Instead of battening down the hatches when the going gets tough, smart leaders inspire their employees to find better ways of achieving their objectives.

I heard the unmistakable sound of a Harley Davidson motorcycle in the car park of a business that I'm currently working with. It reminded me of the incredible transformation story of this company.

This Kenyan tea and coffee producer has paved the way to growth with diversification into retail and is cutting costs by generating its own electricity.

Just look at the international growth of chains such as Starbucks and it seems that coffee has entered a truly golden era. In the 12 months to September 2011, world coffee exports increased by 9.4 percent to a historical record of 103 million bags – or over 6 million tonnes!

At the hub of Iraq's oil and gas infrastructure regeneration, SCOP shows how complex engineering projects can be delivered in a challenging environment through innovative contracting and creative partnership models.

Joseph Otieno, acting managing director, discusses how KVM, and Kenya as a whole, is attracting the interest of some of the planet’s most recognisable players in the automotive industry.

Chief commercial officer Danie du Toit talks about a phase of expansion at South African coach services company Intercape, and the latest luxurious addition to the Sleepliner fleet.

Dan Cartwright, president of Walter Energy’s Canadian operations, talks about developing reserves of a material that society can neither do without, nor replace.

Prospecting for natural resources is such a hit and miss affair that finding anything must come as a great relief. When new deposits of coal are found to consist of metallurgical rather than thermal grades, however, the champagne really starts to flow.

Andrew Pellizarri, general manager of Flinders Logistics and Peter Cheers, general manager of Flinders Adelaide Container Terminal, discuss how Flinders Ports has adapted to evolve.

The announcement comes as a time when global airlines have been increasing their levels of cooperation in the face of rising fuel prices. Reacting to the news, analysts state that it shows that Singapore Airlines, the second biggest airline in the world, is backing Virgin to counter the threat Qantas poses in Asia’s lucrative aviation market.

The New York Stock Exchange will be closed today and potentially tomorrow as Hurricane Sandy threatens to unleash unprecedented havoc on the US east coast.

We generally think of hurricane season as affecting Florida and the Caribbean in August and September. It’s not something readily associated with New York City in October.

This is, in fact, the first time since Hurricane Gloria in September 1985 that the stock market has closed for a full day because of the weather.