The Future of Management

Building a Better World: ultimate mission and brand value. Motivational ...

2011-11-15T08:14:00.000-08:00

Change your life and strengthen your business. Building a Better Business by building a better world. Show how you make a difference in the lives of your customers, clients, consumers. Leadership - motivational leadership styles, leadership skills, leadership quotes, management tools. Biggest ethical test for every culture and every nation: creating a better world, improving life for people. Core value to drive every political debate, underwrites all laws, basis of all team leadership impossible to lead effectively for long without this principle: will the world be a better place as a result of this activity or not? Key to management, marketing, brands, branding, corporate image, reputation and motivation. Applies to leadership and team management in every industry including banks, banking, retail, communication, technology, phone companies, logistics, travel, tourism, freight, manufacturing, health care, pharmaceutical industry, innovation, product development, research, construction, real estate investment, fund management, investment banking and energy, transport and aviation. Whose world? Fundamental principle. If everyone or every business followed this example, would the world be a better place? Define better and world. Example in pharmaceutical industry failure to adequately protect their own patents and intellectual capital in face of public criticism about global health inequalities and social justice. Failure by pharma industry to win the better world argument in media. The most important promise of every business: we will make life better at a price you can afford. Human resources, team motivation, staff engagement and customer engagement. Impact on marketing and customer relationship management, customer satisfaction surveys. How to win war for talent, encourage recruitment, reduce staff turnover, increase staff retention. Executive education and staff training in leadership. The purpose: deliver on the promise. Profit comes from delivering on the promise. Part of keynote on the $40 trillion green tech revolution which could transform the future of our planet, with innovations that will provide answers to global warming if rolled out on a large enough scale. Impact of technologies already available in energy industry, water conservation, carbon reduction, recycling, power transmission over long distances, alternative power generation, buildings management. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Patrick Dixon -- author of SustainAgility book, lecture for Suez Environmental global leadership team.

2011-11-11T05:26:00.000-08:00

Innovation means doing things differently to serve customers better. How to innovate and why all innovation is about divergence not convergence. Innovation that simply imitates competitors, product features, design or brand elements, just means that all products and services look identical in every way, which means you can only differentiate yourself from competition based on price. Long term sustainable competitive advantage will always come from finding new ways to excell, exceed customer expectations. Technigues for innovation including open innovation and crowdsourcing using wikipedia type models to solve complex innovation challenges. How to encourage innovative teams and processes. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Patrick Dixon - lecture at Hermes client event for UK retailers on retail industry trends.

Five seconds to win a customer. Moments of Truth: Future Trends in Retai...

2011-11-09T11:01:00.000-08:00

Why every second counts in retail - and how companies lose customers faster than they realise. Vital trends for the future of retailing from Futurist keynote speaker Patrick Dixon. Marketing and selling to customers should be fast, easy, convenient and satisfying. Keep your customers happy, listen to them, keep close to how they are really thinking about your products and services. In a time-poor world, customers are increasingly fed up with companies that waste time, make them wait, keep them on hold, make them stand in line. Premium customers expect instant service, rapid help, total commitment, expert advice and 100% delivery on your promises.

How to win customers! Better Call-Centres, What is CRM? Customer service...

2011-11-09T09:46:00.000-08:00

Future marketing, brands and campaigns -- keynote speaker and Futurist Patrick Dixon. Future trends in the retail industry, presentation for UK clients of Hermes. Targetting customers in a world which is overloaded with marketing messages. What is CRM - customer relationship management. How to run call centres to win sales, improve customer satisfaction and engagement, customer loyalty, retention and reduce numbers of complaints. How many corporations are blind to unmet customer needs, lacking true insight into how customers actually feel about how they are being treated. Most executives hate robot automated answering systems when they are customers themselves, yet are happy to alienate their own customers by forcing them to use exactly the same technologies. Why the tone of voice on the end of the phone is one of your most important brand elements, for companies who never physically meet their customers - or rarely do so.

Creating a better world -- Tetrapak Food + Drink Packaging innovation - ...

2011-11-05T05:37:00.000-07:00

How Tetrapak food and drink packaging is creating a better future for consumers across the world, particularly in low income, emerging nations, saving lives and providing healthy food which needs no refrigeration. Motivational keynote speech by Patrick Dixon for Tetrapak Global Leadership Team. Food and Drink industry trends.

When the job becomes a mission, job satisfaction, making a difference - ...

2011-07-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

Lessons from non-profit organisations like the AIDS agency ACET, volunteer groups, charities and foundations, and passions for future of our wider world, issues, activism, campaigns, environment, global warming. Improve job satisfaction and staff engagement in your teams. Surveys of motivation, workplace engagement, wanting to find purpose at work. Mid-life crisis, passion for work, work-life balance and family life, hobbies, personal interests. Satisfaction and morale at work in public satisfaction. Public sector workers, business workplace and lessons for leaders, team managers. Video by Patrick Dixon, conference keynote speaker for Welsh Parliament public sector workers, doctors, nurses, council workers, teachers, non-profit workers, social workers.

Getting better balance in your life - at work and home. Work-life time m...

2011-07-23T03:57:00.000-07:00

Relationships and family -- work-life balance is number one or two priority. Child-care, child support, juggling responsibilities. Work-life balance surveys, stress on female workers, mothers with young children. Impact of worcoholic parents on family life. Long hours impact on personal health. Patrick Dixon keynote speaker for Welsh Parliament

Vital lessons for all leaders from volunteering, non-profit foundations....

2011-07-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

Lessons from non-profit organisations, volunteer groups, charities and foundations, and passions for future of our wider world, issues, activism, campaigns, environment, global warming. Improve job satisfaction and staff engagement in your teams. Surveys of motivation, workplace engagement, wanting to find purpose at work. Mid-life crisis, passion for work, work-life balance and family life, hobbies, personal interests. Satisfaction and morale at work in public satisfaction. Public sector workers, business workplace and lessons for leaders, team managers. Video by Patrick Dixon, conference keynote speaker for Welsh Parliament public sector workers, doctors, nurses, council workers, teachers, non-profit workers, social workers. Human resources. Management training programme. Connect with passion -- mind, body and spirit. Passion to make a difference. Purpose and meaning in life comes from sense of calling and destiny, contributing to the lives of other people. Secret of personal happiness -- friends, relationships, spirituality, optimistic frame of mind.

Here Comes Radical Change: Future of Public Services, Demographics -- Ke...

2011-07-21T12:24:00.000-07:00

Patrick Dixon -- conference keynote speaker -- impact of demographics, birth rates, youth, urban migration and immigration, life expectancy forecasts. All impact demand for public services, health care budgets, community services, demand for education, need for schools. Presentation for Welsh Parliament to public sector workers -- police officers, fire service, local councils, municipal authorities, teachers, social workers, health visitors, care assistants, community officers, health and safety advisors, government contractors and service providers. Changing culture, challenging structures and attitudes. Practical leadership lessons in change management for public sector workers. Team leadership and motivation to change working practices, encourage efficiency, cost savings, better standards, improved output and service impact.

How to change your world! Manage teams, transform public sector workers:...

