IFB Tomorrow’s Leaders Next Generation Conference

The IFB held its inaugural Next Generation Conference on 25 and 26 September.  It was a great couple of days bringing together next generation family members from all across the UK, with a large contingent of international attendees.

The conference explored the challenges and opportunities that future business leaders face, as well as the skills they need to develop to succeed in their future endeavours.  Leading speakers from the academic, charity and business worlds shared their experience and knowledge with the group.

The themes which emerged over and again during the conference included:

Be agile - and adapt!

Speakers reinforced the need to ensure that you and your business monitor change, and are in a position to be able to react and adapt to it promptly. 

Learn from mistakes

Tomorrow's leaders mustn't be afraid to try new things, but if they don't work out we must be prepared to look at our experience and learn from the mistakes.  Learn from those mistakes, then go on and build a stronger future.

Embrace new behaviours

"We've always done it that way" is not a good enough reason to keep operating in the same way.  Look at how you do things, and why, and if the old systems aren't working embrace a 'new tradition' which suits the business you are running now.

The future is now!

Don't spend too long thinking about what the future will be like - in lots of ways it'salready here!  Technology is developing at unprecedented speed and changing every aspect of our lives.  Start adapting now to get ahead of your competitors, and building a successful future for your business.

"The IFB Next Generation Forum includes IFB and FBN members from around the globe.  It's a great way to network with like-minded individuals as they prepare themselves for potentially leading roles in their family businesses" - Anna-Maren Langer, Dimicare