Words of Wisdom that can only be good for businesses

Opportunities to improve products or services are overlooked if business leaders and senior managers are not exposed to new ideas and challenged to work in different ways.

The Corporate Wisdom event series run by Leeds University Business School is a chance for companies in the region to hear business leaders from around the world discuss the challenges – and opportunities – that they face.

Our speakers are drawn from diverse sectors and industries and they discuss what is happening in their industry now. This means that our audiences learn about trends in different industries, are exposed to different opinions and are challenged by new perspectives.

On March 2, Dr Simon Hayward, founder and CEO of Cirrus, a leadership consultancy, will deliver the next Corporate Wisdom lecture. Simon is a dynamic thought leader and has over 30 years’ of strategic leadership experience working with client organisations across Europe, North America and Asia.

His talk is titled Connected Leadership: How to build a more agile and customer-driven business. Simon will explore the themes of his recent book and will describe how to create a more connected organisation that is better equipped to respond to the complex challenges of today.

With the world becoming ever more closely and rapidly connected through the internet, social media and globalised markets, Simon will discuss how businesses need a new form of leadership that is in tune with these changes – one that is able to create more agile, collaborative organisations that can flex with the complexities and uncertainties around us.

The event is free, although you must register to attend. More information at www.business.leeds.ac.uk/cirrus

Simon joins an exceptional list of former Corporate Wisdom speakers including Roger Bootle, managing director of Capital Economics; and Louise Fowler, marketing director of First Direct.

Last year, Lord Robert Skidelsky, Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at the University of Warwick, discussed the distribution of wealth and its implications for global economic growth.

On April 19, we welcome Michelle Pinggera, partner at Goldman Sachs.

Corporate Wisdom events are special because of the networking opportunities they offer. Alumni, staff and students of the Business School engage with business leaders and entrepreneurs.

I hope that our guests will leave having had time to reflect on the way that they do things, and with some ideas for making improvement.