2011-07-21T11:53:00.000-07:00

How to make things happen. Personal story from cancer doctor to starting an international AIDS charity, to bringing change inside large organisations. Successes and failures and how we learn from them. Patrick Dixon -- conference keynote speaker -- presentation for Welsh Parliament to public sector workers -- police officers, fire service, local councils, municipal authorities, teachers, social workers, health visitors, care assistants, community officers, health and safety advisors, government contractors and service providers. Changing culture, challenging structures and attitudes. Story of ACET -- AIDS Care Education and Training and how Patrick Dixon started the AIDS organization as a care programme from home. How the NHS (health service) and social services in UK failed people living with HIV, affected by AIDS. Practical leadership lessons in change management for public sector workers. Team leadership and motivation to change working practices.

How to market using social media. Rules for social networking. Give info...

2011-07-21T01:17:00.000-07:00

Social media, using social networks to market products and services. Take hold of your future: emotions. Leadership training, motivational speaker. Patrick Dixon biography, bio, cv - ranked one of world's 20 most influential business thinkers alive today (Thinkers 50 2005) Great events change people: 4,500 event organisers(MPI. Keynote conference speaker (MPI).Future corporate events: motivational leadership programmes, executive education, team development, innovation seminars, strategy workshops, consumer groups, marketing forums, competitor analysis think tanks, team building exercises and motivational client events. Effective management depends on great communication of leadership vision, mission and strategy. Future of banks, banking, insurance, health, technology, social media, advertising, telecom, mobile phones, smartphones, e-commerce, retail, manufacturing, logistics, supply chain management, oil industry, energy, environment, green tech, pharmaceutical industry, education, government trends, regulation, compliance, human resources. Conference organisation and event planning.

How (not) to do video calls: virtual teams management advice - Leadershi...

2011-07-20T07:55:00.000-07:00

Video calls, virtual teams and virtual organisations. How to communicate effectively on video calls. Customer + team passion, change management - leadership styles to change teams, structures, processes, organisations, businesses. Take hold of your future: emotions. Lessons from the past in trends analysis, growth strategies, leadership training, motivational speaker. Patrick Dixon biography, bio, cv - ranked one of world's 20 most influential business thinkers alive today (Thinkers 50 2005) Great events change people: 4,500 event organisers(MPI. Keynote conference speaker (MPI).Future corporate events: motivational leadership programmes, executive education, team development, innovation seminars, strategy workshops, consumer groups, marketing forums, competitor analysis think tanks, team building exercises and motivational client events.

Does your CEO really care about business growth strategy? Leadership Mot...

2011-07-20T01:40:00.000-07:00

From Villain to Hero: Improve Corporate Image, Social Media Profile, Pow...

2011-07-19T09:29:00.000-07:00

How NOT to motivate teams, companies - BIG mistakes and how to avoid. Le...

2011-07-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

Great leadership speeches - connect with audience passion. How to give world-class powerpoint presentations using Powerpoint 2007, Powerpoint 2011, on PC or Mac. How to wow your audience as CEO or Chairman at an annual corporate event. How to win customers and communicate vision at corporate events. How to structure your presentation, using embedded videos, images, multimedia content. Common powerpoint mistakes. Death by Powerpoint. How to lose audience attention. How to make a speech and how to give a world-class lecture. How to prepare a talk. How to communicate with an audience. How to overcome stage fright and stage nerves before giving a speech. Customer + team passion, change management - leadership styles to change teams, structures, processes, organisations, businesses. Take hold of your future: emotions. Lessons from the past in trends analysis, growth strategies, leadership training, motivational speaker. Patrick Dixon biography, bio, cv - ranked one of world's 20 most influential business thinkers alive today (Thinkers 50 2005) Great events change people: 4,500 event organisers(MPI. Keynote conference speaker (MPI).

Get a Life! Work-Life Balance, Passion at Work and Home, Motivational Le...

2011-07-19T03:37:00.000-07:00

Passion Will Drive the Future. Team Leadership, Motivational Management ...

2011-07-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

Customer + team passion, change management - leadership styles to change teams, structures, processes, organisations, businesses. Take hold of your future: emotions. Lessons from the past in trends analysis, growth strategies, leadership training, motivational speaker. Patrick Dixon biography, bio, cv - ranked one of world's 20 most influential business thinkers alive today (Thinkers 50 2005) Great events change people: 4,500 event organisers(MPI. Keynote conference speaker (MPI).Future corporate events: motivational leadership programmes, executive education, team development, innovation seminars, strategy workshops, consumer groups, marketing forums, competitor analysis think tanks, team building exercises and motivational client events. Effective management depends on great communication of leadership vision, mission and strategy. Future of banks, banking, insurance, health, technology, social media, advertising, telecom, mobile phones, smartphones, e-commerce, retail, manufacturing, logistics, supply chain management, oil industry, energy, environment, green tech, pharmaceutical industry, education, government trends, regulation, compliance, human resources. Conference organisation and event planning. Great leadership speeches, motivational tools for team leadership, and how to communicate with large audiences. Change management, business transformation and vision building. Video by keynote conference speaker and Futurist Patrick Dixon. How to motivate business leaders for high performance, profitability and shareholder value. Industry trends for successful events in banking, banks, financial services, investments and fund management, insurance, retail, manufacturing, logistics, services, advertising brands, marketing, aviation, travel, transport, tourism, construction and real estate, government and non profit organisations, energy, sustainability, sustainable innovation, green technology, open innovation, crowdsourcing, outsourcing, food and drink / beverages, fast-moving goods (FMG), IT and communications, mobile phones, smart phones, satellite, entertainment industry, music industry, media, public relatiions, human resources, change management, strategy, risk management and other sectors. Secrets of successful corporate events, and how to give a great, inspiring, uplifting, encouraging, powerful CEO keynote speech. Effective executive education, programme development and manager training. Work-life balance and workplace motivation, leadership styles and team building. Staff retention, motivation, recruitment and talent development. University degree courses, MBAs and career progression. Why staging, lighting, theatre and performance really matter in successful corporate events. Videoconferencing, virtual teams, virtual working and virtual organisations why most people do not like videoconferencing and how to make video interviews or presentations work in conference programmes. How to create and deliver great lectures using powerpoint and other technology. Innovation and creativity in conference planning or business school programmes. Impact of global warming, climate change and energy prices on demand for corporate events, corporate travel and event location. Secrets of great event production, staging and use of multimedia. Presentation by keynote conference speaker, author and broadcaster Patrick Dixon author of Sustainagility, Building a Better Business and Futurewise.

Change Management: Make it Happen. Leadership Methods and Styles. Motiva...

