William Higham

It’s not true what they say: age is not just a number. Different age groups have different work needs, expectations and drivers. Much depends on when you were born. Whether you grew up in a Boom or a Bust, with a money-oriented or moralistic culture, what tech you had, who your role models were: it all shapes your approach to work. And attitudes can clash when your boss’ or teammates’ generations don’t share them.

What do your Gen X, Millennial and Gen Z employees want? How can you meet those needs while keeping everyone happy? This talk explores what shaped each generation, what they value at work and how to help them ‘play nicely’ together.

I’ve led cross-generational teams and projects aimed at specific generations. I’ve spent years tracking how needs evolve and what works across ages. I turn my insights into clear, practical advice audiences can use immediately, alongside the lively discussions and surprising reflections it always sparks.

2024’s proving to be another year of uncertainty. And many executives themselves are feeling uncertain. But that doesn’t need to be the case. I’ve been helping leaders manage uncertainty for over a decade. And I’ve learned that volatile times actually provide more growth opportunities than calm ones. As Formula One champion Ayrton Senna once said: “You can’t overtake fifteen cars in sunny weather – but you can when it’s raining.”  I’ve created a brand new talk that helps leaders thrive in today’s unstable world. It distils all my experience of Uncertainty Management into six practical processes you can adopt to help you thrive in a VUCA world. I can show you not just how to manage uncertainty, but how to find huge growth opportunities within it.

Companies that actively promote a culture of innovation are 3.5x more likely to outperform their peers. And 87% of executives believe innovation is essential to their organisation’s success and growth (McKinsey). Yet  just 36% of today’s businesses are actively innovative (DTI).

If you’re finding it hard to create an innovation culture within your company, this talk can help. Over the last 20 years, I’ve identified four practical things companies can do to become more innovative.

• Identify customer-led growth opportunities
• Instil a more open, “challenger” mindset
• Manage collaborative creativity and idea generation
• Build new metrics and processes to test success

I show you how to use these in your business – to create innovative new products and processes that’ll keep you a step ahead of the competition.

In tomorrow’s uncertain business landscape, the most successful companies won’t be those with the best products or marketing teams. They’ll be the ones that can best adapt to new circumstances. The ones with the best organisation: the most efficiently run offices, smartest workflows and resource allocation, inspiring cultures and engaged, productive employees.

But old fashioned environments and reporting structures are really hampering many companies’ productivity, engagement and efficiency. The introduction of hybrid is a good start – but much more needs to be done.

In this talk, I look at what CEOs and the HR department can do to rebuild the enterprise: creating environments and organisational structures fit for the future. That give individuals the autonomy and flexibility to excel – while fostering a collaborative, engaged community across blended workforces. That build flatter, teams-based, results-driven hierarchies working towards a common purpose. That use new technologies like generative AI and smart materials to empower individuals and improve workflows.