New Realities Equals New Recipes

 
Renee Horne, London       24 January 2011

“We are living in a new reality many things have changed, we should not go back to the old recipes”, that’s the message from Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Klaus Schwab.  This ahead of  WEF’s Flagship event in Davos this week where many will try to find recipes for success for the world’s economic woes. The Annual Meeting will convene under the theme “Shared Norms for the New Reality”. This reflects the foremost concern of many leaders that we are living in a world of increasing complexity and interconnectivity while simultaneously experiencing an erosion of common values that undermines public trust in leadership as well as future economic growth and political stability.   Stephen Chan (OBE), Professor of International Relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), argues that “it’s a reasonably sober Davos; I think people will recognise that we are not completely out of the woods.”

TALK SHOP OR WORKSHOP

Two thousand delegates consisting of royalty, politicians, business leaders, bankers and financial titans from across the world will descend on the Swiss Alpine Resort for a frenzy of press conferences, private seminars and meetings. ‘It is a talk shop, but at the same time it is a very valuable talk shop, it is a power play talk shop in many ways. What Davos does is to allow certain sentiments about the world to coalesce into rational statements. In other words it allows certain forms of consensus to emerge or at least to begin to develop over the next year or two. So yes it is important as a shaper of the way people think, and behaviour internationally”, argues Prof Chan. The convenors of WEF seem to suggest that it’s not merely a talk shop but a workshop of trying to find workable solutions for the challenges facing the world. The forum has published a risk report which identifies thirty–four challenges ranging from the economic crises to health issues. 

In four days, the forum will discuss many aspects of economic development including: efforts in rethinking infrastructure development, reshaping responsible capitalism and encouraging the free movement of people and goods. In addition, the forum is advocating a “health for all” strategy as one in six people do not have access to adequate nutrition today that makes about a billion people worldwide. Another hot issue is the strengthening and development of our financial systems this by focusing on alternative investments, long-term investing, financial governance, as well as mobile financial services readiness and sustainable lending. According to the forum “the world’s expected economic growth will have to be supported by an extra 100 trillion US dollars (£63 trillion) in credit over the next decade”.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS IN THE GLOBAL PUBLIC INTEREST

That’s WEF’s motto when dealing with social development. The forum believes that economic progress without social development is unsustainable, so entrepreneurship will also be one of the main topics of discussion. In 2007, WEF formed the Community of Global Growth Companies (GGC) which allows the engagement of dynamic high-growth companies with the potential to be tomorrow’s industry leaders and to become a driving force of economic and social change.  Currently over 280 companies from over 60 countries have been admitted to the GGC Community and members have a wide range of benefits available to them including: new business opportunities across industries and regions, networking with the world’s leading business and policy experts, peer-to-peer collaboration and experience exchange, industry-specific and cross-industry knowledge sharing.

So, as an upcoming entrepreneur you may question how do I become a member? Unfortunately, memberships is by invitation only, which includes the world’s fastest growing corporations, with a consistent annual growth rates exceeding industry and regional averages by 15%, a minimum turnover between US$ 100 million and US$ 5 billion.  Under such criteria, this appears to be more of an exclusive club, coming at a time when entrepreneurs are finding it increasingly difficult to get their businesses off the ground.  According to a Delta Economics study, Challenges and Opportunities for Growth and Sustainability (COGS) which covered 1,500 growth businesses across 12 countries, approximately 27% of UK owned companies were the most reliant on state funded aid, while the other large European nation, Italy also showed reliance on the state....(click here to obtain views and the full COGS report).

Ultimately the questions are: Should business get a boost from the state?
Should we have public/private partnerships?
Is entrepreneurship in the global public interest as the World Economic Forum indicates? 

To join the debate...click here.