It’s been a whirlwind week in London. Great work with great people but the highlight was spending time with CSC alumni last Friday and Saturday. Like I said after the Canada alumni reunion, meeting alums is like a warm hug… and then some time focusing on contemplative topics on steroids.
So firstly, a huge thank you to all the alumni who joined in, in whatever way was possible, from those who came to dinner on Friday to all those who contributed to a full-on Saturday. For those of you who managed to join us and for those thinking of joining us in the future here is an overview of what went on.
Our theme for the weekend was Leading in Complexity and there was no better place to have it than the Deloitte Venture Lab!
Leadership Mindtraps panel discussion
On Saturday morning we began our day sharing some thoughts in a panel discussion. The topic was based on Jennifer Garvey-Berger’s work on Understanding the “identity mindtrap”: Personal growth for the C-suite | McKinsey.
Yousaf Ahmed, Chief Pharmacist and Director of Medicines Optimisation at NHS Frimley shared his learnings into how humility as a leader, rather than just confident pushing through, was the unlock. My biggest take out: “subtraction is actually an addition of wellbeing.”
Mary Cloake, Chief Executive of the Bluecoat, Liverpool shared how in her quest to ensure the arts thrived she had to learn that as Margaret Hefferman says, “there is power in listening into the silences” And then her favourite Ted Lassoism, “What does this situation need right now?” but I think my favourite is still, “Boy, I love meeting people’s moms. It’s like reading an instruction manual as to why they’re nuts” which might actually mean exactly the same.
And as usual ClaireYvonne Naisbitt left us thinking. Having moved from a senior leadership role in bP, she now travels the world as a leadership and well being coach. A nomadic life suits her immensely and her clarity of mind around slowing down to be present in the silence is a lesson to us all as it allow one to be present in the complexity while tapping into the wider consciousness of what is needed by the system.
Enterprise wellbeing
Ryan Hopkins: Chief Impact Officer, JAAQ joined us to speak on Enterprise wellbeing, a topic that is currently getting huge airtime worldwide.
From humble beginnings, Ryan shared his journey to discovering that heathy humans mean thriving businesses, something that rolls off the tongue but isn’t practiced nearly enough in business. My biggest take out… “One size fits all … but none” and his work into ensuring that a billion people find betterment in the world through wellbeing is a big goal. Did you know that 86% of health care info you get on TikTok is just wrong and 14% is actively dangerous. Beware! This is the reason he is driving engagement through the creation of JAAQ: The new mental health platform.
Ed Grieg our host and Chief Disruptor – Deloitte Digital, introduced us to Chip the robot dog. Not sure I want to cuddle him at night, but boy has he got loads of energy! Andrjez fell in love!
After scaring us with Replika, an online platform for AI dating, he took us a step further by sharing his experiment with creating an AI survivor experience. If you have a moment, you must watch Love AIsland Trailer: A Totally Artificial Reality Show – YouTube. You tell me but, I think Llama should win! My biggest take out from Ed, “our individual behaviours no longer really impact society.” This is a great thing to hold close in a global alumni community that holds its greatest power together.
The afternoon allowed us to focus on CSC and its future. Andrjez Antoszkiewicz, COO of the International Dialogue Centre travelled all the way from Lisbon to share his thinking into the creation of a global secretariat that would enable us to build some solid infrastructure. There is lots of opportunity for the future so I suggest that all who are keen to know more should reach out to him.
No Saturday would be complete without our tradition of a good shared Indian meal, and we headed for Tayyabs to enjoy exactly this. Sorry Ed if it was all a bit too spicy. We missed you Firoz!! And then a night cap round the corner.
Thanks to everyone who made this happen!