SAP and the Habit of Winning

At the risk of sounding tautological, successful industry leadership – winning in business – hinges heavily on the habit of being a successful industry leader, an habitual winner.

Steve Jobs said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower,” and according to Bill Gates, “as we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” Both are smart guys who’ve achieved considerable business success.

Another smart guy with an impressive business track record is SAP co-CEO Bill McDermott. He’s helped SAP grow to 60,000 employees, $20 billion in revenue, and 200,000 customers.

In a recent Forbes interview, McDermott had this to say about leadership and winning, “Top CEOs have a relentless will to succeed. […] CEOs should put winning in the minds of their associates and define what winning is because it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. In business you are your record […] a culture focused on long-term sustainable winning is unbeatable.”

McDermott must practice what he preaches. SAP’s recognition for industry leadership in 2012 is both admirable and enviable:

Forbes Names SAP Most Innovative Companies 2012

SAP Ranks 84 on InformationWeek 500 in 2012

SAP Ranked Revenue Leader in Warehouse Management Systems Software by ARC Advisory Group

SAP Positioned as Leader in Leading Industry Analyst Firm’s 2012 Data Quality Tools Magic Quadrant

SAP Named a Leader in Advanced Data Visualization by Independent Research Firm

SAP Positioned in Leaders Quadrant for Salesforce Automation

SAP Named Worldwide Market Share Leader for Business Intelligence

SAP Positioned in Leading Industry Analyst Firm’s Leaders Quadrant for ERP for Midmarket Companies

SAP Named a Leader in Application Infrastructure Magic Quadrants

SAP Recognized as Employer of Choice in U.S. and Canada

SAP Named a Self-Service Business Intelligence Leader by Independent Research Firm