As the global managing director of McKinsey & Company, Dominic Barton has already seen a lot of change in the business world. But that’s nothing compared to what lies ahead.
And it will take a special kind of leader to face that change, Barton told MBA students during a presentation at Ivey on February 14.
Related to this story
“People will look at this next 20-30 years as very historic and I think it’s very important that we all understand it. The scale and the dimensions of the change are going to require a different kind of leader than we’ve had in the past,” he said. “I’m jealous of you guys because you are the ones who are going to be leading in these most important times.”
Barton was the guest speaker for the inaugural Ivey Impact Speaker Series organized by the Ivey MBA Association. He discussed five mega-trends that are reshaping the global economy:
- The re-rise of Asia and rise of other emerging markets, such as Africa;
- Scarcity of resources such as food, water and energy due to the growth of emerging markets;
- Technology advancements;
- The aging population;
- The market state.
He also gave advice for leading in this new era.
We’ve captured some of the best quotes from the event:
On the rise of emerging markets
“Getting exposure to these parts of the world as soon as you can is important. Your playing field is global.”
On the aging population
“We are going to have to rethink our assumptions about how we do our social services and how businesses train people. I think a big part of companies’ value propositions for new hires will be to train them continuously – to make sure they stay abreast and remain relevant all the way through.”
On the value of the tri-sector leaders
“You need to think of yourself not just as a business leader, but as a social-sector leader and a public/government leader. If you don’t think like a tri-sector leader, you’re not going to be effective. It’s incumbent on business leaders to take care of the society in which they operate.”
On leading in this new era
“You need to lead with a microscope and a telescope. You need the microscope because the world is changing very quickly, but you also have to build something for the future so you need to have a long-term view.”
