Takeaways from World Economic forum annual meeting in Davos

I don’t live far from Davos and I have always kept an eye on the World economic forum annual meeting. The annual meeting is a large-scale event addressing the world’s main economic issues. 

As a small business owner myself and coach who mostly works with small businesses or middle managers I was never sure if this event would be right for me. 

Besides they have an affordable online membership which makes it possible for everyone to watch most of the public talks online.

So if one’s intention is just gaining information, they can still do it without being in Davos.

Business networking with intention 

This year I did more research in advance :

I learned about great opportunities for networking with like minded people in smaller events or as they call “ lounges” happening in Davos around the same time. 

And when I say “Business networking“ I don’t mean mingling randomly among large crowds with a drink in my hand and pushing my business card into people’s faces. 

This method does not work for me: I often connect with people I want to meet personally in advance and we know what we are going to talk about when we meet. At the end it’s about how we can add value to each other’s lives. 

And while some of my contacts were in Davos I took the chance.

What topics do the world leaders care about?

What’s special about the World Economic Forum is that they gather first class world leaders and run numerous panel discussions around the topics that actually matter to the world. 

It’s one of the largest business events that brings experts, philanthropists, managers  and leaders together in one place.

When a topic is brought up in a panel discussion then it’s a sign that so many care about it. 

As someone who is passionate about conscious leadership and gender equality I always keep an eye on events that address these topics.

Mind the gap : gender equality

I was happy to see finally more leaders care about topics such as gender equality, purposeful leadership, resilience and employee well being. 

Up until a few years ago most of these topics were considered as “fluff” to many managers. They were treated as luxuries.

Now finally everyone is seeing how important these topics are.

We are still far from ideal: We don’t have enough female leaders, “equal opportunities” seems like a far-fetched dream to many.

“Woman, Life , Freedom” the message of Iranian revolution in Davos

These days you can’t talk about gender equality without mentioning the #womanlifefreedom movement in Iran. This revolution started by the women in Iran and was then joined by all the members of the society in Iran.  Iranians have learned it the hard way: You can’t have a free nation without free women. 

They learned how the government is controlling the whole nation by controlling women.

The nation was awakened to the lies they have been told for 44 years. Enough was enough and nothing could stop the masses.

The cruel Iranian regime has killed hundreds of innocent people in the protests, many of them children. They have prisoned over 17000 people and continue to increase the pressure by creating fear. 

Watching the situation unfold in Iran has been like an emotional rollercoaster for me. There is a lot of fear, anger, shame and hope. All at the same time. I will be talking about this publicly on the stage of Women’s hub in Zürich soon and will share more about it in the next blog post. 

The highlight of my visit at World Economic Forum

My highlight :the equality lounge by The Female Quotient and being in the same room with the legendary Diane von Furstenberg ,designer and businesswoman I have admired for as long as I remember.

Seeing her next to Nazanin Boniad, one of the faces of the Iranian revolution on the stage was so exciting.I was star- struck I can’t deny!

The topics covered in this event were all very interesting.

If I had the time I would have stayed full time for both days of the event. Fortunately they have recorded everything and the videos can be found online on their Youtube and Linkedin channels. 

My key takeaways from this visit

I have shared them in a Linkedin post:

What would I do differently next time I join WEF in Davos?

It seems I would like to come back for the event next year. I will make sure I plan everything in advance and keep my day free from online meetings.

Davos is cold , icy and  crowded around this time. Finding a quiet corner spontaneously is not always successful. 

And “working remotely from every location because your business is online “ is a big lie: You need the internet, you need sufficient battery in your devices and you need some space and quiet to hear the conversation!

I will also make sure to schedule my meetings much in advance and don’t wait until the last minute. 

Let’s see if I think in the same way next year!