VLOG 18: Future Focus Dublin – Welcome to Ireland

Future Focus comes to you from Dublin, Ireland today, for the fourth of our business conferences, hosted by the Telegraph Business Club, in association with IBM. Before our speakers take to the stage, we caught up with some of our Irish delegates, to discuss their perspectives on technology and communications. We also hear from both IBM and our mid market clients about how they are embracing these new technologies and practices to develop their businesses to become “future proof”…

VLOG 15: Future Focus Edinburgh – IBM Scotland, Chrs Liversy

Recorded live at The Hub in the heart of Edinburgh, we hear from Chris Liversy, Sales Manager for IBM Scotland about the changing face of IBM, and how both internally and externally the company is embracing new technologies to grow, and help mid-market businesses grow with them.

VLOG 6 – Future Focus London – Richard Farleigh

In our second conversation with investor extraordinaire Richard Farleigh (formerly of Dragons Den fame) we talk to him about his views on the future of global economy, and on how taking risks can sometimes blossom or backfire.

VLOG 5 – Future Focus London – Euan Semple

We are privileged to have Future Communications Specialist Euan Semple speaking across the Future Focus Events. For those of you who are not able to make it to a conference over then next couple of weeks, we caught up with him at the London conference today!

Euan gives us some thoughts on how to avoid the easy mistake of leaping into social media too quickly, but encourages SME’s to get educated about these topics, otherwise they could find themselves being left behind.

VLOG 2: Dr. James Bellini – A Future Proof Company

I wonder if Dr James Bellini puts ‘futurologist’ as the occupation in his passport? It sounds like a rather strange role, but he’s obviously well connected and certainly talks a lot of sense.

James’ objective, he explains, is to make businesses ‘future proof’. That means they have taken account of the changes that are going to happen and factored them into their strategic planning, rather than reacting when the changes have already taken place.

Far too many businesses fail to spend time thinking about the future, according to James. The majority make their ‘big decisions’ largely on gut feel. Not surprisingly, many of those big decisions turn out to be big mistakes.

Wiser organisations keep up with the trends regarding things that are going to take place 3-5 years down the line, he maintains. By investing time into thinking about the future, they are positioning themselves to take advantage of the changes.

One major global bank, he reveals, is planning to invest in new generation video conferencing. Not only will it make the bank more ‘green’, but also slash its global travel costs.

Major changes such as this are a ‘must’ for 70-80% of businesses, he says. A decade from now, James suggests, companies will own far less fixed assets and will use much less office space. Mobile technologies, remote working and collaboration will soon become the business norm.

Recession is a great time of opportunity for businesses, he maintains. Wise business professionals use the time to revisit the business fundamentals and think about their future path. Those that fail to seize the opportunities of change will probably go to the wall.

Dr James Bellini sounds like the ideal chairman for the Future Focus conferences in June. And there will be the chance for delegates to talk with him afterwards, which will round off each event perfectly. Must remember to ask him what it says in his passport!

VLOG 1: Richard Farleigh – Roads to Recovery

Successful business professionals have an “animal instinct to change and survive” according to Richard Farleigh. He should know. Having been described as backward by a school-teacher, his career path has ranged from stock market trading in Australia and running a hedge fund in Bermuda to investing in technology companies in Britain. His face is most familiar, of course, as one of the investors in the third series of the TV series Dragons Den.

Farleigh is going to bring a hard-edged business flavour to the Future Focus conferences taking place in June, at which he is the keynote speaker. He has commercial interests in dozens of companies and has seen them all having to get “leaner and meaner” over recent months. “Some businesses are still recovering from the shock,” he says, “but cleverer businesspeople have now moved on to focus on strategic planning.”

In the short ‘taster’ video recorded to outline some of the subjects to be covered in his presentation, Richard concludes “Those that don’t adapt to change will die”. When the economy moves back into growth, there is “no way” it will it return to ‘business as usual’. Economic problems have triggered a fundamental change in the shape of business, and the winners will be those that learn about the changes and re-engineer their businesses accordingly

To register for one of the conferences where you can meet him in person, click here.

- Post By: Dave Sumner Smith, Programme Director at Telegraph Business Club