Alan Barrell (Chairman) - The Changing Face of Globalisation and the World Economy

The subject is of very great importance to society, communities and businesses
with a focus on People, Leaders and Entrepreneurs.

The lectures will examine the subject areas of Leadership, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Personal Development in the context of Globalisation and the rapidly changing dynamics of the World Economy.

Professor Barrell does not offer solutions to the world’s problems, but seeks to assist the processes of communication across borders and enhanced cultural understanding and the acceptance of Diversity and Difference as the peoples of the World seek to move forward in peace and prosperity.

Leadership and Innovation are proposed by Professor Barrell as potential driving forces which can be employed by people, companies, communities, nations and societies – to enable economic growth and development and to bring more of the World’s population into the realms of the well fed and the well educated.

These are some of the questions to be explored by Professor Barrell, and he will do this with special focus on the economies of the developing World and the role of emerging Superpowers – most notably and particularly China. Professor Barrell works in many countries and is especially interested in China, where he holds the position of Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurship – University of Xiamen, Fujian Province.

He hopes to stimulate and inspire more young people ( and older people too ! ) to think about Leadership and Innovation, of Creativity and Invention, of Exploration in the broadest possible contexts, as East meets West in a fast changing World.
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Helen Zhang - Globalisation & Cross cultural Leadership

"The beam that sticks out is the one that was rotten first." Anonymous, ancient Chinese saying

Drawing from her book "Think Like Chinese", Helen defines “leadership” in both the Chinese and the Western context, providing participants with a new perspective for looking at leadership.

Through entertaining, thought provoking case studies, discussions and role play exercises the participants will also look at key leadership skills in light of the current global economic uncertainty, as well as the globalisation process that China is going through.

Participants will walk away with new insights, compelling recommendations and future learning tools to cultivate true cross-cultural leadership.

This segment of the program will cover:

• 5 core differences of Chinese thinking
• Define leadership, and leadership styles in both Chinese and Western ways;
• Clashing leadership style case studies – Western business in China and Chinese business overseas
• Ancient Chinese wisdom (Confucianism, Buddhism & Taoism) and its impact on today's Chinese leaders
• Applying current Western thinking on leadership in the Chinese cultural context
• Crossing the bridge to do business with Western leaders
• Success stories
• Key leadership skills for truly global leaders

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Alistair Nicholas - Better Leadership through Improved Communication

"You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere." Lee Lacocca, American business leader, former CEO of Chrysler (1980's) – widely regarded as one of the greatest CEOs of all time.

The effectiveness of an organization's communications with external and/or internal stakeholders can make or break it. This is truer today, in the information age, than has ever been the case previously. Too often organizations fail to achieve their objectives because of their failure to communicate. In the modern world the Chief Executive Officer really needs to become the Chief Communications Officer. And anyone aspiring to the senior ranks of an organization must acquire effective communication skills – the communication skills of a leader.

This segment of the program will introduce participants to the key communications skills of leaders.

The segment covers:

• Understanding and overcoming the barriers to effective communication;
• Empathetic leadership: The art of listening to others;
• Non-verbal communications: dress, body language, eye contact and gestures in China and in international business environments;
• Sounding like a leader: voice projection and tone for impact;
• Crafting the message;
• Delivering the message;
• Communication and conflict resolution;
• Communication and the art of business negotiation;
• Communication in cross-cultural settings;
• Leading through communications.

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