William Higham helps leaders navigate uncertainty
William Higham helps leaders navigate uncertainty
The unpredictability of business today can be a challenge. Whether you’re trying to plan your strategy, justify spend on new technology or identify what skills you’ll need in your next employee. But William Higham can help.
William is a global authority on Future Business Strategy. Skilled in Innovation, Leadership, Foresight, Growth and Transformation, he’s spent twenty years helping brands successfully navigate uncertainty and change.
His talks offer guidance across the whole future business landscape: customers to employees, technology to ethics, Finance to Luxury.
He’s delighted audiences at events for FT and Barclaycard, Disney and Colgate, from San Antonio to Seoul. His talks have inspired leaders to face the future without fear, armed with practical ways to handle any challenge.
[Click above to watch footage of William speaking in 2022-23]
Audiences love William’s talks
Audiences love William’s talks
“Will was engaging and thought provoking and set our agenda for change. It was great working with him.” Mike Hulse, Senior Sales, Philips
“Will’s provocative insights inspired the audience to think up new ways to serve tomorrow’s consumer.” Matt Houston, Director of Strategy, Primark
“William gave great insights into the ways consumers are changing, and how companies will need to adapt their strategy.” Michaela Ridgeway, Senior Content Editor, Financial Times Global Conference
“William got the brief exactly, and delivered just the kind of speech we wanted.” Laura Kozasvili, Head of Events, British Property Federation
“Superb session, especially in the tough environs of Zoom. The delegates found it really valuable.” Kev Richardson, CEO, Ch. Inst. Logistics & Transport
“He delivered great food for thought: inspiring ideas and practical stimulus for discussions and workshops.” Charlie Gower, Head of Insight, Hiscox
NEW TALK
Six Ways to Conquer Uncertainty
How to lead in an increasingly volatile world
NEW TALK
Six Ways to Conquer Uncertainty
How to lead in an increasingly volatile world
2024’s proving to be another year of uncertainty. And many executives themselves are feeling uncertain. But that doesn’t need to be the case.
I’ve been helping leaders manage uncertainty for over a decade. And I’ve learned that, not only is change not a bad thing. Volatile times can actually provide more growth opportunities than calm ones.
As Formula One champion Ayrton Senna once said: “You can’t overtake fifteen cars in sunny weather – but you can when it’s raining.”
I’ve created a brand new talk that helps leaders find agility and growth in today’s unstable world. It distils all my experience of Uncertainty Management into six practical processes you can adopt to help you thrive in a VUCA world.
I can show you not just how to manage uncertainty, but how to find huge growth opportunities within it.
[Watch a preview above]
NEW TALK
Four Ways to Innovate for Growth
Embed winning innovation into your company
NEW TALK
Four Ways to Innovate for Growth
Embed winning innovation into your company
Companies that actively promote a culture of innovation are 3.5x more likely to outperform their peers. And 87% of executives believe innovation is essential to their organisation’s success and growth (McKinsey). Yet just 36% of today’s businesses are actively innovative (DTI).
If you’re finding it hard to create an innovation culture within your company, this talk can help. Over the last 20 years, I’ve identified four practical things companies can do to become more innovative.
- Identify customer-led growth opportunities
- Instil a more open, “challenger” mindset
- Manage collaborative creativity and idea generation
- Build new metrics and processes to test success
I show you how to use these in your business – to create innovative new products and processes that’ll keep you a step ahead of the competition.
NEW TALK
An Organisation Fit for Tomorrow
Future-proof strategies for CEOs and CHROs
In tomorrow’s uncertain business landscape, the most successful companies won’t be those with the best products or marketing teams. They’ll be the ones that can best adapt to new circumstances. The ones with the best organisation: the most efficiently run offices, smartest workflows and resource allocation, inspiring cultures and engaged, productive employees.
But legacy environments and reporting structures are really hampering many companies’ productivity, engagement and efficiency. The introduction of hybrid was a good start – but much more needs to be done.
In this talk, I look at what CEOs and CHROs can do to rebuild the enterprise: creating environments and organisational structures ready for the future.
How to create structures that give individuals flexibility while fostering a collaborative, engaged community across hybrid workforces. That build flatter, results-driven hierarchies with a common purpose. That use new technologies like AI and IoT to empower individuals and improve workflows.
NEW TALK
A Guide to Getting Engaged
How to engage tomorrow’s customers & staff
Brand loyalty and employee engagement are at an all-time low. According to one study, 92% of consumers say they aren’t even loyal to their favourite brand. And 85% of employees admit to being disengaged at work.
But, despite such disturbing statistics, I believe it’ll actually be easier to build loyalty tomorrow than in the past: in both consumers and employees. Why? It’s all down to a growing desire to belong, to ‘feel part of something’, to have the support of ‘people like me’ in an increasingly uncertain world.
In my new talk, I use examples from social media to competitive leisure, neighbourhood groups to book clubs, to show how smart companies can foster loyalty by creating ‘brand families’. I help audiences identify passions and values that can unite their employees and engage their customers. How to use events and advice to bring customers together. How to give people a voice without losing your own.
William’s spoken at events for multiple major brands
Watch William talk about Community and Loyalty
Watch William talk about Community and Loyalty
Watch an extract from William’s keynote speech at the prestigious Future Korea Forum 2022 in Seoul, South Korea in November last year. The event was organised by Money Today Network, the biggest Business and Finance broadcaster in Korea, and a flagship of the Newsis News Agency.
William gave a powerful talk on the new Community Spirit trend. What’s driving it – and its implications for Finance, Retail and the financial markets.
Watch William talk about the Future of Work
Watch William talk about the Future of Work
Watch an extract from William’s opening speech at Rumania’s premier Human Resources event – Everything HR – in Brasov in May this year.
William began by considering how outdated many of today’s workplaces and organisational hierarchies are. Then offered his audience practical suggestions on how to build a successful organisation that is “fit for the future”: profitable and productive – adaptable enough to navigate an uncertain future – and able to attract and retain the best employees.