You are a potential senior executive of the near future! Soon, you will be directing and giving substance to a professional discipline, a business unit or even stand at the helm of an entire organisation. It is fantastic if you have these options and capabilities to develop yourself. You’ve certainly got what it takes, and you know it. Your organisation spotted you as having a ‘high potential’, and at the moment, your organisation and you are doing everything you can to prepare you for a position with overall responsibility. You’re probably noticing already that it brings a lot of responsibilities with it. But the way to the top is a challenge, and you know it. It is exciting to constantly have to operate on the cutting edge and capitalise on opportunities for your organisation and for yourself.
For you and 400 other Future Leaders (from 25 to 35 years of age), Samenleving & Bedrijf, the Dutch national network of companies promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR), is organising the first Future Leaders Event in the Netherlands, in cooperation with the newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad and Business News Radio, and you will be part of it!
The 2007 Future Leaders Event will be entirely devoted to corporate social responsibility. It goes without saying that future leaders can no longer ignore this topic. There have been some drastic changes in the world in recent decades. Globalisation is continuing apace. The challenges facing us all in the world today, such as climate change, conservation of our natural habitat, fighting poverty, and ensuring sustainable economic growth, competition and quality of life, require from the future leaders innovative and out-of-the-box thinking and decisive action. Tomorrow’s leaders are sensitive, are able to translate social developments into their own discipline or organisation, and provide authentic leadership.
You and your fellow future leaders face huge responsibilities. You will have to be able to demonstrate your leadership skills in the near future. That is why we are looking 12 years ahead. During The Future Leaders Event we focus on the year 2020 as our point of departure. You will have to be prepared and willing to go further than the current leaders, regardless of whether you’re working in a commercial enterprise or a public authority. The fact of the matter is that the current challenges are so immense that they leave little room for conventional thinking and doing. On the contrary, it is up to you to break new ground, to go further than your predecessors. In short, to show future leadership!
The Future Leaders Event will take place on 30 June 2008 in the Schouwburg in Almere. So make sure you set aside this date in your diary right now, because as a future leader you simply cannot afford to miss it. During a day of inspiring presentations, debates and meetings, you and other future leaders and decision-makers from the Dutch and international corporate sectors and the non-profit sectors will focus on the major global and domestic issues and opportunities. It is important to know how to translate these issues into your current and future role, to know how to create opportunities, pool resources between organisations, and know how to open up a network with strong mutual bonds. Not only during the 2007 Future Leaders Event itself, but especially during the years that follow.
Organisations that are committed to CSR see their competitive position improving. It not only strengthens the organisations’ reputation, but staff are also better motivated and more committed and involved. New markets are developed and new sustainable products are better tailored to the trends and needs in society. In a nutshell, corporate social responsibility produces commercial gains – but of course, you already knew that!
Your mind will have been stimulated during the morning and the afternoon, you will have made a practical contribution towards the manifest of the future leaders. Your view on an urgent issue and the matching sustainable solution may feature prominently in Het Financieele Dagblad. You will have given an interview to Business News Radio. Your head is filled with ideas. You have identified plenty of opportunities for change within your own organization, and the reality is that you can’t stand waiting any longer. You want to share, show leadership. But, we’re not that far yet….
The 2007 Future Leaders Event will influence your life. You will be inspired, and bursting with new energy; you will be ready and keen to go and make a change. You’ll want to share your unique knowledge and experience with others, to find other people and inspire them. You’ll be ready to demonstrate your authentic style of leadership to your organisation and to society. You will feel it in your veins. Your future is now!