2011-07-18T09:16:00.000-07:00

Change management - leadership styles to change teams, structures, processes, organisations, businesses. Take hold of your future: my personal story as a Futurist. Lessons from the past in trends analysis, growth strategies, leadership training, motivational speaker. Patrick Dixon biography, bio, cv - ranked one of world's 20 most influential business thinkers alive today (Thinkers 50 2005) Great events change people: 4,500 event organisers(MPI. Keynote conference speaker (MPI).Future corporate events: motivational leadership programmes, executive education, team development, innovation seminars, strategy workshops, consumer groups, marketing forums, competitor analysis think tanks, team building exercises and motivational client events. Effective management depends on great communication of leadership vision, mission and strategy. Future of banks, banking, insurance, health, technology, social media, advertising, telecom, mobile phones, smartphones, e-commerce, retail, manufacturing, logistics, supply chain management, oil industry, energy, environment, green tech, pharmaceutical industry, education, government trends, regulation, compliance, human resources. Conference organisation and event planning. Great leadership speeches, motivational tools for team leadership, and how to communicate with large audiences. Change management, business transformation and vision building. Video by keynote conference speaker and Futurist Patrick Dixon. How to motivate business leaders for high performance, profitability and shareholder value. Industry trends for successful events in banking, banks, financial services, investments and fund management, insurance, retail, manufacturing, logistics, services, advertising brands, marketing, aviation, travel, transport, tourism, construction and real estate, government and non profit organisations, energy, sustainability, sustainable innovation, green technology, open innovation, crowdsourcing, outsourcing, food and drink / beverages, fast-moving goods (FMG), IT and communications, mobile phones, smart phones, satellite, entertainment industry, music industry, media, public relatiions, human resources, change management, strategy, risk management and other sectors. Secrets of successful corporate events, and how to give a great, inspiring, uplifting, encouraging, powerful CEO keynote speech. Effective executive education, programme development and manager training. Work-life balance and workplace motivation, leadership styles and team building. Staff retention, motivation, recruitment and talent development. University degree courses, MBAs and career progression. Why staging, lighting, theatre and performance really matter in successful corporate events. Videoconferencing, virtual teams, virtual working and virtual organisations why most people do not like videoconferencing and how to make video interviews or presentations work in conference programmes. How to create and deliver great lectures using powerpoint and other technology. Innovation and creativity in conference planning or business school programmes. Impact of global warming, climate change and energy prices on demand for corporate events, corporate travel and event location. Secrets of great event production, staging and use of multimedia. Presentation by keynote conference speaker, author and broadcaster Patrick Dixon author of Sustainagility, Building a Better Business and Futurewise.

Leadership Blindness! See Future more Clearly. Trends Analysis, Growth S...

2011-07-18T05:42:00.000-07:00

Take hold of your future: my personal story as a Futurist. Lessons from the past in trends analysis, growth strategies, leadership training, motivational speaker. Patrick Dixon biography, bio, cv - ranked one of world's 20 most influential business thinkers alive today (Thinkers 50 2005) Great events change people: 4,500 event organisers(MPI. Keynote conference speaker (MPI).Future corporate events: motivational leadership programmes, executive education, team development, innovation seminars, strategy workshops, consumer groups, marketing forums, competitor analysis think tanks, team building exercises and motivational client events. Effective management depends on great communication of leadership vision, mission and strategy. Future of banks, banking, insurance, health, technology, social media, advertising, telecom, mobile phones, smartphones, e-commerce, retail, manufacturing, logistics, supply chain management, oil industry, energy, environment, green tech, pharmaceutical industry, education, government trends, regulation, compliance, human resources. Conference organisation and event planning. Great leadership speeches, motivational tools for team leadership, and how to communicate with large audiences. Change management, business transformation and vision building. Video by keynote conference speaker and Futurist Patrick Dixon. How to motivate business leaders for high performance, profitability and shareholder value. Industry trends for successful events in banking, banks, financial services, investments and fund management, insurance, retail, manufacturing, logistics, services, advertising brands, marketing, aviation, travel, transport, tourism, construction and real estate, government and non profit organisations, energy, sustainability, sustainable innovation, green technology, open innovation, crowdsourcing, outsourcing, food and drink / beverages, fast-moving goods (FMG), IT and communications, mobile phones, smart phones, satellite, entertainment industry, music industry, media, public relatiions, human resources, change management, strategy, risk management and other sectors. Secrets of successful corporate events, and how to give a great, inspiring, uplifting, encouraging, powerful CEO keynote speech. Effective executive education, programme development and manager training. Work-life balance and workplace motivation, leadership styles and team building. Staff retention, motivation, recruitment and talent development. University degree courses, MBAs and career progression. Why staging, lighting, theatre and performance really matter in successful corporate events. Videoconferencing, virtual teams, virtual working and virtual organisations why most people do not like videoconferencing and how to make video interviews or presentations work in conference programmes. How to create and deliver great lectures using powerpoint and other technology. Innovation and creativity in conference planning or business school programmes. Impact of global warming, climate change and energy prices on demand for corporate events, corporate travel and event location. Secrets of great event production, staging and use of multimedia. Presentation by keynote conference speaker, author and broadcaster Patrick Dixon author of Sustainagility, Building a Better Business and Futurewise.

Leadership, Motivation, Marketing, Selling: Future will be driven by 1 t...

2011-06-27T07:33:00.000-07:00

Future of your business and world will be driven by emotion more than innovation, technology, science, demographics or other indsutry megatrends. Consumer passion, customer delight, workplace loyalty and team spirit. All leadership appeals to mind and emotion. Health, care, product design, service delivery, history and politics. Activism and activist political movements. Future marketing, sales teams, customer engagement and customer relationship management. New business opportunities in products and services. Motivational conference keynote speaker videos on leadership styles, change management issues. Business executive education. Seminar.

How to be a great leader - secrets of motivational leadership to make th...

2011-05-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

Secrets of leadership, change management and turning strategy into reality. Small business leadership and multinationals. Team leadership, organograms and organizational structures. Leadership crisis, and how to develop strong leadership. Motivational leadership, and why motivation matters. Leadership in a crisis. Leadership to command attention, win trust, connect with passion. Leadership ethics and values, leadership development. Business and not-for-profit leadership. Why all people can show leadership depending on situation Dealing with conflict in leadership teams. Integrity, ethics and values in leaders. Video by Futurist Patrick Dixon, author of Futurewise and Building a Better Business. Making a difference and creating a better world

How to improve your work-life balance - World Women's Day

2011-05-11T09:37:00.000-07:00

Work-life balance -- how to improve balance at work -- lecture on World Women's Day for European Commission by conference keynote speaker Patrick Dixon. Work - life balance now priority for majority of executives in many nations. How to deal with awkward boss -- and get the career balance you want. Barriers to work-life balance. Virtual teams, remote working and homeworkers. How to get better balance in personal and family life. Children and parents. Friends and career direction. Job choices, workplace motivation and winning war for talent. Attracting and keeping best people. Part-time working and gender equality and discrimination. Feminisation of workplace. Balancing dual careers. Women outperforming men and business school, college and junior management. Macho office culture. Human resources and personnel issues. Employment law and legislation. Insensitivity and lack of emotional intelligence. Promotion of incompetent male workers. Patrick Dixon, conference keynote speaker and futurist. Quality of life, working hours regulations in EU legislation. Practical ways to improve your working life.

