We went to WOBI!

Dec 3, 2024

5 min read

Our TOP learnings and how you can apply them to your business

Earlier this month, Anne, Jane and Alicia were lucky enough to attend the World Business Forum (WOBI) in Sydney. WOW! What an inspiring two days it was. We heard from world renowned business thinkers and economists, leadership experts, and sporting champions. We also came away with incredible insights on AI and marketing. Check out all the speakers here.

We arrived back on the Gold Coast with our brains, bellies and inboxes full and unpacked our learnings with the rest of the Streamline HR team. Yet still, we are overflowing with inspiration and ideas and are desperate to discuss and share as much as we can, with as many as we can, while it’s fresh in our minds.

So here you go! We have each shared our key takeaway and practically how you may be able to apply these concepts as a business owner or leader.

Lessons to Leaders from Champions in Sport (Anne)

It was fascinating that Cathy Freeman and Andre Agassi captured so much attention particularly given it was the World Business Forum. Some of their lessons really resonated with me so here is a small snapshot.

1. Be humble, but own your successes

When Cathy Freeman took the stage, she was understated, calm, and undeniably humble- clearly uncomfortable with the spotlight. Yet, when asked if she ever struggled with imposter syndrome, her response was: "No, I earned my successes."

2. Have a purpose bigger than yourself

At his lowest point, Andre Agassi took a $40 million loan to build a school for underprivileged children. That gave him 40 million reasons to work harder, fuelling his determination to win tennis matches and make a difference in the lives of others not just play a game for money. (This was a theme echoed in Marcus Collins’ keynote as well, a great speaker and highly entertaining.)

3. Be mindful of the impact of your words

Cathy Freeman reflected on five pivotal people who shaped her belief in herself. From the teacher who pulled her out of the bathroom as a shy child to race, to the stepfather who told her she’d be the greatest—these individuals helped her see her own potential. Often, others see our capabilities more clearly than we do. Trust them and go for it.

4. Look after yourself first

This is something I see often; people giving so much to others that they neglect themselves. Cathy’s advice was simple but important—take care of yourself first. When you prioritise your well-being, you’re a better friend, partner, colleague, and family member.

6. Authenticity matters

Both Andre and Cathy emphasised the importance of being genuine, as did many of the other speakers (except for Nouriel Roubini who discussed "10 Mega Threats Facing the World"—not exactly uplifting content for a newsletter though). People connect with honesty, authenticity, and sincerity.

5. Work hard, be kind

This phrase, displayed in an image behind Andre Agassi during his talk, struck a chord. What more do we need than these two guiding principles?

Strategy fit for the future (Jane)

I’ve often thought the default position of ‘managers managing managers’ is no longer truly relevant in our world of work - so Gary Hamel was a breath of fresh air!

He argued that we ‘need a revolution in management’ the same way that Netflix revolutionised the BBC or Air BnB revolutionised the Marriott, because ‘Innovation is the only insurance against irrelevance’.

When small businesses grow, they can become bloated, complex, arthritic, politicised and timid – what Gary calls ‘Bureausclerosis’ - seeking maximum compliance for the sake of efficiency. He said that organisations and leaders instead need to:

Involve our people in the decision making, moving from human resources to human ‘resourcefulness’
Ask our people ‘What’s getting in the way of you doing the best you could for your client/customer?’
Have revolutionary goals and take evolutionary steps.

He also said that leaders who are fit for the future have:

the courage to tackle the difficult problems
should be contrarian and think outside their discipline (no more ‘staying in your lane’)
extraordinary compassion
the ability and desire to build communities

We can’t solve new problems with old principles or, as Gary says, “You can’t put a tutu on a dog hoping it will become a ballerina.”

Conscious leadership (Alicia)

One of my passion areas is how we can improve our happiness and performance at work through intentional self-management, so it’s probably not surprising for anyone that knows me that one of my favourite speakers was Richard Hall. Richard defined self-management as “our capacity to regulate our behaviour in the moment” and self-differentiation as “the separation of oneself from one’s experiences to make conscious choices”.

Basically, he drove home that no one is ever having the same experience as us, yet we often mistake our own experiences for the truth. Rather we should work towards acknowledging the diversity of our experiences and maintain a curious mindset when it comes to other’s perspectives.

In the workplace, this will show up when we are faced with situations of conflict or resistance. Richard spoke to a tool called “The Experience Cube” which helps us understand and talk to our own experiences by consciously considering what we are:

Observing – what can we see and hear?
Thinking – what do we believe? What are we telling ourselves?
Feeling – what are the physical sensations and emotions present?
Wanting – what do we want to happen, what do we want to do?

Once we understand our own experiences we can use ‘I’ statements and clear language to communicate and promote ownership of these experiences without projecting our personal thoughts and feelings onto others. In turn, we can make clear, considered decisions without being influenced by other’s reactions and emotions.

Next time you’re having a challenging conversation with a team member give this a go, and report back. We’d love to hear how it went!

Now to wrap up…

Feel free to reach out to us if you’d like to hear more about these takeaways or other learnings that we had.

To wrap up, here are a few memorable quotes from each speaker…

“As bureaucracy grows, productivity declines” – Gary Hamel (Strategy)
“It is a confluence of calamities – the most risky, unstable decade since World War II” - Nouriel Roubini (APAC & The Global Economy)
“Culture is our only and ultimate competitive advantage” – Anne Chow (Leadership)
“Clear is kind” – Richard Hall (Self-Management)
“Pressure is privilege” – Cathy Freeman (Diversity & Inclusion)
“If you change the way you see the world, the world will change” – Marcus Collins (Marketing)
“We should be worried… train your intuition” – Radhika Dirks (Generative AI)
“Purpose accelerates profit” - Lisa MacCallum (Talent)
“Business is easy, people are complicated” - Andre Agassi (High Performance)