When the Qantas Think live-interview event was held at Melbourne restaurant Alfred Place in early March, the coronavirus pandemic was only just on the radar in Australia. Dr Catriona Wallce offered insights and learnings that have direct application for corporate leaders now plotting the course through this year of unpredictability.

Never Waste a Crisis

Leading Through Uncertainty, Change and Disruption

COVID-19 is an example of an entirely predictable disaster. Serious, novel pathogens emerge regularly. None of this minimises or plays down the effects of the current pandemic but it does illustrate that this should be an occurrence that that precisely no one finds surprising. Not only was it bound to happen sometime, evolution tells us it is certain to happen again, too, So how do we lead our teams in times of change and massive disruption?

COVID-19 is an example of an entirely predictable disaster. Yes, its effects will likely be economically devastating (and in some cases personally devastating for those affected in the individual sense), but nonetheless it is still absolutely predictable. Serious, novel pathogens emerge regularly. In the last 20 years, we’ve seen things like H1N1, H5N1 and SARS all emerge, as well as outbreaks and epidemics of older viruses such as Zika and Ebola. None of this minimises or plays down the effects of the current pandemic (which many experts predict may well be worse than all of the above); but it does illustrate that this should be an occurrence that that precisely no one finds surprising. Not only was it bound to happen sometime, evolution tells us it is certain to happen again, too, 

But there is no doubt – predictable or not – that many of us have found ourselves blindsided by just how far-reaching the effects of this pandemic have been. I, myself, have been dealing with my own form of crisis management – I have a team of over 50 people delivering programs in around 4,000 schools a year – including hundreds in the next few months. So you can imagine what operational planning has looked like in my office for the last few days!

Crucially, we cannot allow ourselves to be sucked into thinking purely reactively. We must resist the temptation to be pulled purely into the day-to-day of managing what is right in front of us, and find ways to keep ourselves thinking strategically and learning the lessons we can from this that will help us manage the highly predictable reality of crises, uncertainty and disruption that we will continue to face into the future.

So in this future-focused, provocative and instructive session, we will:

• Look at the curious reality of just how ‘predictable’ most surprises in the marketplace actually are, and look at what the current events should teach us about strategic, scenario and contingency planning
• Unpack the ‘physics’ of disruption; how it moves through markets, and how various sources (technological, demographic, geopolitical, consumer and – yes – even biological!) combine to create an ‘edge’ of disruption in every market 
• Examine the four mindsets of the change-ready leader, and how we can arm ourselves with an approach that makes us more resilient to external shock

With the uncertainty of the COVID-19 virus growing, Keith Ferrazzi is coaching the executive teams of the world's largest organizations virtually. Companies like Delta, GM, & Verizon have pivoted from traditional avenues of engagement and into the virtual world to keep up. You can too.

COVID-19 is an example of an entirely predictable disaster. Serious, novel pathogens emerge regularly. None of this minimises or plays down the effects of the current pandemic but it does illustrate that this should be an occurrence that that precisely no one finds surprising. Not only was it bound to happen sometime, evolution tells us it is certain to happen again, too, So how do we lead our teams in times of change and massive disruption?

Dr Catriona Wallace is speaking for the NSW Government in conjunction with IWD and Women’s Week on a panel at the Talking Women Business Leaders Panel in Sydney.

In this motivational speech technology futurist Shara Evans shares her inspiring personal story of how she became a business leader and globally renowned futurist — whilst overcoming personal challenges that would have been viewed as impossible barriers by most.

Chris Roebuck has been a leader in the military, business world and the governmental world for over thirty five years - and has spent much of that time developing the performance of leaders. His unique approach to talking about leadership unleashes the potential they have.

By helping global organizations recognize and transform behaviors that unlock or block strategic goals, Keith Ferrazzi helps create new, more profitable habits throughout every level of the businesses he works with.

Where do we look for leaders? What do we expect of them? Where are the men and women with integrity, imagination, compassion, vision and the ability to transmit that vision in a way that will galvanise the nation?

Given the state of the world in which we find ourselves, it’s never been more important for companies to understand and moderate their impact on the world.

'Doing well by doing good' can be a strategy that works to drive results, not a mere cliché or buzzword - But how do we make the choice between profit and purpose?

Leaders know that innovation is critical to business success. If you don’t innovate you die.

It’s easy to demand your team be more innovative, but much, much harder to lead the way.

Here’s a few simple steps that enables innovation to happen.

Attitude is the single most important internal tool you have to shape every aspect of your life.

To maximize the power of that tool, it needs to be sharp, you need to know exactly how to use it, and you need to practice with it to bring out its power.

Please begin by taking just a moment to answer this question: What is attitude?

You never hear job ads looking for people who can effect real change. Sure, there’s the ads seeking “ambitious go-getters”, or the old chestnut: “think outside the box”.

But that’s not really what they’re looking for.

Even the best cyclists in the world need a team. A peloton is made up of competing riders who are nevertheless helping each other. Nothing happens in isolation and we can't perform at our best without others.

The value of a strong workplace culture is no longer debated. It’s no surprise that the biggest brand on planet, Google, has also won Fortunes' Best Companies to Work For 6 years in a row. However, this begs two obvious questions a) what kind of culture should your place have, and b) how do you make it happen. Read on.

With nearly 50% of the world's workforce to be comprised of Millennials in just a few years, they're a demographic your business can't afford to ignore.

2017 is very different from 2007. Social media, automation, buy-with-a-click, customer engagement, big data and the cloud are just some of the things that have, in just a few years, gone from being incredible to being normal. James O’Loghlin contests that it’s naïve to think the next 10 years won’t bring just as much change.

Having helped some of the world's best known brands maintain vitality and relevance, Michael McQueen has seen first-hand how the best organisations and leaders build, maintain and re-gain momentum. Find out where your 'momentum' mojo is... take Michael's specially formulated quiz!

The other day I was making my son breakfast. I was carefully assembling his preferred mix of Weet-Bix, Chia seeds, cinnamon, greek yogurt and honey. He said to me 'Daddy you're the Wheet-Bix' professor. It both took me by surprise, and made me laugh.  I guess the point my enlighted 4 year was making is that it's pretty easy to be considered a professor these days, where everyone is an expert in anything.

When a company is small and starting out, everyone has to be innovative. It’s a necessity. You need to innovate to survive, because everything is new. There are new challenges and problems every day, every hour, and a lot of time needs to be spent thinking about how to meet those challenges and solve those problems. Companies have to work out how to supply something of value to customers, how to market their goods and/or services, how to attract and retain the best people and a hundred other things. As they do this, they are being, by definition, innovative.

In the 25 years he led his eponymous theatre company, actor and director John Bell has learned a lot about leadership. Here he shares his experience.

I’ve been thinking about the issues that I’m likely to find myself talking about at conferences and events across the coming year. Here are ten things that I think are set to shape and shape the global and Australian economies during 2016.

Lisa McInnes-Smith is an expert on personal leadership - whether it's managing your own self talk, or looking at your brand.

The words we say to ourselves are so much powerful than the words we will ever hear from other people, so why is it so hard for us women to be kind to ourselves?

Negotiations are a frightening part of life, there are no two ways about it. Whether it's negotiating a fee with a client, haggling your worth to your boss or even standing at a check out and making a case for a refund. The uncertainty and discomfort that comes with these situations can leave us feeling weak and unsure. Below, I have outlined some very easy tools for coming across as confident and a person with authority. Remember these steps and the next time you are in a negotiation situation, you will feel less ninny and more ninja.