We recently attended the World Business Forum held in Sydney in May. The forum is held annually and is an opportunity to hear and discuss the ideas, trends and innovations that are shaping the global business landscape.

Among the speakers were a range of business ‘gurus’ including Michael Porter (Professor, Harvard Business School), Lyn Heward (CEO, Cirque du Soleil), Gary Hamel (London Business School and author of What Matters Now), Randi Zucherberg (Zucherberg Media), George Kohlreiser (author of Hostage at the Table), and Kevin Roberts (CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi). Among the topics of discussion were:

• Creativity in Business
• Creative Leadership
• Strategy
• Management Innovation
• Big Data
• Execution
• The Power of Social Media
• Leadership
• The Global Economic Future

Michael Porter spoke about the significant change that is occurring in how businesses are thinking about corporate and social responsibility. Businesses have realised that social responsibility is no longer a cost to the business but is in fact a driver of profitability. Business leaders need to consider their businesses products and services and the role they play in society. Businesses create wealth by meeting important needs at a profit. The more we do in business to contribute to society and community — create shared value — the more profit we are able to generate. Think about how you can align your business values with the client’s and with society, because how you create shared value can be at the centre of your business strategy. Business has the greatest power to change the world!

Kevin Roberts’ presented on how to drive creativity in your business. According to Kevin we now live in the age of the idea — a VUCA World. That is a world that is Vibrant, Unreal, Crazy and Astounding. The businesses that will win have lots of good ideas, not necessarily the big idea, and cultures with the most ideas will be the cultures that thrive and win. We need to change our cultures from roles and responsibilities to learning, excitement and joy. The key role of the business leader today is to allow ideas to flourish; it’s not about information — we are drowning in it — it’s about inspiration! Your language is what gets people to change/join revolutions. The three keys to business success are strategy, execution and IDEAS. Take those ideas and turn them  into solutions; that is the essence of creativity. His thoughts on execution?Eliminate unproductive activity — emails, meetings, travel — and focus on making things happen rather than on getting things done and measuring results. As Winston Churchill said, “Success is the ability to move from one failure to another without the loss of enthusiasm”.

We have attached the link to the website if you are interested to delve deeper. Or we can provide an overview for you at some time in the future, get in touch for a chat. World Business Forum is held annually. Let us know if you’re interested in attending next year!

World Business Forum: www.wbfsydney.com