Catarina -- copying and pasting other people's content is so blatant on college campuses that they have been forced to use software programs specifically designed to scan a student's work for stealing content. Those students who do get away with it will learn there is no "copy and paste" when they enter the business world.
Successful leaders are both lucky and good. As Shakespeare said, "Ripeness is all." Bill Gates understood the right timing -- as did Mark Zuckerman. But they also understood what steps needed to be taken to build a successful business.
Communication among team members is essential. They need to know the goals and objectives of the team and their specific responsibilities. This is easier said than done because there are cultural differences among team members and not everyone will interpret the communication in the same way.
When you make a mistake, you've got to forgive yourself and start over. That isn't always easy to do. But what's the alternative? If you don't make the effort than your life will be a failure.
Agree wholeheartedly that companies should embrace ideas from their employees. Unfortunately, many companies don't value their employees enough, they don't listen, or you hear "we tried that and it didn't work." The worst, though, is when an employee submits and idea and his superiors then take credit for it.
It's good to see that Saudi women are breaking barriers and becoming so successful in business. However, the prohibition against driving makes it difficult for the average woman (not the superstars) to pursue a career. If her husband or brother won't drive her to work and there is no public transportation available, then relaxing other rules will not be helpful to her.
Evil is difficult to explain. As you say, perfectly normal people can do evil -- irrational -- things. You mention Nazi Germany, which is a perfect example. No one, to my satisfaction, has ever answered the question, "How could this have happened?" Why did it take so long for the rest of the world to wake up to the evil and atrocities being visited on the Jews, gypsies, gays and other "undesirables" in Germany? I am in the midst of reading "The Boys in the Boat," the story of the young and poor rowers from the University of Washington who improbably won the Olympic gold medal at the 1936 games in Berlin. Hitler sanitized Berlin for the occasion but many outsiders already knew what was happening but chose to ignore it.
Catarina -- Clay Christensen, the Harvard economist, coined the term Disruptive Innovation which refers to an "innovation that creates a new market and value network and eventually disrupts an existing market and value network, displacing established market leading firms, products and alliances." That's what developed western countries need to continually do to retain their leadership role in the world.
Catarina -- I have to say that I don't look for the "Fair Trade" label. It's probably on some foods I buy but it's just not on my radar. I do buy organic products but there is a distinction that is required by the US government for the labels on these products:
-- 100 Percent Organic: All the ingredients are certified organic.
-- Organic: At least 95% of the ingredients are certified organic.
-- Made With Organic Ingredients: At least 70% of the ingredients are certified organic.
From now on, I will look for the "Fair Trade" label.
Leaders may say they want the truth, but they make it pretty clear if they really mean it. The current occupant of the U.S. presidency does not listen to advice from his inner circle. He doesn't care what they think, even if it's the truth.