1. Question the status quo

Speaking in June Leni Gas & Oil (LGO) chairman David Lenigas said: "Our Trinidad operations will do 2,000 barrels per day (bpd). Not might, - will." The company is one of the more salient success stories in the Australian entrepreneur and former Lonrho chairman’s portfolio. And the market is backing him: LGO’s shares on London’s AIM market have risen from under a penny in November to over 4-pence at the time of writing.

The opening ceremony was held in the presence of government authorities of Chile, Poland and Japan. Sierra Gorda, one of the largest and fastest-developed mining projects in the world, is located in the Antofagasta region within the Atacama Desert, which is Chile’s largest copper producing region. The mine started feeding ore into its processing plant in July 2014.

Capital Star Steel SA, based in Maputo Province, Mozambique, is a subsidiary of the South African company, Capital Africa Steel (Pty) Ltd (CAS), the company through which Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon (WBHO) operates its construction materials businesses. WHBO is one of the largest construction companies in Southern Africa, listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange with 12,000 employees, and had a turnover in 2013 of more than R23 million.

Rare earth elements (REEs) continue to be a hot topic. This group of 17 chemically similar elements crucial to the manufacture of many hi-tech products is causing international supply headaches. China currently produces about 90 percent of the world’s rare earths and produces more than 70 percent of the world’s rare earth magnets - neodymium in particular is used to make smaller, more efficient and more powerful magnets used in loudspeakers and computer hard drives.

Much of the current emphasis on innovation seems to concentrate on new sectors capable of bringing about significant social and economic change, from mobile telephony to digital technology. As a result, sectors that could be classified as mature and which are seen as generating little in terms of innovation are given scant regard.

MC 2014 is the global forum for exchanging views and developing capacity, to ensure that new mines are designed with closure in mind, and old sites are closed economically, whilst minimising environmental and societal impacts.

As the dust settles on the Scottish referendum and the comfortable margin for the ‘no’ camp, the removal of what they saw as a major threat has resulted in a rapid return of business confidence. This was boosted by announcements by large financial institutions like RBS and Standard Life that they would remain in Edinburgh. Both companies’ shares rose following the announcement of the result.

We all know that good leaders set the direction for a company, as US clergyman and leadership guru John C Maxwell put it, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” But how do these leaders define their mission in the first place and set the right goals for their business?

Leaders need to think big, in order to create a compelling vision, using plenty of imagination and creativity to consider the future business strategy.