Rich Karlgaard

Tomorrow's Killer Apps - Culture, Teams and People

Artificial intelligence and the ‘Internet of Things,’ drones and driverless cars, cloud supercomputing and blockchain, global smartphone ubiquity and social commerce – the storm of technological change never stops. It continues to accelerate and transform all it touches. The old way of creating a sustainable competitive advantage in the market was to build moats and barriers to entry. But ‘digital natives’ like Uber and Airbnb have proven they can tunnel under the moats and fly over the barriers with ease – and often with huge advantages in market valuations. What can legacy companies do to ‘future proof’ their businesses against such disruption? Rich has identified culture, teamwork and people as the ‘magic triangle’ of sustainable competitive advantage in a fast-changing world.

In this presentation, he draws upon his recent books – The Soft Edge: Where Great Companies Find Lasting Success; Team Genius: The New Science of High-Performing Organizations; and Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement – to explain how great organizations put culture, teamwork and people at the core of their operating principles.

In a world where the workforce is becoming less loyal and more transient, and ideas can come to market in record times, building and maintaining a strong organizational culture built around trust, learning, teamwork, and employee development has never been a more timely topic. So much so, that after having read Karlgaard’s work, the COO of Microsoft, had Rich come to speak to the top 1,000 global executives at Microsoft soon after the elevation of new CEO, Satya Nadella. The session was enthusiastically received – and underscored how these topics transcend organizational size and sector. These are universally important – and imperative – ideas, and Rich delivers masterfully.

Trump, Tech, Trade, Turbulence, and the 2020 Election

In May 2016, Forbes Publisher and Futurist Rich Karlgaard keynoted the Columbus, Ohio, 2020 Conference and predicted Donald Trump would win the presidency. Now Karlgaard dons his political-economic lens once more and predicts the 2020 Presidential and U.S. House and Senate races – the likely impact on the U.S. economy and markets.

At this speech you will also learn:

• Whether a 3%-plus growth economy is sustainable through 2020 and beyond.
• What will trigger the next recession and when?
• Is the stock market poised for a crash, and how will we know one is coming?
• How far will President Trump take his trade war?
• Why technology is speeding up and punishing businesses unable to keep up.
• Will big tech’s disruptors (Amazon, Facebook, and Google) finally be regulated?
  • Which cities and states are best poised for future growth?

Thriving in The Age of Smart Machines

Karlgaard is uniquely positioned at the intersection of business, finance, economics, innovation and technological trends. As such, he is able to see, weigh, and articulate the variables that will shape the future. He is a leader of the world’s best-read business and financial publication. He operates in the heart of Silicon Valley and is close to its business and technology leaders, as well as the investors and venture capitalists that keep it a hotbed of growth.

Himself an entrepreneur, investor, board member – and past regional winner of the coveted Ernst & Young ‘Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ – Karlgaard travels frequently throughout Asia and India, and other spots around the world on behalf of Forbes, keeping his finger firmly on the global pulse.

Rich’s Thriving in The Age of Smart Machines speech shares with audiences thought-provoking, actionable, and lasting ideas that help leaders ‘future proof’ their organizations and investments.