Leadership Ethics and Corruption -- EU Commission lecture

2011-05-11T07:58:00.000-07:00

What is ethical leadership? How do we encourage integrity and fight corruption? At this session and afterwards, many participants confessed that they had been under significant pressure by bosses to do major things that they thought were unethical. Keynote conference speaker Patrick Dixon -- lecture at European Commission. Why leadership has to be based on trust, not just position, appealing to heart as well as to mind. Importance of the European Commission and trans-national regulation. Trust crisis in banking and financial services as well as in politicians, governments and the European Union. How to restore trust and public confidence in political process, parties, elections and democracy itself. How trust can be lost instantly in media, web, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and other social media -- eg dioxin food contamination scandal -- Belgium and impact on Italy, and failure of agricultural ministers to win media debate. Leadership must connect with passion: things we feel strongly about, that really matter, that make a big difference. Eg debate on ethics of food-linked biofuels and burning food in vehicles, impact on global food prices, food riots, international security, connecting oil, food and land prices. Researching my book The Truth about Westminster and UK political system, and how political system can compromise integrity. Tension between civil servants and government ministers -- secret confessions. Lack of integrity, dishonesty of many political campaigns with rare reversals of legislation after winning power: truth that in many EU nations most politicians agree on most things. Death of left wing and right wing divides and rise of single issue campaigns / pressure groups / activists. Compliance with EU regulation only part of story -- cannot protect corporation brand or media image against media attack if regulations seen to be in need of updating. Example: bribes were totally legal in some EU nations until recently -- tax deductible expenses. Now bribery is outlawed, no defence to say that bribes paid in the past were ethical because legal and compliant with auditing regulations at the time. So Ethical Leadership must go far beyond current laws to what we believe is morally right, not hiding behind what is permitted. Core ethic: building a better world. Basis of every effective leadership speech and leadership stye. Hitler, Stalin, Roosevelt, JF Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill - the ultimate leadership speech. Even evil leaders appeal to "better world" ethics in their rhetoric with an audience. Trust means demonstrating that we are willing to put what is right ahead of self-interest. Dangers in European Commission due to size, power, golden handcuffs and difficulty in moving to careers outside commission. Organisations that people cannot easily leave are usually corrupt -- history shows -- because power is harder to defy, fear, intimidation. Why true leadership never comes from position alone: elections for President of the World? Nelson Mandela usually nominated first. He has no office or official status yet is universally respected as a moral authority. People who cannot be owned, bought or controlled, who are driven by high moral principles are usually greatly respected, even feared.
Example negotiating better work-life balance with reluctant workaholic boss. Breaking free from economic slavery. Need to be prepared to leave an organisation to be a free spirit, otherwise constant risk of compromise. Developing an exit strategy as part of retaining own freedom to act against lack of integrity.Astonishing audience question: "In your experience have you EVER come across an organisation that you think is ethical" (!)Personal story of standing up to being bullied at work to do unethical things, and standing ground.We did anonymous electronic polling during this presentation which showed significant pressures within the senior levels of the European Commission to act in unethical ways on major as well as minor decisions, and that it is difficult for senior managers to know what to do, who to tell in such situations. How to win through when under ethical pressure: power of example. Power of the 80:20 rule. Winning respect, gaining influence and creating space for others to do the right thing.

Future of Fund Management: banks, pensions, trust, banking crisis and in...

2011-02-26T06:05:00.000-08:00

How to be a great leader - secrets of motivational leadership to make th...

2011-02-26T06:03:00.000-08:00

Sustainagility: innovation will help save world. Sustainable business future

2010-05-07T04:16:00.000-07:00

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video

Environment, innovation, agility, business. Video of Patrick Dixon at Globe Forum 2009. Sustainable business and how green technology will help sustainability, climate change, global warming, water shortages, food shortages, transport, energy, fuel, cities. Future aviation, travel, rail, cars, tourism, corporate travel, heating, lighting, heat pumps. Solar cells, wind power, biofuels, alternatiive energy generation. Future of coil, oil, gas and nuclear power. Electric vehicles. Green living. Protecting rainforests. Why climate change and other sustainability issues can be solved. Costs of global warming action. Marketing of green tech. Open innovation and crowdsourcing. Leadership of business and government. Government regulation, politics and political agreement. Activists and campaigning.

Click here for more

Future of Food and Drink Industry conference keynote speaker

2008-06-22T04:55:00.000-07:00

Future of food prices. Reasons for high wheat prices -- Australia drought, emerging markets, more people eating meat, biofuels etc. Food emotions in consumers and food scares -- product recalls. Debate over use of food, food for fuel, food dumping, subsidised foods, animal welfare, pesticides and fungicides. Customer focus in food and drink industry. Role of media in revelation. Dioxin scare in Belgium -- impact on Italy. Food for health and prevention of disease. Genetically modified food for increased yields. Land use changes and government farming subsidies -- GAT and trade barriers for food import. Ban on food exports and food riots. Image of food and winning trust of consumers. Impact of large retail chains on retail food and drink markets. Impact of urbanisation in China, India and Africa. Growth of global food market. Impact of rising food prices (wheat, soya, rice) on poorest consumers leading to political unrest, and possible changes in government. Huge impact of energy industry on food prices with biofuel industry growth. Future of farming and food dumping. Sustainability and sustainable food production. Food production efficiency and use of fertilisers. Futurist video by Patrick Dixon, conference keynote speaker for Irish Food Board -- Bord Bia.
Food industry, drink, consumer, rice, wheat, soya, farming, biofuels, market, emerging, trade barriers, shortage, riots, conflict, gm, retail, customers

Paperless office? Future of paper newspapers magazines books

2008-06-21T04:54:00.001-07:00

Paperless office -- reality. Advantages of paper -- resolution, contrast, convenience, able to write on it. Digital paper and scree resolution of electronic books. Future of plastics and competition with paper and cardboard in food and drink industry. Manufacturing demand for packaging. Resuseable cartons and recycling. Paperless office future trends? Why paperless offices slow in coming. Future of direct mail and future of paper directories. Biological reasons why paper reading speed faster than screens. Human eye bandwidth and brain processing speed. Electronic books and digital paper. Why books and other paper products will have longer life than people think. Future of paper and cardboard packaging in China, India, emerging markets, America and the EU. Impact of new technology on paper use. Newsprint market and newspaper readership trends -- decline in EU, growth in India. Use of paper and cardboard in Africa. Growth of middle class consumers. Future of newspapers, magazines and books. Paperless office trends -- reality. Paper consumption per person per year. Global market for paper. Exports newsprint from Russia, South America, India and China. Future of logistics, supply chain management, packaging and distribution. Energy costs in paper industry. Video on future of paper industry by Futurist Patrick Dixon, conference keynote speaker for Paper Industry conference in Sweden. Future of forestry and sustainable forestry -- link to paper industry. Verifiable forestry, reduction in energy use, chemical use, water use. Growth of online advertising revenues and fall of traditional advertising. Future of online newspapers and news sources. RFID technology in supply chain and intelligent packaging plus intelligent paper.
Paper industry, packaging, cardboard, recycling, forests, forestry, newspapers, magazines, books, future, sustainable, sustainability, energy, paperless, intelligent, rfid, plastics

US Immigration and War Against Terror - border security ...

