Business Lessons in London
What kind of changemaker do you want to become?
Last week, I had my lectures with students, the leaders of tomorrow, at Hult International Business School London. They are changemakers, trailblazers for sustainability, innovators, and fearless entrepreneurs. To help them get in the future-proof mindset, to stay curious, and to ask disruptive questions, I took them through the ever-changing world of today, unusual management elements to drive change, mindset shifts approach, and supporting tools. I was immersed in a global environment of more than a dozen nationalities represented in classrooms, and I’ve also learned from students and fellow professors.
The challenges students face in today’s world of many uncertainties are unprecedented and perplexing. By understanding the ever-changing world, the future of work, and their own force of opportunities, Hult translates groundbreaking thinking into the practices that underpin its programs. The outstanding Hult curriculum map a journey of reinvention that will enable them to harness the continual disruptions of the future of work.
Today opportunities and competitive advantage can disappear in a blink, and we must adopt new ways of working on the future-readiness spectrum. More and more, young people are entering the workforce without the skills necessary to succeed: critical thinking, problem-solving, empathy, collaborative management — not to mention traits like resilience and confidence. Therefore through lectures, we explored future-facing enablers, power of creativity in business, and management innovation tools essential to harness the continual disruptions.
The need to foster cross-generational learning has never been greater. Therefore, I’m happy to share what I learned from Hult students with each question asked and through discussions we had:
- Do not speak on behalf of the group you want to talk about.
- Stop thinking of yourself as the source of ideas that others execute and evoke others’ ideas.
- Be an active part of a network for collaboration and support.
- Put an exercise into practice as part of your everyday work experience.
- Open your team to diverse perspectives by getting people from different cultures and backgrounds to share their thinking.
- Pave your own path and be fearless.
- Be inspired by new generations of talents.
- Allow young people stories and perspectives to be reflected and validated.
- Find out what young people care about what they want and how you can help.
- Diversity of thoughts and voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for all generations in the workplace.
New generations are changemakers. They are driven by curiosity and have high levels of helix adaptability driving their behaviour. They are tired of the status quo, and they will appreciate the journey of reinvention that will enable them to harness the continual disruptions of the new era of work.
When I think about the future of business, there is one thing I believe: new generations are trailblazers who will take full advantage of digital and mobile delivery, agile and asset-light infrastructures, and exponential technologies. And when you give youth a seat at the table, you will thrive with creativity and innovation, have insightful, diverse conversations, and drive change for sustainable growth.
