Graeme Codrington

The TIDES of Change

Categories: Business, Digital, Future of Work, Futurist, Generations, Innovation, Leadership, Strategy, Technology, Trends

Graeme Codrington is an expert on the future of work. He is a keynote presenter, author, futurist, facilitator and strategy consultant working worldwide across multiple industries and sectors. His distinctive style blends cutting-edge research, thought leading insights with humour, a conversational approach and multimedia-driven presentations and workshops.

He has a particular interest in trends affecting how people live, work, interact and connect with each other. He works with organisations around the world to help them prepare for the future, and develop their leaders. Speaking internationally to over 100,000 people in more than 20 different countries every year, he has shared the platform with the likes of Edward de Bono, Michael Porter, Kofi Annan, Markus Buckingham, W. Chan Kim, Allan Pease, Sir Ken Robinson and Neil Armstrong. He has won numerous awards for his speaking and facilitation, including ‘Speaker of the Year’ by the Academy for Chief Executives, has attained the Global Speaker Federation’s ‘Certified Speaking Professional Global’ qualification and is a Fellow of the Professional Speakers Association. He is the only speaker in the world to be inducted into two speakers “Halls of Fame” (Southern Africa and the UK & Ireland).

Graeme is the co-founder and a international partner of TomorrowToday Global, a firm of futurists and business strategists. He is a guest lecturer at a number of top business schools, including the London Business School, Duke Corporate Education, Cornell and the Gordon Institute of Business Science. He is a professional member of a number of associations, including the World Future Society, The Institute of Directors, the International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry, the Global Federation of Professional Speakers and MENSA. He has a Doctorate in Business Administration (note: his DBA was awarded by the now non-accredited Rushmore University – Graeme is in the process of pursuing further doctoral studies), a Masters in Sociology, an Honours in Youth Work and two undergraduate degrees – in Arts (Theology/Philosophy) and Commerce. He has a number of best-selling books, including the award winning, “Mind the Gap” and “Future-Proof Your Child”, published by Penguin.

Graeme’s breadth of knowledge and expertise makes him highly relevant in today’s rapidly evolving business world. Along with his formal qualifications and research credentials, he has a wide range of business experience. He did Chartered Accountancy articles at KPMG, was involved in an IT startup, has been a professional musician, a strategy consultant and is now a full-time speaker, facilitator and author. His client list includes some of the world’s top companies, and CEOs invite him back time after time to share his latest insights and help them and their teams gain a clear understanding of how to successfully prepare for a disruptive future.

Graeme works from bases in London and Johannesburg, presenting and facilitating on every continent around the world.

The Disruptive Forces Shaping The World Right Now, and How We Should Respond

The mega-forces shaping the world right now, and what we should be doing about them
We’re not just living in a time of turbulent change – we are actually experiencing an era shift in history. The rules for success and failure are being rewritten, and there’s no “business as usual” anymore. This is true in every industry and every market. Smart leaders need to keep ahead of these changes by anticipating them, and developing a future-focused skill set. The most successful companies are going to be those that build future thinking, adaptability and innovation into their very DNA.

To do this, we need a new toolkit of skills for the leaders and their teams who are navigating exponential change.

This presentation or workshop provides a future-focused leadership toolkit, along with a compelling picture of the near future. It will inspire and inform in equal measure, and leave your team excited about the future while at the same time knowing what each of them can do to help you get there.

It shines a spotlight on five key skills for future-focussed leaders:

Look beyond the next horizon: This is the heart of the session as we use TomorrowToday’s TIDES Model of Disruptive Change to introduce key areas in which we anticipate disruptive change in the next 5-10 years. This section is constantly updated and highly customised for each client we work with, ensuring the example we choose to look at connect with your team. These include energy, graphene, nanotech, hydroponic farming, the Internet of Things (especially at home), smartphones, genetics, robotics, cyborgs, driverless cars, Millennials, virtual and augmented reality, blockchain, AI/algorithms, 3d printing, the growth of developing markets, the 100 year lifespan, urbanisation, the on demand workforce, and more.
Be curious and experiment more. The best way to deal with uncertainty and volatility is to develop an experimental mindset. This is the basis of agility and resilience. We lay out the key organisational requirements to make this a reality.
Embrace Difference. Listen to different voices, actively engage with different thinking. This is not diversity quotas or compliance, but about accessing different worldviews in your team and environment. In a workshop session, we can go deeper here into cognitive biases and thinking skills.
Leverage technology (not just digitise). Too many businesses are simply taking their old systems and processes and putting them online, without understanding or taking advantage of the new principles of the digital age. true innovation in the digital age is not merely about product, service and distribution, it’s actually about innovating your whole business model too. This session will show you how, and in workshop format will help your team come up with these new ways of thinking.
Sell Solutions not Products. Not just something for the sales team to consider, but for every person in our businesses. As we scan the horizon we must look for opportunities to add value and to push our organisations into the future.
Deal with limiting orthodoxies. This refers to habits of thinking and action, and “the way things are done around here”, and which of these might be holding us back. We will specifically consider what we measure and reward.

