Davos 2006 - CEO workshops
Resources
Reports from inside the CEO sessions
John Thornhill, the FT’s European edition editor, reported exclusively from inside the World Economic Forum’s six prestigious CEO workshops and two introductory sessions. Business leaders joined together behind closed doors to address topics including the future of intellectual property, building a culture of innovation and the growing economic influence of Asia.
Workshop 1: Fire-fighting a future trade crisis
What would happen if the forward march of globalisation was suddenly slammed into reverse? John Thornhill, the FT’s European edition editor, reports exclusively as thirty business leaders, trade ministers, and economists gather to discuss crisis scenarios at Davos.
Workshop 2: Bursting the bubble in Chindia
Will India be the new China, or will the hype around both prove to be as illusory as it was for the internet? CEOs grappled with the future of the two Asian juggernauts in their second Davos workshop.
Workshop 3: Letting go of intellectual property rights
The spread of the internet, the rise in consumer expectations in the developing world, the increasing technological possibilities for stealing ideas, and the understandable clamour to tackle pandemics, such as Aids, are all threatening intellectual property rights.
Workshop 4: Building a culture of innovation
“Design is about more than making things look cool and pretty. You have companies that use design thinking as a way of creating their future,” according to Tim Brown, president of Ideo, a US-based design firm, who is running this workshop that stretches late into Friday evening
Workshop 5: Who’s choosing whom?
The theme of the first Saturday morning workshop in Davos is: what makes people happy? This might seem like an insensitive topic for chief executives to consider as they nurse their heads after a night of partying. But, according to Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School of Management at Toronto University, it is a vital question to ask if you want to attract and retain the best talent.
Workshop 6: Creativity
The final session of the CEO workshop series drew on some of the best discussions that had gone before and directly addressed the theme of this year’s World Economic Forum: the creative imperative. The main lesson: “There are no stupid ideas”.
Fresh ideas from the sublime to the ridiculous
Declaring an end to “Davosian waffle”, Richard Quest, the voluble CNN presenter, opened the second session by challenging eighth design experts to come up with quick-fire solutions to help build a more creative global economy.
Brainstorming mindsets at high altitude
This year the World Economic Forum is running a series of CEO workshops encouraging members to share their thinking about such issues as global trading, the rise of China, creativity and innovation.