2008-04-19T12:02:00.001-07:00

US immigration challenges for travellers and US home security teams. Identity confusion, identity theft, database inaccuracies, terrorist information system complexities, biometrics, passports, visas and other issues. Travel documents can be forged or stolen. Challenges for national security. Cost of border control. New technology for managing "aliens" or foreign citizens. American isolationism and risks of alienation of business travellers. Visa requirements. Advice for travellers and national government. Recent travel experience on entering US. Video by keynote conference speaker Dr Patrick Dixon, Futurist and author of 12 books on global trends including Futurewise and Building a Better Business.
Immigration, passport control, border control, homeland security, US borders, travellers, business, leisure, tourism industry, biometrics, national security, prevention terrorism

Solar panels future, energy generation and global warming

2008-04-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

Payback period of solar cells, next generation solar panel technology. Increasing solar panel efficiency. Energy generation comparison with wind power. Better insulation. Carbon emissions impact and global warming action. Government subsidies and grants, sell back to national grid, supply prices. Germany solar cell market sales future trends. Growth of solar cell manufacturing, innovation. Future of solar cells.Video by keynote conference speaker Dr Patrick Dixon, Futurist and author of 12 books on global trends including Futurewise and Building a Better Business.

Geothermal heating -- heat pumps and global warming

2008-04-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

Geothermal heat pumps to heat or cool homes. Impact on global warming replacing gas boilers, oil boilers and air conditioning systems. Same technology as fridge in home. Heat homes, tower blocks, factories, commercial buildings, real estate developments, schools, hospitals and government buildings. Energy savings. Heat exchange. Sweden heat pumps, Switzerland geothermal heating, New Zealand heat pumps. Growth of geothermal installation companies. Payback period. Annual savings. Undergound pipes. Power supply, electricity peak demand. Seasonal changes in demand. Science of geothermal heating systems. How geothermal heating works. How geothermal cooling works. Innovation in global warming reduction -- cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Size of geothermal market in Europe, America, Australia and Asia. Video by keynote conference speaker Dr Patrick Dixon, Futurist and author of 12 books on global trends including Futurewise and Building a Better Business. Heat pumps, geothermal, energy saving, carbon trading, caps, emissions, carbon dioxide, offset, offsetting, fraud, accounting, heat saving, global warming, science, heating, cooling, air conditioning

Spying at Work -- espionage, who, how, why, how to stop it

2008-04-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

Spying at work, industrial espionage, how data is stolen, data leakage, discovery before patent protection, intellectual capital theft, client data losses, blackmail of banks after penetration of data security systems, databases and confidential information. Why attacks are common. Methods used to attack corporations. Why greatest security risks are your own employees: own staff leaving or leaking information while still in your corporation. Bugging devices detection, remote listening devices. Big Brother is watching you. MI5, CIA, KGB have powers to intercept phone calls, e-mail, video, fax and data transmissions to prevent crime, terrorism and subversive activity, and similar technology can be used to target legitimate business. Data protection and confidentiality. Steps business leaders need to take to improve own security and manage risk. Rule Number 1 is be aware that greatest risks are usually internal. Video by keynote conference speaker Dr Patrick Dixon, Futurist and author of 12 books on global trends including Futurewise and Building a Better Business.
Security, data loss, intellectual capital, patents, theft, industrial espionage, threat, risk, corporations, databases,, intercept, listening devices, bugging detection, spying corporations, protection information

How to Double Your Productivity -- Leadership -- ...

2008-04-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

How to double your productivity as a leader. Leadership development, output, efficiency and team effectiveness. How to make things happen. Secrets of change management. Leadership styles. The 80 20 rule or 80:20 rule. How small things have huge impact. Focus effort, cut least productive things. Leaders waste huge efforts, money and time doing things with little impact. Examples of 80:20 rule in leadership development. Leadership training video. Management training video. How to save costs and improve bottom line profit, shareholder value and return on equity. Why productivity gains really matter and how to achieve greater efficiency. Secrets of leadership success. Video by keynote conference speaker Dr Patrick Dixon, Futurist and author of 12 books on global trends including Futurewise and Building a Better Business.
Leadership, styles, productivity, success, change management, team impact, efficiency, cost reduction, profitability, business success, leaders, focus, customer, productivity, Patrick dixon

Can you see the future? Institutional Blindness

2008-04-07T05:04:00.000-07:00

Future trends analysis. Risk management. Institutional blindness in corporations and business strategy. Innovation and business opportunity needs out of the box thinking. Future trends methods. Methodology or system for global trends analysis. Research into future. How to understand trends. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Managing speed of change - risk management - leadership

2008-04-06T05:02:00.000-07:00

Speed of change. Change management. Leadership styles and decisions. Web marketing. Online sales. Impatient consumers and consumer choices. Rapid innovation. Business profit. Agility in teams. Contingencies. Managing uncertainty and risk management. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

People do crazy things under pressure - consumers + managers

2008-04-05T05:01:00.000-07:00

People do crazy things under pressure. Executives, consumers, shareholders, clients, workers all act irrationally, with emotion. Understand consumer choices. Win team loyalty and war for talent. Irrational and illogical customer decisions. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Risk management - wild cards - high impact, unlikely events

2008-04-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

High impact unlikely events. Impact on future business strategy. Leadership and change management. Managing uncertainty and rapid change. Insuring risk and risk management in business. Contingency planning. Leadership styles and decisions. Web marketing. Online sales. Impatient consumers and consumer choices. Rapid innovation. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Market research - how to get great results

2008-04-03T04:59:00.000-07:00

Trust, corporate image, brand, reputational risk, managing public relations. For banks and insurers trust is all you have to sell. Why consumer confidence and client relationship really matters. Why trust and business reputation takes 25 years to build yet can be lost with negative media in a day. Marketing, advertising messages. Negative media coverage. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Trust is the most important thing you sell

2008-04-02T04:58:00.000-07:00

Demographic impact on your business and world

2008-04-01T04:57:00.000-07:00

1 billion children will be new consumers. Demographic explosion in India and ageing population in China , Europe and Japan. Huge market growth. Beijing shortage of children. Young workforce in India so competitive advantage. Future trends. Social, political and economic challenge. War for talent challenge. 25 year impact. Urban migration. Urbanisation of India, China and Africa. Rural movement to cities. Megacities in Asia. Infrastucture challenges, water, roads, sanitation, transport, roads, rail, energy and power stations. Shortage of commodities -- copper, steel, coal, gas, oil. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Managing uncertainty -- strategy and innovation -- ...

2008-03-31T01:32:00.001-07:00

When world changes -- how long does it take to develop new business strategy? Scenario planning vital to business success, contingencies, risk management, disruption of business, disaster planning, terrorist attacks. Global trends. September 11 and impact on aviation industry / British Airways business models. Rapid response to changes, currency crisis, political crisis. Multiple plans, dynamic leadership, flat leadership structures. Banks and insurance industry planning. Innovative thinking. Keeping business options open. Innovation in Google, experiments. Oil industry risk, fixed infrastructure investment.
Strategy, leadership, management, risk, change, trends, scenarios, planning, business, leaders, managers, Patrick, Dixon

Social and demographic / lifestyle trends -- impact on ...

