Creativity is either the result of thinking outside the box or stumbling over a gold nugget you thought was plain rock. In latter days, it used to be called inventiveness, or originality, and there were - perhaps there still are - people who call themselves inventors, giving the impression that they work 8 hours a day inventing things.

There is nothing wrong with dreaming. Many great business ideas and innovations started with a dream. Many people dream, and do nothing. Some do not dream at all, because of various reasons to do with lack of selfbelief, disillusionment, and a plethora of other  reasons. Some people dream, try and fail, again for a variety of reasons. The clever part is when to stop dreaming and actually do something about it. And possibly the best recommendation is to have a very realistic grasp of your context. By being very aware of what you are surrounded with, you can also build a strong case for your idea. This could be some gap in the market, or a need. You should also have a good reality check of what you can actually do, with respect to the resources you have available, or can obtain. If you are working within an organisation, part of your reality check would involve knowing what type of organisation it is, how entrepreneurial it is, how much it encourages entrepreneurship – or intrapreneurship, in this case - what policies and strategies it has, and so on.
Entrepreneurs are the first people who generally question the status quo, and try to bend or break rules which they feel stand in the way of an improved situation. Breaking rules always leads to consequences, whether positive or negative. If the environment you are working in does not allow such behaviour, then you’d better know what to expect.

As a seller, I’m sure the last thing in the world you want to do is to make your job even more difficult. But the truth is, many of you are doing just that - all the time and without even knowing it.

This past week I was talking to one seller about a particularly challenging sales issue he kept running into. As it turns out, he was his own worst enemy.

From humble beginnings can come many great things. Angelo Xuereb must surely look back at the last 60 years of his life and wonder how he overcame so many obstacles with such endurance. His inspiring autobiography at times reads like a Hollywood blockbuster. Hailing from a devout Roman Catholic family of eleven children born in a span ofthirteen years, Angelo Xuereb transformeda small loan from his then-girlfriend into amultimillion-euro group of companies, AXHoldings.

The Executive met with Angelo recently to ask some questions about his life and began by asking about the relationship he had with his father, and his upbringing.