FutureFit: Tomorrow’s World Today

A Future Readiness Workshop for Faculty Was held on August 9, 2024!

Attendees joined us for conversations and workshop sessions addressing the disruptive forces of technology that are changing and shaping the world now and delve into how we should respond.

The keynote presentations focused on skills for adapting a future-focused mindset, including:  

  • Looking beyond the next horizon  

  • Being curious and experimenting more  

  • Embracing difference  

  • Understanding technology disruption 

  • Selling ‘solutions’ not ‘products’  

  • Dealing with limiting orthodoxies

  • Building a depth of capacity both personally and collectively 

Register Now

The keynote presenters, Keith Coats and Buhle Dlamini, had conversations with attendees on these topics as well as ran separate sessions to settle even deeper into the applications of these mindset shifts.  

There was time built into the workshop sessions for the faculty and administrative teams to work together on solutions to their current disruptive forces and environments. In the afternoon, the faculty and administrative teams came back together to formalize plans for moving forward and acting upon those proposed solutions.  

The last hour of the event offered a ‘Time Together’ happy hour (non-alcoholic) for faculty and educational leadership to network and share optimistic observations of the future.  

The one-day workshop was offered to the Future Readiness Faculty Academy members.

View the August Workshop Agenda

View the August Workshop Presentation Decks

Individuals attended the event in 2024 at NO COST thanks to the project being part of the SWPA New Economy Collaborative funded by a Build Back Better Regional Challenge grant.

This event was open to all full-time and part-time faculty members from colleges, universities and post-secondary institutions in Southwestern PA.

August 2024 Workshop Keynote Speakers:

Keith Coats

Keith Coats

Keith Coats is a founding partner of TomorrowToday Global.  As a futurist, he has worked throughout the world and across all industry sectors, assisting executive teams and senior leaders, to see and understand the implications and meaning of disruptive change.  

In a world of constant change, with innovations and disruptions reshaping every aspect of our lives and business, Keith doesn’t predict the future, he decodes it for today’s leaders, equipping them to meet it head-on. 

Keith teaches in several institutions and business schools including the EastWest Center Hawaii, the US Institute and is used extensively by the London Business School in their Executive Leadership Development Programmes. 

He was invited by the King of Sweden to address the Sweden Economic Forum and is a best seller author, his most recent book (co-authored with Graeme Codrington) being ‘Leading in a Changing World’.  After six years in London Keith now lives in Cape Town, South Africa. He is married with three adult children.  

A select few of Keith’s clients include Boeing, Aramco, Nestle, Deutsche Bank, Deloitte, Rio Tinto, ARM Nigeria, Oracle, Emirates, DP World, pwc, Ericsson, HSBC, USB (Credit Suisse), Coca Cola, KPMG, Engie, Air Liquide, Sberbank, Continental, ING, Generali, China Construction Bank, Randstad, the World Bank & UNICEF. 

Credit: TomorrowToday Global

Buhle Dlamini

Buhle Dlamini

Buhle Dlamini is a globally recognized authority on the dynamic intersection of future trends, cultural intelligence, and the ever-evolving landscape of work. With over 17 years of international speaking and consulting experience, Buhle has established himself as a sought-after thought leader and catalyst for organizational transformation. 

International Influence 

Originally hailing from South Africa and now based in Canada, Buhle’s international reach is undeniable. As an award-winning entrepreneur and accomplished author of six books, his insights have left an indelible mark on audiences worldwide. Buhle’s reputation as an international speaker par excellence underscores his ability to captivate and inspire diverse audiences. 

Buhle enables participants to make the most of the future world of work, manage across generations and create effective, inclusive workplaces resulting in exponential growth. Buhle’s strategic input helps organisations make sense of the changing world and leverage diversity for success. 

Credit: TomorrowToday Global

Morning Keynotes

Keith Coats, TomorrowToday Global 

Keith will lead a conversation and discussion on Tomorrow’s World Today. Keith will present an exploration of a future-focused leadership toolkit, supporting a compelling picture of the near future. Come away with inspiration, information, depth of capacity and intelligence in equal measure and lead your team to be excited about the future while at the same time knowing what each of them can do to help you get there. 

Buhle Dlamini, TomorrowToday Global  

Buhle will lead a conversation and discussion on Creating an Inclusive Culture. Buhle will facilitate a look at the right tools to create inclusion and belonging as part of your organization’s culture. Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is the capability to function and relate effectively in culturally diverse situations. CQ is a key skill for people working in diverse organisations today and can mean the difference between success and failure. Come away as equipped leaders and teams with the four CQ capabilities to increase understanding between team members and create environments where inclusion and belonging are fostered. 

Credit: TomorrowToday Global 

Morning Workshops

Keith Coats and Buhle Dlamini, TomorrowToday Global

  • Keith and Buhle will facilitate working sessions on Future Fit Leadership and Technology Disruption. Participants and their teams will attend separate presenter workshop sessions according to their team makeup: Faculty teams will attend Keith Coats’ workshop, while administrative teams will attend Buhle Dlamini’s workshop.
    • Future Fit Leadership clarifies the changing context for leaders and explores what it means to be a ‘future fit leader.’ Drawing on TomorrowToday’s extensive international exposure and experience – what is changing, why it is changing, and the consequences of change – are explored within the specific context of the participant’s business and organization. This is an important foundation from which to have a further and deeper ‘leadership conversation.’ Several helpful contextual frameworks are provided in this section of the workshop:            

      • Understand how our ‘seeing’ impacts on our interpretation and judgements 

      • Understand the importance of frameworks in a world of paradox 

      • Understand the importance and ‘rules’ around connectivity in a connected world 

      • Understand the need for adaptability and agility 

    • Technology Disruption addresses the disruptive forces shaping the world right now, and how we should respond. No one knew how much and how early disruptive change would occur in the 2020s. Smart leaders need to keep ahead of these changes by anticipating them and developing a future-focused skill set. The most successful organisations are going to be those that build future thinking, adaptability, and innovation into their very DNA. Explorations in this part of the session will consider the ability to:                                                                   

      • Look beyond the next horizon 

      • Be curious and experiment more 

      • Embrace difference 

      • Understand technology disruption 

      • Sell solutions not products 

      • Deal with limiting orthodoxies 

      • Building a depth of capacity both personally and collectively 

Credit: TomorrowToday Global

Afternoon Workshop

Keith Coats and Buhle Dlamini, TomorrowToday Global

  • Keith and Buhle will moderate this ‘Bringing It All Together’ session.  Both faculty and administrative teams will work together to build the plans for addressing disruption.  These actionable plans may be taken back to your colleges/universities and could become the Future-Fit Action Plan for your organization to address technology disruption and workforce needs forged by the SWPA New Economy initiatives.  Some educational senior leadership from your college/university may attend this final portion of the workshop and request a report-out.

Following the closing remarks for the entire Future Readiness Faculty Workshop, a ‘Time Together’ happy hour (non-alcoholic beverages and appetizers) will be hosted for all faculty, administrative team members present, and any educational leadership as an opportunity to socialize, network and share ideas and contributions from the day’s work.