MEGA SESSION It's Not Magic: You Too Can Create a Culture of Futures Thinkers
Disruption is the new normal. Global organizations have been experiencing aggressive growth targets and challenging labor markets, and media giant The Walt Disney Company is no exception. Walt Disney International’s former vice president of HR tells the story of how he led a multi-phased change management effort across the worldwide enterprise, building a culture of “futures thinkers.” He details the practical lessons learned as HR reframed strategy processes, identified talent and skills gaps, produced future-empowered innovations, and established a new leadership competency.
Learning Objectives:
- Why strategic foresight is a critical methodology, skill set and mindset for the 21st century.
- How creating a culture of futures thinking can pressure-test existing strategies, lead to the development of innovative products and services, drive the identification of gaps in talent and skills, and inspire other business segments to take action.
- The importance of creating a global standardized training program implementing local and custom integrations when rolling out a change management effort.
Richard Ramsey
Richard joins Kedge as Head of Organizational Transformation after a 38-year career with the Walt Disney Company. In his most recent role as Vice President of Human Resources, leading Communications and Collaboration for Walt Disney International, he was responsible for a Global Futures Team engaged in Strategic Foresight work across 45 countries. Throughout this effort, Richard partnered with Kedge to form, train and sustain 12 Futures Teams, locally-led by a business leader, and populated with a cross-functional team of passionate and engaged Futurists. While he has broad Human Resources expertise, he has been deeply involved in organizational design, change and culture transformation.
Frank Spencer
Frank is a published author and speaker, delivering presentations and workshops around the globe. He holds a MA in Strategic Foresight from Regent University. With a strong background in both business and academic foresight, Frank was the creator and lead instructor of The Futures Institute: Shaping The Future Now at the Duke University Talent Identification Program Institute. He has worked on foresight for companies like Kraft, Mars, and Marriott. Frank also led the effort to establish foresight as a leadership competency across The Walt Disney Company, training over 300 employees across the globe. Frank is co-founder of The Futures School, a multi-disciplinary Strategic Foresight training program. He is also the founding partner at Kedge, a foresight, innovation, creativity and strategic design firm.