This session is a look at the future, and at the new attitudes and actions required from your people. The presentation or workshop focuses on how your people and leaders can respond, by understanding the nature of disruptive change, looking beyond the next horizon for these trends, getting the whole team involved, experimenting more and confronting limiting orthodoxies.

The TIDES of Change
The five disruptive forces shaping the new world of work in the next decade

Understand the forces that are reshaping your industry’s landscape, and see how they can help you gain a competitive advantage. The five forces are: Technology, Institutional change, 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!

Millennials Today
Connecting With, Leading and Managing Young Talent in a Digital World

Generation Y (Millennials) have grown up in a world very different to that of older generations. Globalisation has shrunk the planet. Technology is endemic and everything is expected to be enabled by it. The Internet has revolutionised not only the way Millennials access information, but the way they buy and sell, the way they socialise, and even the way they meet partners (in life and business).

This session introduces this younger generation, explaining how they see their world, what their view of “normal” is and how that influences the way they live and work. It provides tools and insights that will assist with effective integration and understanding of this new group.

They have grown up in a world where EVERYTHING has a technology side to it. Consequently, technology is the ‘norm’ for them. They don’t need manuals or lessons on how to use technology – they just know how to use it intuitively. This session also considers the reality that these Digital Natives live in a world shared with those who are less digital savvy than they are, and the impact of this.

“Millennials Today” takes you into the world and mind of Generation Y (Millennials). It helps you understand how they came to be the way they are, what you need to consider if you want to connect with them effectively, and it germinates strategic thoughts you need to consider, if you are to maximise the opportunity that this new wallet brings.

“Graeme delivered a most thought provoking, interesting and engaging presentation the first event, so we invited him back…. twice! Each time he tailored his presentation to suit the different audiences, and each time they were enthralled, entertained and left contemplating his words how they can apply his new thinking to their own businesses. He is a true professional and a pleasure to work with”.
~ Nevine Hunt, Customer Engagement Marketing & Event Planning Manager, Sabre

“Our sincere THANK YOU for your support and facilitation, both in Singapore and Hong Kong. We have had amazing feedback from participants and our senior leaders that attended [the one day New Director’s Program you designed and ran for us]. You left the participants with a strong sense of what it means to be a leader and the importance of being true to their own values and beliefs. There also seemed to have been a sense of pride in the room for working in an organization where leadership truly matters and is displayed at senior level.”

~ Sara Hallström, Business School, Leadership Institute APAC, Credit Suisse Hong Kong and Singapore

“Graeme delivered a riveting and engaging presentation – hands down the best future trends content I have seen. Our participants had an eye opening experience and began to look at the world in a new way immediately. He gave them a new lens to view their businesses and indeed, the world around them.”

~ Shannon Knott, Project Director (Haniel), Duke Corporate Education

“This was one of the best sessions we’ve had in the last 5 years. Graeme did a fabulous job presenting important information in a very entertaining way. It was absolutely fantastic!”
~ Stephanie Porter, Director: Customer Programs, Amdocs Marketing Group

“Graeme’s talks are always inspiring and thought-provoking; his topic is well-researched and the message, although serious, is delivered in a humorous and informal manner. His presentations are always extremely well received by our audiences and his talks have certainly had a favourable impact on the way in which we conduct business. In particular, Graeme’s presentation on ‘The New Generation’ has been a consistent favourite with our audiences. It is a pleasure to work with Dr Codrington and his professionalism (on and off the stage), together with his values, result in a wonderful working relationship. I can highly recommend him as a speaker.”
~ Allen Swiegers, Chief Operating Officer, Deloitte, Southern Africa

“Graeme was participating to a global event delivery in Vienna, which we created to one of our clients. Throughout the whole process he has been enthusiastic and creative person adding value to our clients event. His role was a keynote speaker, but he certainly did put him self into delivering the perfect content matching the events objectives. Great eventROI including great marks from the participants! He is just very good. ”
~ Mika Lehtinen, Troi Helsinki, for client: F-Secure

“Graeme is one of the most talented speakers and experts in his field world wide. His talks engage, inspire and blow out the cobwebs of complacence. Once you have heard him speak on future trends and the new world of work you cant help but be motivated to raise your game. He delivers the kind of information that sends you scurrying to your Laptop at 1 am in the morning.”
~Iona Minton, Owner, The Money ToolKit

Graeme Codrington

Related Speakers

Login