one branding mistake you’ve learned from?
[AA]: At the moment, we have a certain kind of dynamic that is arising in both the business and social world, which is that established “megaplayers” are now being challenged by rising “minipowers” as one scholar put it. And a lot of it has to do with credibility and trust. While the “megaplayers” are facing a decline in credibility and trust, the “minipowers” are building it. Of course, the “megaplayers” won’t go down and disappear easily. But the “minipowers” are carving out their space in the business and social world, and as a result, everyone has to become content with this novel distribution of power. It is of course difficult for the “megaplayers” to be content with this novel distribution of power between “megaplayers” on one hand and “minipowers” on the other hand. But this is our new reality, and everyone has to become content with it. Even the “minipowers” have to acknowledge that they must coexist with the traditional “megaplayers.” It would be unfair and unjust to completely dismantle them or overthrow them and attempt to take away their livelihoods and place in the business and social world. So we must all learn to adjust and become content with the new distribution of power, and we must not be too aggressive and violent when it comes to overthrowing this novel distribution of power or changing it.
[BU]: How do you foster a culture of innovation in your company?
[AA]: Innovation is at the very heart of my enterprise and operations. I make sure that everything which is said and done is innovative. I have been told a number of times by others that it is all quite innovative as well. I have gotten the affirmation that I have fostered a culture of innovation within this enterprise. Thus, I have actually fostered a culture of innovation from the very beginning. And I seek to consciously maintain it one way or another.
[BU]: What’s one industry trend you’re keeping a close eye on?
[AA]: There are essentially three “master trends” which have been at the heart of international affairs for a very long time, and a lot of it is nothing new. First of all, there is our balance of power dynamic with Russia and China. Second, there is cultural decline in the West itself, a lot of which is resulting from a widespread disavowal of liberalism and its offshoot, namely, neoliberalism. And third, there is a ‘political awakening’ that is taking place amongst the masses all around the world. At one point in time, particularly during the Cold War of the 20th century, liberalism and Marxism were the major trends in international society. Now, we are seeing the rise of populism and religion in the 21st century. So there are in fact three major trends rooted in international society, but none of them are new. They have been ongoing for a very long time, and have been set off by a process of ‘decolonization’ which began with the fall of the British empire in the 20th century.
[BU]: What’s one business lesson that took you years to learn?
[AA]: Discipline and self-restraint. Not jumping the gun per se. Being patient. If there is anything to learn, if there is just one thing to learn while leaving behind all the rest, it is patience. We lack strategic patience for the most part. But it is the most important characteristic or attribute to have when dealing with very big issues and problems in international affairs. While everyone was histrionic and hysterical a few years ago, I maintained a sort of strategic patience which got me to where I am now. In a sense, I have everyone where I want them now.
[BU]: What’s a mistake many entrepreneurs make that you actively avoid?
[AA]: I believe we are all guilty of the same mistake, in the sense that we are all human, and humans have built-in or inherent weaknesses in themselves. Everyone has a weakness. For some, it is anger. For others, it is desire. There are also those who lie a lot. They cannot help but lie. Greed is another flaw or mistake which is all too common. Envy and jealousy is perhaps the most common one. Laziness and sloth were also big ones when I was younger. You have to first identify your weakness, and then put in a lot of effort in trying to rectify it. But you can expect a slip-up or two from all of us. To err is to be human, as they say. There is no way to avoid it in my opinion. And I believe state and society as a whole is beginning to open up to the idea of tolerance, even though we cannot expect much tolerance from such people. In the end, our question is one of human nature. We seek to understand human nature above all else. And in the end, human nature is paradoxical. We would not see light without darkness, and darkness would not be manifest to us if there were not a concept of light. It’s complicated. They say all great men cannot help but be corrupt. That is a paradox, isn’t it? Greatness translates into corruption, and you cannot do anything about it. It is what it is. It is all a paradox. Human nature is a paradox.
More Information
Company URL: www.adam-azim.com
LinkedIn URL: http://linkedin.com/in/adam-a-azim-94bb111b2