2008-03-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

Need for students to understand demographic challenges, global challenges. Issues of injustice (perceived) and potential for future conflicts. Example of oil industry in Nigeria. Militant activists, moral passion, attacks, sabotage, kidnapping, security issues. Small numbers of activists will have huge power in tomorrow's world. Video on future of education, high schools, colleges, universities, curriculum, trends, syllabus, exams, assessments, business schools, MBAs, degree courses - by Dr Patrick Dixon, Futurist conference keynote speaker for NAIS.

What are we educating people for? Preparation for Life

2008-03-28T08:37:00.001-07:00

What kind of world will students and MBA participants face? Fundamental global changes. Obsession with exams, grades, syllabus and traditional methods of assessment. Need to prepare students for life challenges, for rapid change, to make wise choices with long term aims in mind. Failure of students ability to form long term relationships. Need for education on relationships, marriage, friendship, conflict resolution, anger management, communication. Romantic dream still alive in young people, teenagers. Why students are looking for answers on love and relationships. Failure of colleges and schools to teach students about relationships, obsessed with narrow view of what education is about. Secrets of long term relationship success. Divorce and relationship breakdown is major cause of failure to achieve in other areas. Teaching secrets of personal happiness and contentment. Why personal fulfilment is increasingly important in education. I am a physician and welfare of pupils is a deep concern. Ultimate purpose and meaning. Video on future of education, high schools, colleges, universities, curriculum, trends, syllabus, exams, assessments, business schools, MBAs, degree courses - by Dr Patrick Dixon, Futurist conference keynote speaker for NAIS.

Retail revolution in India

2008-03-27T04:56:00.001-07:00

150,000 chain stores in 15 years with massive growth and consolidation of mom and pop small retail outlets. Specialisation, department stores, new markets, growth of middle class, designer products, luxury goods and services, competitors to wal-mart and other supermarket chains. Emerging markets and new economies, Asia, China, India and Africa. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon

Commodity shortages, prices and emerging market growth

2008-03-26T04:55:00.000-07:00

Shortages and commodity price rises -- oil, copper, gas, coal, steel, precious metals. National interests and sovereign wealth funds. Securing supply chains for economic growth and infrastructure development. China and India demand for commodities. World market prices and forecasts for future demand. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Chemical Industry Future Trends - conference speaker

2008-03-25T04:54:00.000-07:00

European chemical industry. Consolidation, mergers, acquisitions. Logistics and infrastructure. Efficiencies and cost savings. Shipping, road haulage, trucks, containers, freight and other challenges. Manufacturing energy use. Factories, production of bulk commodities, plastics, packaging, pigments, ethylene, polyethylene, dyes, nylon, polythene, PVC, recycling, oil efficiency. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Migration, immigration and ageing crisis in Europe

2008-03-24T04:53:00.000-07:00

Falling fertility rates. Economic impact of ageing. Social policy impact on government. Pensions crisis. Older workers and rising retirement age. Migration and immigration policy -- UK and Poland, and other EU new countries. Remittances impact on emerging economies. Rising unemployment. Political tensions and ethnic tensions. Racial prejudice. Falling labour costs. Economic migrants. Pressure on public services. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Women consumers rule - female customer trends

2008-03-23T04:50:00.000-07:00

Most older consumers are women and most online sales are to women. Female consumers as pressure group and major economic force. Women and online banking. Why women own most of America and most of the UK -- living longer than men and wealth in pension funds and property. Feminisation of society, culture and business, workplace, work-life balance and emotional intelligence. Winning the war for female talent. Feminization of products and services. Niche marketing and advertising campaigns targeting women. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Outsourcing - EU, US, India, China and Central Europe

2008-03-22T04:48:00.000-07:00

Impact of low cost workers arriving in places like UK, France, Germany, Italy driving down labour charges and altering costs of manufacturing and services in Western Europe. Impact on economics of outsourcing and offshoring. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.Huge salary inflation impact for senior executives in India and China make outsourcing economics harder. Up to 100% wage inflation in China and 40% in india for experienced business leaders. Reverse outsoursing. Business efficiency and strategy needs review. Operating costs of managing outsourced operations. Why outsourcing operations can fail.

Power of Tribes - Clash of Cultures - Consumer Groups

2008-03-21T04:45:00.000-07:00

Clash of cultures, religious tribes, brands create tribes, every corporation is many tribes. Tribal inequality of wealth risks global instability, protest movements and new terrorist groups. Tribes give music, language, poetry, literature, teams, friends, neighbourhood, family, teams, communities and nations. Most businesses are tribes of tribes. Niche markets and tribalism. Tribal leadership -- leading thousands of people, motivation, inspired workers, higher productivity, people movements. Clients and customer segmentation. Political tribes, campaigns and protest groups, activists. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon

Microloans, microfinance, microcredit, banking and insurance

2008-03-20T04:44:00.000-07:00

Women's self-help groups. Microloans and microfinance schemes. Financial security. India new bank and financial institutions. Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Thailand, Africa, Asia, Latin America, Mexico. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Customer focus and call-centre disasters

2008-03-19T04:41:00.000-07:00

Call-centre disasters and why customer relationship management is often destroyed by robot answering machines. Reality check. Keeping customer focus. Customer relations. Building customer loyalty and improving customer retention programmes with better customer satisfaction scores. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Global brands, mergers and demergers future

2008-03-18T04:40:00.000-07:00

Globalisation, mega-mergers and acquisitions. Pressure to show how business units build synergy and shareholder value, or pressure by shareholders and analysts to break up global corporations. Future of large organisations. De-mergers, sell-offs, going private, superbrands. avoiding institutional shareholders. Mega brands and local culture. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Too late for outsourcing?

2008-03-17T04:34:00.000-07:00

Huge salary inflation impact for senior executives in India and China make outsourcing economics harder. Up to 100% wage inflation in China and 40% in india for experienced business leaders. Reverse outsoursing. Business efficiency and strategy needs review. Operating costs of managing outsourced operations. Why outsourcing operations can fail. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Why business has to make life better - values matter

2008-03-16T04:32:00.000-07:00

Values really matter. People want to make a difference and feel proud of who they work for. Aditya Birla example of corporate responsibility and community involvement. Increasing motivation, winning war for talent, staff and customer retention and stronger brand and corporate image. Work of AIDS charity ACET as expression of corporate responsibility. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Why business has to make life better - values matter

2008-03-15T04:28:00.000-07:00

Motivation at Work - how to increase workplace motivation

2008-03-14T04:26:00.000-07:00

Motivation at work. People don't get passionate about shareholder value or business profits or excel spreadsheets. They get passionate and motivated about challenge, great teams, vision, important goals, having fun, about family and friends, about the community and world they live in. Connect with passion and you will motivate teams to change organisation, business and world. Work-life balance, family, children. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon. Business productivity and motivating teams. Team leadership, targets, bottom line profit, increasing shareholder value. CEO speeches, annual general meetings. Publicly listed corporations. Attracting talent, retaining talent, winning the war for talent. Human resources and making a difference. Why workplace motivation depends on corporate vision, workplace passion and clear purpose. Connectedness and engagement at work. Business priorities, strategy and objectives must connect with individual passion - key to business success.

