Living in the Connected World of 2015
Walking in the shoes of fictional characters, participants considered how they would get on in a future world. Groups were predictably creative. For example, "Dan", the San Francisco activist, would use his cobbled-together virtual network (acquired both legally and illegally) to further his green causes. His motto: "Liberation through flexibility". "Toshiko", meanwhile, would not leave home unless she wanted to; the world would come to her. She would work as a marketing representative for products targeted at local senior citizens. Watching over her children virtually as they make their way between home and school, most of her meetings with friends and colleagues would happen via hologram.

One group dreamed up a gadget that delivers multimedia (music, art, entertainment) in ways that positively stimulate the brain to entice people to be happy and do good works. Another group predicted that there would be healthcare for all based on an all-inclusive understanding of a person's medical history, habits and practices.

Most participants emphasized that secure universal online access in local languages would be required to make any of the visions of a better world emerging from this session happen.

Visualizing the Successful Enterprise
Participants walking into the Studio WorkSpace did not expect to find bags of bricolage on the tables. But creating useful tools and sturdy structures from everyday objects allowed them to consider how they would design new organizational models and approaches for their businesses and lives. During two hours of brainstorming, they came up with ideas, including proposals for new products. The common denominator was that the starting point for each concept was a set of values.

Many participants also stressed the importance of the customer - in the broadest meaning of the term, not just clients and buyers but also employees, suppliers and even competitors. One group, whose jerry-rigged model literally imploded, found that that their "volcano of ideas" grew too quickly – a problem mirrored in real-life start-ups. They retooled and added organizational elements to their product offering to make the rebuilt model more robust. It remained standing!

Finding Future Talent
Recognizing the increasingly fierce competition to attract the best and brightest, participants at this workshop discussed how to create and adopt strategies that take into account the motives of high-flyers from different cultures and generations. With those aged between 22 and 30, for example, a good education, upward mobility, digital and technical skills are a given. They have huge ambition and know-how to work collaboratively; they want to get rich quick. The 30 to 50 year olds, by contrast, are looking for employers that offer psychological as well as financial rewards; those over 50 typically want to give something back to their community, are less controlling and more humorous but at the same time more sceptical.

Participants also considered cultural variations – how the distinctive practices and perspectives typical of, for example, Chinese firms differ from those of Europe or India. Sometimes proximity does not mean affinity, they learned. One Indian CEO observed that his British operations seem to be more in tune with his home unit than with his German division. Clearly, common values and challenges link companies across the world – in particular the need to offer real opportunities for career development. But many participants argued that the talent problem in Asia is unique, requiring solutions specific to the region.