Leadership has always been crucial for the success of businesses, societies and economies. But what does that mean today? What kinds of leadership—and leaders—are required to create sustainable financial and economic growth, to build globally integrated organizations, and harness the power of emerging markets? This session examined the lessons of IBM's history: the first century of a company that has chosen to manage and lead for the long term by creating and nurturing a culture of innovation. A panel of business thinkers and leaders reflected on the application of the long view to global economic progress and shared their leadership predictions for the future.
Session thesis: Long-term success requires long-term management (860KB)
The Leadership Agenda: Thoughts on the Future of Leadership
Sam Palmisano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, IBM
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The Future of Leadership
A conversation with:
Sam Palmisano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, IBM
Joshua Cooper Ramo, Managing Director, Kissinger Associates; author
Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, Sony Corporation
Moderator: Professor Hirotaka Takeuchi, Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School,and Professor Emeritus, Hitotsubashi University
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Special address
His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein, King, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
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Evidence from the Future
Polly LaBarre, Editorial Director, Management Innovation eXchange (MIX); author and journalist
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Today's organizations share a common leadership challenge: unprecedented complexity. Managing this complexity—indeed, turning it to your advantage—requires operating models that are designed for volatile change and global systemic interconnection. Technology is necessary, but not sufficient. The 21st century leadership agenda requires leaders to transform their business models and develop strategies to lead in a new global arena. This session provided unique perspectives on managing through industry change and economic transformation that requires velocity in decision making, action despite uncertainty, and flexibility in business and revenue models to drive sustainable growth.
Session thesis: The leadership challenges of global integration require global leadership (1MB)
Special address
Michael Bloomberg, Mayor, City of New York
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The 21st Century Leadership Agenda
Ginni Rometty, Senior Vice President and Group Executive, Sales, Marketing and Strategy, IBM
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Leading in Times of Deep Structural Change
A conversation with:
Jamie Dimon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Dr. Victor Fung, Group Chairman, Li & Fung Group
Jim McNerney, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Boeing Company
Moderator: Dr. Fareed Zakaria, CNN Host, Fareed Zakaria GPS; Editor-at-Large, TIME; columnist, The Washington Post; and author
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The Leadership Agenda: The New Global Landscape—The Long View
Dr. Fareed Zakaria, CNN Host, Fareed Zakaria GPS; Editor-at-Large, TIME; Columnist, The Washington Post; and author
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Special address
His Excellency Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, President, Mexico
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Evidence from the Future
Aneesh Chopra, Chief Technology Officer, United States
Polly LaBarre, Editorial Director, Management Innovation eXchange (MIX); author and journalist
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Our planet—through energy, commerce, transportation, food, cities—is undergoing a step change. The world is becoming a complex system of systems. This, combined with rapid population growth and urbanization, is challenging the infrastructure and management approaches on which our organizations, industries, economies and societies depend. This session explored the ways in which leaders are responding to these changes, rethinking the relationship of their organizations with the world, and considering the broader impact of their leadership on the resources and social structures that will define our future.
Session thesis: Leading through systemic change requires systems thinking (1.40MB)
Special address
His Excellency Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, President, The Philippines
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Making the World Work Better
Bridget van Kralingen, General Manager, North America, IBM
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The Importance of Systems Thinking
A conversation with:
Pascal Lamy, Director-General, World Trade Organization
Andrew Liveris, President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Dow Chemical Company
Dr. Laura D—Andrea Tyson, the S. K. and Angela Chan Professor of Global Management, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
Peter Voser, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Dutch Shell plc
Moderator: Tom Friedman, Foreign Affairs Columnist, The New York Times, and author
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The Leadership Agenda: That Used to Be Us
Tom Friedman, Foreign Affairs Columnist, The New York Times; author
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Evidence from the Future
Rajan Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises
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At the start of the 21st Century we find ourselves at an inflection point in both scientific thought and technological capability—a moment with implications that leaders and citizens must study if they wish to ride the waves of our planet's information-shaped future. Leadership is the act of sensing the situation around you, thinking systemically about opportunities and risks, and taking the right actions to create significant new value. In this session, experts discussed the rising science behind leadership.
Session thesis: There is a science to leadership: the role of sense-making (14.50MB)
Bringing Science to Leadership
Dr. John Kelly, Senior Vice President and Director, Research, IBM
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The Leadership Agenda: The Science of Sense Making
Carmen Medina, Former Director, Center for the Study of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency
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Bringing Science to Leadership
A conversation with:
Dr. David Ferrucci, Fellow, Research, IBM
Professor Thomas Malone, Patrick J. McGovern Professor of Management, MIT SloanSchool of Management, and Founding Director, MIT Center for Collective Intelligence,Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dr. Harold Schmitz, Chief Science Officer, Mars, Incorporated
Moderator: Joichi Ito, Director, MIT Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Evidence from the Future
Joichi Ito, Director, MIT Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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The modern corporation, which began to emerge at the start of the 20th century, became one of the world’s leading agents of change. Today, we are at another turning point in the history of the corporation. Faced with economic, environmental and political challenges, leaders are re-examining basic assumptions. For example, economic powerhouses in emerging markets are inventing business models that are reshaping industries and leapfrogging 20th-century giants. This session challenged future leaders to consider the following questions: How does a company define and manage itself? How does an organization create value? How does an organization operate in a global economy and engage effectively with society?
Session thesis: We are entering a new phase of the modern corporation: Future innovation models (635KB)
Inventing the 21st Century Corporation
Martin Jetter, Vice President, Strategy and General Manager, Enterprise Initiatives, IBM
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The Transformational Role of the Corporation
A conversation with:
Bruno Di Leo, General Manager, Growth Markets, IBM
Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ICICI Bank Limited
Ellen Kullman, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, DuPont
Moderator: Charlie Rose, Executive Editor and Anchor, Charlie Rose
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Special address
Her Excellency Laura Chinchilla-Miranda, President, Costa Rica
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The future will be radically different from anything we know or can even imagine today. This closing session of the THINK forum explored how leaders will view progress and the forces that are reshaping the environments in which we lead. We examined new forms of innovation, collaboration models and the influence that democratization of organizations will have on our future. A panel of experts challenged conventional management and leadership structures, tested today's thinking about cross-cultural global leadership, and engaged in a discussion about how to consider the future of leadership.
Session thesis: Leading from the edge—how future leaders are testing the boundaries (2.70MB)
100 Years Forward
Jon Iwata, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications, IBM
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The Future of Leadership: 100 Years Forward
David Jones, Global Chief Executive Officer, Havas and Global Chief Executive Officer, Euro RSCG Worldwide
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A conversation with:
Tina Ju, Founding and Managing Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, China
Chris Meledandri, Producer, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Illumination Entertainment
Moderator: Polly LaBarre, Editorial Director, Management Innovation eXchange (MIX),and author and journalist
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