The IOD Annual Conference 2009 – an Ambassador’s report
May 5th, 2009 by emma_kateMake Your Mark Ambassador Celia Gates gives her take on the Institute of Directors Annual Convention, held on Wednesday 29 April.
Held during tough times to encourage the tough to really get going… This year’s annual conference brought together directors and entrepreneurs in the beautiful surrounding of the Royal Albert Hall to address innovation, implementation and fund raising during these current troubled times.
The day was fascinating, inspiring and reassuring. As entrepreneurs we are in the right place at the right time. Three major key messages emerged and were re-confirmed as speakers such as Luke Johnson (Chairman Channel 4), Michael Dell (CEO Dell), Lord Sebastian Coe shared their experiences with a highly receptive audience.
I went there in search of new mentors and invigoration. I was not disappointed. Tim Smit the Co-founder and CEO of the Eden project spoke very energetically about the exciting times that lie ahead. As Homo sapiens, he urged, the next 30 years are going to truly test our ability to live up to this name. It is all about our ability to adapt; to adapt to new ways in commerce, a changing environment and different tools and technologies. Tough times limit resources and in turn this forces us to become more efficient. With little room for wants or over indulgence it’s clear that a recession such as that which we currently find ourselves in drives innovation.
Both Lord Coe and Tim Smit urged us as entrepreneurs to hold on to our visions, to love what we do in the firm belief that others will love this too. “Nothing in life that has any real meaning happens very quickly”. It is not about doing what has been done before but rather it is about adapting to a new environment to create something different.
Reid Hoffman the Co-founder and Chairman of Linkedin explained how every individual is becoming a small business and the importance of harnessing the knowledge and knowhow of individuals and small business to accelerate the timelines of progress. By networking and exchanging information successfully we can learn best practices and quickly adopt these for ourselves.
Business is all about people. This message was echoed by many of the speakers. Real importance was attached to empowering individuals by sharing information and encouraging involvement both at on a business-to-business level and within the structure of any organization. In tough economic times, loyalty and especially employee loyalty is at its strongest. This should be harnessed, as should relationships and new technologies that enable us as individuals to become more efficient. Keep a close eye on evolving mobile technology!
May 9th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
I found the day very inspiring , coming into business from the medical field , I always find it interesting and fascinating how the business world works .
It was a great day and am looking forward to next year.