Retrospective: Trading in the New Business Landscape

We’ve been through two unprecedented years, with public health, economic, geopolitical, social, and environmental challenges on a scale not seen for many decades. The implications for business are far-reaching and long-lasting.

At CRF’s 12^th International Conference, Trading in the New Business Landscape, leading business thinkers and practitioners took us on a learning journey through the new, volatile, and fast-changing business landscape. 

Over three days in Athens, our international delegates gathered to examine the megatrends facing organisations as we emerge from a decade which has embraced huge technological advancement, financial meltdown, a pandemic, massive political realignment and a shift in the balance of world economic power. How do organisations adapt and adjust? How do they stay in the game? What are the operational ramifications of doing business in a changing context?

We began by bringing the outside in, reviewing current geopolitical developments and their impacts on trade and societies. We then developed a lens for better understanding why the ‘job’ is no longer the optimal organising construct for work. We learned about the technological challenges posed by hybrid working, and examined the new demands of leadership. We discovered the components of the competitiveness ecosystem, and assessed the characteristics of highly ranked economies. We tried to solve the UK’s productivity puzzle, and reviewed the benefits and risks of accessing the global talent pool. 

We hope this Retrospective, with its session summaries, speaker and delegate insights, key takeaways, and further resources, serves as a reminder of the time we spent together, and as a cue to apply significant learning points to your own organisational challenges.