Talks
I give talks on different themes from Winners and Losers to a variety of audiences, from industry conferences and the Edinburgh Book Festival to business schools and individual companies. All draw on shortened versions of the stories in the book and are illustrated by slides.
I offer two workshops for business audiences:
- Creating, and entering, new markets
- Combating creative destruction
The first of these has been particularly popular with business schools. Workshops last about two hours – longer when more time is available for questions and discussion.
I also offer shorter talks, normally about 40 minutes long, followed by 20-30 minutes of questions and discussion. The first two of these are based on content used in the workshops.
- How to create a new market. Why Amazon, Apple, Google, Sky and Nokia were so successful, when so many others failed. What are the critical success factors that apply to all market creators?
- Creative destruction. How the innovations that create new markets disrupt established ones and undermine the competitive advantage of all incumbents eventually. (And how IBM and Nokia survived and prospered.)
- Winner takes all. How network dynamics help a favoured few to take almost all the prizes. But Microsoft, Google, eBay and Facebook are not typical: in most markets in the networked economy, competitive advantage is more elusive and fleeting than ever before.
- Who needs business gurus? Why executives may have more to learn from philosophers, poets and historians.
- The Right Stuff. What does it take to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in a networked economy? What are the essential attributes of all lasting industry leaders?