Get passion in your business - motivation at work

2008-03-13T04:23:00.000-07:00

Motivation at work. Leadership. Leadership purpose, aims, strategy and objectives. Profits and profitability. Motivation to succeed and secrets of business success. Productivity and efficiency key. Workplace morale. Team dynamics and leadership styles. Business mission and vision. Business values and office culture. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

How to make sense of the future - futurist methodology

2008-03-12T04:18:00.000-07:00

Try to predict or just respond when change happens. Mining, pharmacueutical industry etc takes very long view. Pensions crisis seen decades ago. Telecom and IT trends are often relatively obvious. Moore's Law. Power of computing. Cost of phone calls. Cost of flying and process of globalisation. Older generation knew form globalization and global communications. Internet was around in late 1970s. But Google and YouTube leaders recognise that behavior can be very hard to predict. Trends analysis. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Work - life balance in emerging economies v America and EU

2008-03-11T04:12:00.000-07:00

How work-life balance issue is changing as workers become wealthier through more than one generation. What people want from workplace. Soft issues and emotional intelligence. Purpose, meaning and motivation at work. Connecting with corporate vision and mission. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

How should global business reduce global poverty and ...

2008-03-10T04:11:00.000-07:00

Example of social impact of AIDS foundation ACET. But business generates economic growth which can also have huge impact on poverty in poorest nations. Value of assets such as property grows. International trade benefit to emerging economies. Skills transfer and skills training. Positive impact of outsourcing in global well-being. Every job lost in America or Europe creates many new jobs directly and indirectly in Asia or Africa. Some of the wealth comes back to developed nations in demand for products and services. Globalisation can bring problems but also many benefits. But non-profit organisations and foundations also have vital role. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Leadership and motivation at work - conference speaker

2008-03-09T04:10:00.000-07:00

How to lead people so they feel passionate about your corporate goals. Change management and business objectives. Connect with passion. Why people follow leaders. Leadership styles and effective leadership. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Life insurance and life expectancy -- conference speaker

2008-03-08T04:08:00.000-08:00

Life expectancy and life insurance, pensions. High net worth clients live longer -- better educated. Impact of future health care improvements. Actuarial forecasts, government planning. Government and social impact, pensions crisis and risk management. Science and research trends into longevity. Patrick Dixon, conference keynote speaker and futurist.

Construction industry trends -- conference speaker

2008-03-07T04:07:00.000-08:00

Lifetime use of carbon in buildings. Polymer concrete reduction in carbon use. Real estate development. Energy saving and construction of commercial offices, property development, factories and residential buildings. Commodity inflation. New materials, e-concrete and concrete polymers. Building techniques, architects, surveyors, planning approval and government regulartions. Life expectancy of commercial buildings. Building techniques and intelligent buildings. Retro-fitting of commercial buildings. Built-in redundancy in construction industry. Patrick Dixon, conference keynote speaker and futurist.

Innovation - conference keynote speaker Patrick Dixon

2008-03-06T04:06:00.000-08:00

Future of innovation, trends, change management and business success. Managing organisations. Future leadership styles. Speed of change. Change management. Leadership styles and decisions. Web marketing. Online sales. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Work-life balance or life-life balance? -- conference ...

2008-03-05T04:02:00.000-08:00

Work - life balance now priority for majority of executives in many nations. How to get better balance in personal and family life. Children and parents. Friends and career direction. Job choices, workplace motivation and winning war for talent. Attracting and keeping best people. Part-time working and gender equality. Feminisation of workplace. Women outperforming men and business school, college and junior management. Macho office culture. Human resources and personnel issues. Employment law and legislation. Insensitivity and lack of emotional intelligence. Promotion of incompetent male workers.

Why business has to make life better - values matter

2008-03-04T12:26:00.000-08:00

Motivation at Work - how to increase workplace motivation

2008-03-03T12:21:00.001-08:00

Future of leadership and management teams

2007-07-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Published in Business Times Singapore last month:

It's seldom that topics as broad-ranging as anti-aging drugs, radio frequency identification, carbon trading, consumer
behavior and corporate leadership get tossed into the same presentation, and even less often that such a presentation makes
coherent sense.

Dr Patrick Dixon, a UK-based consultant and author who conducted a seminar in Singapore yesterday, manages it. Yet for
all his mention of cutting edge technologies, he boils leadership down to plain old common sense.

""Its an ancient truth about human beings that they want to feel like they matter, but it is so profoundly ignored'', he
said in an interview.

Strong leadership is central to improving profits and productivity, but is also crucial to attracting talent. Building a
good team is in turn critical to and is indeed ""the best way'' to manage risks in a fast-changing world, said Dr Dixon,
who has advised the likes of Microsoft, IBM, UBS, Siemens and others on the strategic implications of future trends.

Dr Dixon said he had examined speeches by historial leaders like Gandhi, Mao Zedong, Stalin and Hitler and that ""all
leadership speeches have a similar structure''. This goes loosely along the lines of: Follow me, because together I believe
we can build a better future for us, our family and friends, and not only those we care for but for humankind...

That some of the above leaders have used this motivational technique to commit atrocities only demonstrates its
seductive power, which derives not from an appeal to naked self-interest but to a collective sense of purpose, or a
""higher moral principle'', said Dr Dixon.

He gave the example of a pharmaceutical manager who wants to motivate staff to develop new packaging for their drugs --
young children are finding it too easy to open, while the elderly are finding it too difficult. It is easier to motivate
the team members if you can help them identify with the purpose for better packaging, such as that children might poison
themselves, or that older folks might be struck down by heart attacks before they can get to their medicine.

""People will only follow yo if they think you know where you're going and they think where you're going is important'',
he also said.

Most senior executives understand this but do not realise that their communications to staff are often bogged down in
rhetoric about shareholder value and returns on equity. Dr Dixon offers an exercise -- imagine explaining what you do to a
ten-year old child in under two minutes and in a way that gets them excited about the job.

Trained as a medical doctor at Cambridge, Dr Dixon also founded Medicom, a medical software start-up, and the AIDS care
agency Acet International. He is the author of Futurewise: Six Faces of Global Change, among other books.

Future of Outsourcing and Offshoring - big problems coming in India and China

2007-06-20T04:38:00.001-07:00

Rapid wage increases threaten to wipe out competitive advantage in outsoursing jobs from America and Europe to these nations. Offshoring strategies will come under huge pressure. Where these jobs will move to next and why. Challenges to management. Video comment by Dr Patrick Dixon

Outsourcing and Offshoring

2007-06-19T11:03:00.000-07:00

China seeing 100% salary inflation at top end and India not far behind – acute shortage of experienced business leadership. Some companies now thinking of moving operations to places like Pakistan (50% lower costs and over 200,000 IT graduates looking for work), Bangladesh or Vietnam. Changes happening very quickly.

