New blog post: Nine key workforce trends for the next decade

I have just written a new blog post and article on nine key workforce trends for the next decade. You can read it at my blog, and also download a PDF version at: http://tinyurl.com/9workforcetrends

I’d be interested in your comments.

Public breakfast session: The TIDES of Change – 19 August 2010, Johannesburg

I will be doing a public breakfast presentation at the DiData Campus, Bryanston, Johannesburg on the morning of 19 August 2010. There are limited seats available, so book now to avoid disappointment.

The session includes a finger breakfast, and a 90 minute presentation with Q&A. I will be talking on “The TIDES of Change” – the five disruptive forces that will shape the next decade. You’ll learn about how the world of work will change, and what you can do to gain a competitive advantage in the next few years. It’s an inspiring and challenging session.

The cost is R 890 per person, all inclusive.

You can see more details, and make a booking at: http://tomorrowtoday.uk.com/public-seminar-19-august/. Please quote “TomorrowToday” when making the booking!

I look forward to seeing you there.

Updated our company website

I have just spent a large part of today updating our company website. It’s got a nice new look and feel, thanks to a new theme and an upgrade to WordPress 3 (a small technical detail for the nerds).

Have a look: http://www.tomorrowtoday.uk.com – and let me know what you think.

Was the Vuvuzela invented in South Africa?

I am thrilled that the biggest controversy surrounding the FIFA World Cup in South Africa 2010 seems to be the drone of the vuvuzela in the background. For the first week or so, international broadcasters completely messed up their sound feeds by keeping up the effects microphone volumes at their “normal” levels, completely drowning out commentary and all other sounds from the ground. This led to a chorus of complaints from around the world. Then, I am guessing, someone at ITV and the BBC decided that maybe it was a good idea to speak to someone at the SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) about how to setup the mics. SABC has, after all, about 30 years of experience in broadcasting football in South Africa, with the vuvuzela adding a beautiful (and unmistakable) background noise. It is, for me, at least, the sound of football.

But this blog entry is not about the arrogance of international broadcasters in the face of something new (after all, they first encountered the plastic trumpets over a year ago at the Confederations Cup, and hadn’t done any preparation in that year!).

What I am interested in seeing is whether the vuvuzela will be picked up elsewhere in world now. Apparently over 1.5 million have been sold in Europe. And when my girls took our one to school in London, it was a huge hit with everyone! Saudi Arabia have just banned the vuvuzela at all public gatherings, even going so far as issuing a fatwa against it. Pretty impressive that a £ 5 piece of plastic needs a “go straight to hell” warning on it.

I’m looking forward to the opening weekend of the Premier League next month.

But, there’s another issue that was raised for me recently. It came in the form a picture of an ancient scene. I had always thought that the vuvuzela was a South African invention. But this picture indicates that it has been around for a lot longer than that. See what you think:

Two weeks in Iran

I have spent the past 12 days in the wonderful country of Iran. I have travelled around to a number of different cities, as part of a conference series. I’ll reflect on the trip and the conditions in Iran in a separate post on our blog. But here, I just wanted to record the trip, and post a few pictures for those who might be interested.

My itinerary was:

• 24, Yazd
  
• 25, Isfahan
  
• 29 & 30, Negotiations Forum 2010, Tehran – see front page of event brochure
  
• 1 & 2 July, Negotiations Forum 2010 (repeat), Tehran – sign up for the event here
  
• 5 & 6, Karaj city (I will be speaking twice on 5 July only): Sales and Marketing forum.

Read more

Promoted by Room54 agency in the UK

I have a good relationship with a number of speaker agencies around the world: two in particular in the UK. One of these is Room54, run by Jan Jenkins. They’re a pleasure to work with.

Jan recently promoted me on her blog: http://room54ltd.wordpress.com/2010/07/02/business-speaker-2/

If you need to find speakers in the UK, either contact me for recommendations, or get hold of Room54 – they’ll be able to help you.

Graeme to speak at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, 22 May 2010

Graeme has accepted an invitation to be the closing keynote presenter at a day long conference to be held in Oxford later this month. The topic is “Is Africa Next?”. It is run by the Strategic Focus on Africa Special Interest Group (a student-led group) is organising a conference to promote business in Africa and to deepen the understanding of business opportunities and challenges being faced on the continent, within the wider Oxford community.

Find out about the event, and join us at: http://sbs-isafricanext.weebly.com

Presenting in Johannesburg, 6 and 7 May

I will be in South Africa next, doing a number of different client and public events. You can see my itinerary here.

Two events might be of particular interest to anyone living in Johannesburg. Firstly, on Thursday morning, 6 May 2010, in Woodmead, you can come to a business workshop focusing on the new world of work. It is being run by the TomorrowToday team, and promises to be hugely insightful. Details can be found here. I will be speaking about the disruptive forces that will shape the new world of work in the next decade.

Then, on Friday early morning, 7 May 2010, at the DiData Campus in Bryanston, I am speaking at a fund raiser for Rosebank Union Church’s XChange youth programme. Find details and sign up for the event here. I will be speaking about “The Millennial Kids” at this breakfast.

Out of interest, I will also be presenting “Mind the Gap” at Waterstone College in Kibler Park on the evening of 6 May. This is open to parents and prospective parents of the school.

Please note that I will be back in South Africa for the whole of August, and available to speak at your event. Contact me for details.

Listed at SpeakerRate

I have listed myself at the new social media based speaker site: SpeakerRate.com. See my profile here – rate me or rate on of the talks you heard me make.

