People have learned that Davos is more than a Swiss resort, it's where the World Economic Forum (@WEF) hosts an annual conference of world leaders.
The 2016 agenda, "The Fourth Industrial Revolution," included, well, just about everything that's important in the world: The future of health, the future of work, the future of change. Leadership: what it takes and who can do it. Inequality--of gender, race, education, income. Food availability, security, and waste. Terrorism. Opportunities and risks posed by rapid developments in technology and science. The societal consequences of climate change. Ideas, ideas, and more ideas.
We heard from several inspiring business leaders, and here are our top takeaways. Hope you'll chime in with yours.
1. Employees Need to Step Up
•"Everything is in question. So how can you get your TEAM thinking about this. The biggest limiting factor today is not the technology, it's the humans in an organization, who are not used to questioning." Klaus Kleinfeld, CEO, Alcoa
•"Every major CEO today is very conscious of the role of technology and how it is creating a new platform of opportunity. Well-run companies anticipate this: they train their people, recruit their people, and have their culture reflect change. Some cultures are change-oriented, and some are not. That is the big variable here. Perfect example: You look at CEO Jeff Immelt, moving GE to Boston. It's because of the culture of Boston, the talent he'll get in Boston. People want to live and work in Boston, and GE will be able to attract those people into its workforce." John Studzinski, Vice Chairman, the Blackstone Group on CNBC at Davos.
2. Diversity Rules: we heard a few memorable comments on gender equality and social injustice among attendees of the conference itself. Mark Barry, Director of Sustainable Business, Marks & Spencer described "the great Achilles heel of Davos: its aged, white, male, Anglo-Saxon membership... Until that changes, it will starve itself of the broad talent, skills and knowledge that's needed to lead a complex world. So challenge Davos for the morality of its monochrome invite list, but also more pragmatically for how this will limit economic growth and prosperity in the future, too."
3. Stop spending money on things that don't work--but don't stop spending money!
•"Businesses are discovering that the costs of not doing things are becoming higher than doing things," as Unilever CEO Paul Polman said.
•"At Walmart, we are very familiar with skepticism. It's got to a point where we just ignore it. Doing the right thing is good for business. Where the population is not like-minded it doesn't matter. The decisions behind the scenes improve the products we're making." Doug McMillon, President & CEO, Walmart
4. Grab easy wins: e.g., switch to efficient lighting, recycle, reduce food waste. A new executive coalition called Champions 12.3 intends to cut per capita food waste in half by 2030. ("12.3" refers to the respective UN Sustainable Development Goal.)
5. Think Big.
As he traveled home, Salesforce Founder/CEO Marc Benioff tweeted, intriguingly:
Asking myself after @Davos: Are there 10 things we can each do to incrementally transform inequality to equality? And if so, what are they? @Benioff
6. Fall in Love with the Problem You're in Business to Solve
Four thousand miles from Davos, another CEO offered an answer as she addressed a Harvard Business School audience:
"Be sure you are in love with the problem the business seeks to address. Not the product, not the service, but the problem you are solving. In the case of WeSpire,it's the problem of how do we use tech to inspire people to take positive action. How do you use technology to change behavior, and life, for the better."
Susan Hunt Stevens, Founder/CEO, WeSpire.