For more see http://www.globalchange.com/outsourcing.htm

Future of Ukraine - economy and country - Dr Patrick Dixon

2007-06-14T14:22:00.001-07:00

Watch out for Ukraine - an exciting country with rapid growth and many experienced business managers. Video comment by Dr Patrick Dixon

Strong leadership is vital for improving productivity and profits

2007-06-13T03:55:00.000-07:00

"It is seldom that topics as wide-ranging as anti-ageing drugs, radio frequency identification, carbon trading, consumer behaviour and corporate leadership form part of a single presentation, and even less often that such a presentation is coherent.
But Patrick Dixon, a UK-based consultant and author who held a seminar in Singapore yesterday, manages to do it. Yet for all his mention of cutting-edge technologies, he boils leadership down to plain old common sense.
'It's an ancient truth about human beings that they want to feel like they matter, but it is so profoundly ignored,' Dr Dixon said in an interview.
Strong leadership is central to improving profits and productivity and crucial to attracting talent. Building a good team is in turn critical and indeed 'the best way' to manage risks in a fast-changing world.
Dr Dixon, who has advised Microsoft, IBM, UBS, Siemens and others on the strategic implications of future trends, said he has examined speeches by world leaders like M K Gandhi, Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler and that 'all leadership speeches have a similar structure'.
This is loosely along the lines of: Follow me, because together I believe we can build a better future for us, our family and friends, and not only those we care for but for humankind.
That some of these leaders used this motivational technique to commit atrocities only demonstrates its seductive power, which derives not from an appeal to naked self-interest but to a collective sense of purpose, or a 'higher moral principle', said Dr Dixon.
He gave the example of a pharmaceutical manager who wants to motivate staff to develop new packaging for their drugs - young children are finding it too easy to open, while the elderly are finding it too difficult.
It is easier to motivate team members if you can help them identify with the purpose for better packaging, such as that children might poison themselves, or that older folks might be struck down by heart attacks before they can get to their medicine.
'People will only follow you if they think you know where you're going and they think where you're going is important,' he said.
Most senior executives understand this but do not realise that their communications to staff are often bogged down in rhetoric about shareholder value and returns on equity.
Dr Dixon offers an exercise - imagine explaining what you do to a 10-year-old child in under two minutes and in a way that gets them excited about the job. "

Extract from article in Business Times Singapore

Motivation, leadership, change management, passion

2007-06-09T06:07:00.001-07:00

How to make things happen. Connect with passion. Why people get out of bed in the morning. How to motivate people at work to do great things. Secret of leadership and ultimate leadership speech. Ethics and values in business. Sustainable business success. Work life balance and lessons from non profits / volunteering. Why building a better world is such a powerful motivation. Lecture by Dr Patrick Dixon for MTN, author of Building a Better Business, Futurewise and conference speaker.

Secret of Change Management - by Patrick Dixon

2007-05-31T13:28:00.001-07:00

How to make things happen - change management, motivating people, leadership styles - video of lecture by Patrick Dixon

Tribalism - greatest force in world today

2007-05-27T13:21:00.001-07:00

Video of presentation in 2007 on global trends - on impact of tribalism on management, marketing and motivation.

1 billion new consumers - future by Patrick Dixon

2007-05-26T04:31:00.001-07:00

Huge demographic shifts in emerging economies such as India and China - and what it means for management, marketing, motivation, leadership and product innovation.

How over-emphasis on shareholder value can destroy a business

2006-06-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

I was speaking today to 50 executives responsible for corporate and social responsibility today:

RISK: In pursuing only shareholder value and bottom-line profit, loose the plot and damage the business

OPPORTUNITY: Drive the business on a broader and more profitable mission, that motivates, inspires and wins consumer as well as community, worker and shareholder approval

Bad news about corporate values can hit any corporation like a tornado, ripping the guts out of the business, shattering market confidence, scandalising customers and causing outrage in the general public.

• 7 out of 10 chief executives report that Corporate Social Responsibility is (now) an essential issue to their business

• 89% of marketing directors believe (now) that business should be involved in addressing social issues of the day

• 90% of workers feel proud of their companies' values when they support a good cause

• 87% of workers feel a strong sense of loyalty

For more see http://www.globalchange.com/ppt4/sustain

•

Future trends and financial services - by Dr Patrick Dixon for Absa / Barclays Bank

2006-06-16T09:04:00.000-07:00

Future trends and financial services - for Absa / Barclays Bank

Fascinating audience in a two day leadership seminar for Barclays Bank / Absa Bank - senior leaders from across sub-Saharan Africa. Day 1: Issues facing banking and African business development. Socio-demographic, political, technology and other factors including sustainable business development. Scenario creation - and using scenarios to test strategic assumptions.

My wife and I travel in the region with ACET - our AIDS foundation, and have seen major changes, but not as many as those in the seminar.

The fact is that despite AIDS and many other challenges, the number of conflicts in Africa is low right now and a number of countries are showing rapid economic growth such as Uganda and Tanzania.

In the meantime S Africa's days of gold mining are drawing to a close with mines now up to 4.5 miles deep. But techniques for extracting more gold from old mining waste will keep the industry going for a while.

Future trends in the Netherlands and beyond - by Dr Patrick Dixon for Young Bilderberg / ABN AMRO

2006-06-15T08:59:00.000-07:00

Future trends in the Netherlands and beyond - by Dr Patrick Dixon for Young Bilderberg / ABN AMRO

This group is interesting - high talent, younger leaders in the Netherlands who are facing a common challenge which is to maintain the vibrancy of Dutch corporations in the face of large global competitors.

How to make change happen - strategic transformation by harnessing passion - presentation for MBA elective by Dr Patrick Dixon

2006-06-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

How to make change happen - strategic transformation by harnessing passion

Most audiences I speak to - senior executives in the largest multinationals - recognise that there is a real crisis at work, and that a large number of their staff are disconnected from the mission of the business.

I often refer to a recent UK survey showing that 60% of 25-35 year olds cannot see any real purpose in what they do at work, and 90% of 35-45 year olds want to get out of conventional business jobs.

70% of 25-35 year olds say they are having a quarter life crisis and are thinking radical thoughts about their own futures.

While this was only a UK survey, most audiences say that they recognise a similar process of rethinking going on inside their own countries and their own companies (to one degree or another).

It is affecting the war for talent. A growing number of corporations are now offering a better work-life balance as part of the reward package to persuade people to join or not leave - and are now trying to work out how to deliver on the promise.

The reasons for these changes in attitude are complex but their impact will be profound.

Business School MBA elective programme on Strategic Transformation. The crisis of purpose in business today and why most people don't care about your strategy or the future of the corporation. How to persuade people to change. How to connect with the passions people have for a better life. Reasons why people don't change. How to create effective leadership and ownership of your corporate strategy.

Searching for people motivated to make shareholder value

2006-06-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

I am still on a search to find people who wake up in the morning excited at the thought of making more shareholder value and bottom line profit. At every executive event I speak at I ask for nominations of people I can interview who in the opinion of the participants are motivated by such things…. Or indeed for people to say they are themselves.

Sure, when people own their own companies, or have taken them public, they often feel passion about these things.

But it is very rare in my experience to find people who are inspired by such target-setting.

This is a fundamental challenge for CEOs who often continue to trot out the business mantra about the next quarter, despite the fact that such language is a turn-off for most people inside the corporation.

Personal challenge, a fun team, achieving something worthwhile, having a life outside of work, being fairly treated and so on…. These are far more powerful than an obsession with numbers.

Future of Management

2006-04-30T01:08:00.000-07:00

This new blog is linked to the others I have on the future, and is concerned with management trends, and how management needs to respond to wider issues.