SpeakerRate is a community site that is aimed at event organisers, attendees and speakers. Event attendees can provide constructive feedback for the speakers they’ve heard as well as track the talks they’ve attended and research upcoming talks. Speakers can get constructive feedback directly – and immediately – from attendees and find out how they can improve their content and delivery for next time. They can also establish a SpeakerRating, which will help them grow their reputation. Organisers can research and choose the best speakers and presentations for their next event.

A message for delegates of cancelled conferences

This past week has seen complete chaos across Europe and the world, as a volcanic ash cloud has forced planes out of the skies. For 6 days, no commercial flights were allowed to fly across large parts of Europe. Holidaymakers were stranded, businesses ground to a halt, and allround chaos ensued.

The impact for me was that a number of conferences and meetings were cancelled. So, with a bit of time on my hands, and some disappointed delegates around the world, I thought I’d record a short video to tell them about what I would have told them about if we had had the conference (if you see what I mean).

The result is a 15 minute video that talks about disruptive changes in business, and five key trends that will disrupt the world of work in the next decade. You can watch it now here.

Just a thought: Get rid of your IT department

I wrote an article for the most recent TomorrowToday ezine (sign up here for free, if you don’t already subscribe) with the title of this post. It has had a lot of interest, with many requests to repost and publish it.

You can read it here. You might also be interested in another article I wrote recently about how social media will reshape business.

Special offer: Get Graeme Codrington to speak at your next event

My team at TomorrowToday have just put together a special offer for the months of April and May 2010. If you make a booking for either of these two months, we will be able to offer you a 20% discount on our standard fees.

Have a look at the special offer we put together to see details, and then contact us to discuss how we can add great value to your next conference, team event or strategy session.

Our highly entertaining presentations are backed by the latest business research, and provide information and inspiration for organisations that are developing their strategies for the next few years. Take a look at some recent client comments and at the companies that have used our services.

My latest presentation: After Shock

The recession has been more than just an economic downturn – it has changed the world of work, forever. There are five key disruptive forces shaping the new world of work in the next decade. Understand the forces that are reshaping the business landscape, and see how they can help you predict the future and gain a competitive advantage in your industry. The five forces are: Technology, Institutional upheaval, changing Demographics, the Environment and shifting Societal values. These are the T.I.D.E.S. of change. A guaranteed paradigm shaker, this presentation or workshop will show you how to set a strategic agenda that will ensure your success in the next decade!

Read an outline of the five forces at our blog. Or you can download a copy of the PDF version from the TomorrowToday site (right click and save as if it doesn’t download). If you’re interested in using “After Shock” as a presentation or workshop at one of your team meetings, please contact Graeme to discuss how he can customise it for you.

For even more information on “After Shock”, including a video overview, the take home value and links to related resources, see the information page at TomorrowToday UK (will open in a new window).

My travel schedule

If you’re interested in where I am planning to be, I make a an extract of my travel schedule available online – it’s here. See which countries and cities I will be in, and if you’re there too, I’d love to hear from you. I am happy to meet up for a chat, or make myself available to speak at your company and event.

I love to travel and work in new countries and different cultures.

E-zine newsletter just out (and archives uploaded)

I do not have my own newsletter – I contribute to the e-zine sent out by my company, TomorrowToday. It’s sent out about once every six weeks, and includes some really cutting edge thinking from members of our team. You’ll really enjoy reading it.

Subscribe here, and take a look at the archives, too.

(And, just in case you needed reassurance, we don’t use your email address for anything else, and NEVER give to anyone for anything).

Have you booked Graeme? You’ll need to know this

If you’re a meeting planner or someone who has booked Graeme for an event, then we’ve just added a page with everything you need to know. Click here to find:

• How to introduce Graeme
  
• What equipment Graeme needs
  
• Download photographs of Graeme to use in your marketing and event programme
  

Click here for a list of Graeme’s standard presentations, including summaries of their content that you can use in your event materials.

Click here to download summaries of Graeme’s slides. You can print these out for your delegates or send it on to them in digital format. Note that this link takes you to Graeme’s company website, TomorrowToday.uk.com.

Also at the TomorrowToday website is an extract from Graeme’s travel schedule.

If you need anything else, please do contact us with your request.

Updated list of presentations and programmes

My latest presentation, After Shock, is gaining a lot of interest. See the article I wrote about it here, and read about the presentation contents and outcomes here. Watch a six minute overview video here. I am very excited about this presentation. To be honest, if I were to start my career all over again, this would be the thing I’d like to start with. It has helped me draw a lot of threads together and bring together a lot of what I have spent the last decade doing.

The presentation looks at five disruptive forces that will shape the world of work in the next decade. The forces are:

• Technology – from biomedical advances to space tourism, and web 2.0 to mobile internet, we will be shaped by the impact of convergence, augmented reality and user-generated content.
  
• Institutional upheaval – there is a “new normal” emerging as the rules for success in almost every industry are changing
  
• Demographics – ageing populations, plummeting fertility and global migration are just a few of the demographic shifts that are fundamentally changing the world, our employees and our customers
  
• Environment – sustainability is now more than ever a business imperative, and should be developed as a business critical strategy
  
• Societal values – what we expect, what we value and how we live are all changing, as we change our views on issues as diverse as the role of women, homosexuality, the role of the family, work-life balance, how we want to be remunerated, what work environment we want, how we will work virtually, and how companies can motivate us. There is some surprising science behind these monumental shifts in societal values.

I really believe that these five headings provide a clear framework for strategy development for the next 3 to 5 years. Companies that understand how the world will change and the new rules for success in their industry will gain a significant competitive advantage as we emerge from recession. Every recession in recorded history has ended with chaos, as unexpected winners and losers rapidly emerge. This one will be no different, and these five forces will be key to your success in the next few years.

The other presentations I am able to present all provide additional information and insights into one or more of these five areas. You can see the full listing and overviews on my new look presentations page.