DESCRIPTION OF THE SESSIONS

The parallel sessions are interactive and, by design, different in content and structure – from traditional presentation sessions and panel debates through to marketplace sessions and practical learning experiences.

Each of the interactive sessions will be aligned with one of the three elements of LEAVING A LASTING FOOTPRINT.


THE FIRST ELEMENT -
COMBINING HIGH PERFORMANCE AND ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

Tuesday, 28 October 2008, 11.00 - 12.30   back to program at a glance  »

IS QUALITY DEAD IN THE WEB 2.0 WORLD?
Organisations nowadays have to manage the new factors in the new economy, greater complexity and the stimulation of open innovation. In the world of Web 2.0, discussing the technology is no more the hot topic. What is interesting now is how people use it to interact, exchange and act. New practices pose new questions for those organisations working in the Web 2.0. Answering the question, "what does quality mean in the Web 2.0 world" turns out to be a challenging and important debate that needs to take place.

INNOVATION IN THE FUTURE
This parallel session takes a strategic rather than operational view of Innovation. It will offer delegates two ends of the spectrum, one based on a rigorous piece of research, the other, the personal view of a senior executive from a global company at the forefront of innovative and sometimes controversial innovation. One of the key findings to emerge from IBM's 2008 Global CEO Study of 1,130 CEOs, conducted face-to-face in 40 countries, was that nearly all CEOs are adapting their business models, two-thirds are implementing extensive innovations and more than 40 percent are changing their enterprise models to be more collaborative. These companies anticipate more change, manage it better, are more global in their business designs, partner more extensively and choose more disruptive forms of business model innovation.

INNOVATE OR PERISH: TOOLS TO SUPPORT YOU FOR THE FUTURE
This interactive workshop will invite participants to work in teams and discover how to use an alternative way of thinking There is no "black magic, or luck, just some simple rules and tools that will open your eyes to unforeseen ways of thinking about your business and the opportunities that abound. Innovation doesn't have to be a matter of luck. It's a process you can install and instil and inspire people to do. Give them a process and force them to use it, and the ideas will flow.

DEVELOPING STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
Developing Strategic Partnerships allows an organisation to retain and build on its core competences and at the same time exploit new opportunities that will help it to achieve high performance and economic sustainability. But what are the critical questions that must be asked when identifying and developing potential strategic partnerships: How do you identify the strengths and weaknesses of a potential partner? How do you mobilise your people to engage positively in such a Partnership? What are the "best" measures to assess the value-add of Partners? How do you learn to work together effectively in the shortest possible time? … and, What are the successful recipes to be adopted?


THE SECOND ELEMENT –
LOOK BEYOND THE ORGANISATION

Tuesday, 28 October 2008, 14.00 - 15.30   back to program at a glance  »

CSR IN DAY-TO-DAY BUSINESS
Jacques Attali's book "A brief history of the future" demonstrates that it is possible to reap the benefits of technological innovation and market imagination in order to leave a better future for generations to come. Societal preoccupations are moving from the periphery of business priorities, to becoming not only integral to their business processes, but becoming even a source of new business opportunities and competitiveness.

ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE
Environmental responsibility and business performance are no longer antonymic. Many companies are beginning to deeply integrate environmental issues into a wide range of processes. And the most pioneering companies are going so far as establishing competitive market positions by investing in innovation, research and development to design environmentally friendly products and services, but also business processes with minimum possible environmental footprints. By helping organisations to continuously chart their progress in terms of environmental performance, 'The Cleaner Production Excellence Model' will become a stepping stone for organisations' contribution to a better world.

THE LINK BETWEEN RESULTS AND SOCIETY
Over the past decade, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been mainstreamed from an external philanthropic activity into the core of business strategies. Social and environmental considerations are being combined to economic factors in strategic decision-making throughout the organisation – the concept of the "Triple Bottom Line" today demonstrably impacts the competitiveness of companies. Hence the link between Results and Society are becoming apparent – it is no longer a question of how much one is sacrificed to the benefit of the other, but how both are mutually beneficial if approached in the right way.

RESPONSIBLE SUPPLY CHAIN
With globalisation, the supply chain for products and services has spread across the globe, to regions with very different contexts. How far down the supply chain does the responsibility of a company go? While legal obligations vary tremendously from one country to another, companies go beyond their legal obligations to set global standards within their supply chains.


THE THIRD ELEMENT –
CREATE NEW ENERGY AMONGST PEOPLE AND TEAMS

Wednesday, 29 October 2008, 11.45 - 13.15   back to program at a glance  »

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE ON LEADERSHIP
True leaders leave a long lasting footprint in their organisation – and in the business world – mainly because of their ability to maintain a clear vision of the desired future and promote and stick to a few strongly shared values, which they translate into a set of personal behaviours and use these to select and retain their people just as much as on the basis of any technical skills. In a fast changing world with an increasing level of complexity in products, services and technologies they build a picture of "where to go" and how to get there" and they are strong enough to resist "management fads", market diktats, magic potions, ...

PEOPLE INVOLVEMENT AND COMMITMENT INSTEAD OF SATISFACTION
We cannot imagine achieving long lasting performance without a strong commitment from all people throughout the organisation. This session will help answer the following questions: what are the basics of people management for today, what do we need for, at least, the next 5 years?, What about empowerment and accountability?, How to measure commitment?, How to improve people involvement and commitment?

PROCESS AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Process Management and Project Management are both designed to help the organisation deliver the right product or service at the right time to the right customer. Both describe steps, define people responsibilities, need skills, try to decrease the risks. But, however well documented these approaches, without the energy of the people involved, the chances of success are reduced. So how do you successfully engage people in effective Process & Project Management?

PEOPLE INVOLVEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
As EFQM winners demonstrate, a high performing organisation is one that involves and develops its people. This marketplace will feature several Prize and Award winning organisations who will share their secrets to success. The organisations involved will be unknown to delegates before the workshop but after the Award ceremony the night before, we will all have a good idea who it is we will be hearing from.