great business speakers

It’s a new year with big business challenges. You would have thought CEOs would be worried most about the impact of Covid – but not so. That’s #13 on their list. Disruption is the #1 fear. The frenetic pace of change in businesses and the world has accelerated during the pandemic. An Alix Partners study released on December 27 revealed almost every CEO (94%) surveyed said their company needs to reinvent the business model within the next three years. 57% fear they’re not moving fast enough. The situation is also spiking CEO anxiety: 72% of CEOs fear losing their jobs due to disruptions facing their industries. That is an unprecedented level of anxiety. All this comes as no surprise to veteran Fortune senior editor-at-large GEOFF COLVIN. He's been speaking and reporting on business model transformation for years – watching how leaders are leading the change that keeps their companies competitive and relevant. Here's a great example of Geoff's reporting and research – a Fortune profile on how Goodyear has reinvented their business. Geoff also co-hosts a Fortune podcast and a recent topic was GM's transformation towards electric vehicles.

THE COMPETITIVE ORDER IS RESET IN TIMES LIKE THESE YOU CAN COUNT ON IT: The big lesson from past downturns is that the competitive order within industries is rearranged far more than will ever happen in prosperous times. It’s already happening -- the pandemic has spurred surprising innovation from companies across a wide range of industries, building a new competitive advantage for those bold enough to take action.

STOP PROTECTING THE PAST; CREATE THE FUTURE Innovation, reinvention and transformation are the business survival skills of our time. In this edition of DN Conversations, I talk with GEOFF COLVIN of Fortune who gets to explore how top companies and business leaders are managing the daunting job of adapting to nonstop disruption coming from every direction.

GEOFF COLVIN of Fortune has devoted his remarkable career covering the biggest stories in business. In recent years Geoff's focus has been chronicling the disruptive forces shaping the business landscape and how leaders are navigating them. From his work, Geoff says one thing is abundantly clear "the big difference between winners and also-rans in healthcare is that top leaders and companies confront the realities they’re facing faster than the competition."

BEFORE WE GET INTO THE SERIOUS STUFF - I received an email from GEOFF COLVIN of Fortune this week that said “For Christmas, my mother signed me up for 23 and Me DNA testing. The company surveys its customers on zillions of things (When do you get up in the morning? Do you like asparagus?) and then correlates the results with people's DNA. I just received an email from the company with a link to a new report based on my DNA: Geoff, based on your genetics and other factors, you are less likely to have a fear of public speaking.” “I’m relieved,” I replied! When it comes to speaking before audiences at top events around the world - something Geoff does with ease and quite frequently - the mountain of cover stories, columns, and feature articles he has written for Fortune are a window on the sheer breadth of expertise and insights he brings to audiences. I’ve listed links below to some notable articles by Geoff in Fortune. Some truly outstanding reporting that is designed to help leaders of all stripes be informed about the technological, economic, political, and market forces disrupting the business landscape. Even better - Geoff's pipeline to top business leaders gives him the chance to explain what they're doing right now to adapt to the disruption and win.