I co-founded our family business when I was a 19-year-old student. That was the beginning of what is now an amazing 40 years in business, reinventing it regularly and riding the ups and downs of several economic cycles.
We’ve become a top-tier vendor to our national retailers and over the years have also developed long-lasting relationships with some of the world’s largest retailers, including Walmart, Target USA, Carrefour, and Auchan. Our longevity is underpinned by our mantra of always adding value to our team and partners by following three simple steps:
- Ask them what they want
- Go get it
- Give it to them
Our success fueled a deeper sense of responsibility, inspiring us to leverage our achievements to create a meaningful impact on others.
Making a life by what we give, not what we get
In 2009, our 14-year-old daughter, Steph, was denied a life-changing school trip to Cambodia to volunteer with disadvantaged rural families. We decided to embrace the opportunity ourselves and traveled to Cambodia as a family, volunteering to teach English at a rural school in Siem Reap province.
Those two weeks changed the course of our lives and the lives of thousands of rural Cambodian students and their families. We returned to volunteer several more times and, in 2011, founded the Cambodia Rural Students Trust NGO (CRST) with the vision of educating future leaders.
CRST is a unique NGO because it’s entirely led and managed by our students. Through formal education, extensive mentoring, and opportunities to gain practical skills, the students of CRST lead projects in areas as diverse as women’s empowerment, energy poverty, social inequity, and environmental degradation, reaching thousands of beneficiaries annually.
Leadership starts with you
As a business leader, I know it’s my responsibility to mentor the next generation to empower themselves, so they can lead with authenticity and impact. While each team member is driven by their own passion, all are eager to learn new skills to become the best they can be. At CRST, we mentor our students that leadership is a set of responsibilities anyone can learn, practice, and own. At the core of genuine leadership are key concepts including vision, passion, compassion, and commitment.
Vision
Share your vision, don’t sell your dream—sharing your vision empowers the team. Articulate your vision clearly so everyone can see what’s in it for all stakeholders, including them. A team member who walks the journey is the best advocate to promote your vision—they may have the shoes, but they’re walking in them.
Passion
Passion is powerful, and leaders must be passionate about their leadership and outcomes. Beyond achievement, passion sustains us when things don’t go to plan. Aligning purpose with passion creates a cycle of empowerment and inspiration.
Compassion
Compassion is awareness of others’ needs and the desire to take action to help them thrive. Compassion connects us on commonalities, raising everyone as the tide rises.
Commitment
Commitment is the determination to stick it out no matter what. When people are part of the process, they feel ownership and commitment, which builds trust and collaboration.
The vision becomes a reality
By learning and practicing the fundamentals of leadership, CRST students empower themselves and their families, moving from poverty to middle class in eight years. From rice fields to world-leading organizations, from fishing boats to boardrooms, and from small jobs to government ministries, leadership empowers you to become the person you aspire to be. Once you master self-leadership, you unlock the potential to inspire and guide others to reach new heights.
Our experiences have reshaped the way I approach life and business with a greater focus on purpose, empathy, and the lasting impact of our actions on people and the world around us.
Aviv Palti is the CEO of homewares company, Lifestyle Brands International.