10 Years #Davos: My Top 10 #WEF2018 #SuperHubs Tips

Imagine arriving at an inconspicuous Swiss ski resort, and all of a sudden being surrounded by the world’s most powerful and famous people – the superhubs who shape history and transform the future of our financial system, economy and society. Welcome to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos – welcome to the human networks that rule our world!

The WEF in Davos is one of the most powerful network platforms operating today, allowing superhubs to mingle, mix, debate and share ideas. The Forum has become ever more important due to the countless global crises we encounter in our hyper-connected world, as it provides opportunities for those involved at every level to speak openly, aiming to negotiate a way through these crises, finding ideas for solutions and ways forward.

I have attended the WEF for last 10 years and have learned how to navigate the Forum’s complexities and capitalize on its potential. Here are my 10 top tips:

1.      Prepare!

Preparation optimizes outcome. Begin with studying the WEF website, for instance here, here, and here. Moreover, study the program and attendee list to “put your recollection on notice”. Make a list of people to meet and memorize their faces in advance. Closely follow the WEF news in the days ahead and during the event.

2.      Manage!

Such a highly charged environment is both stimulating and taxing. We all have a limited bandwidth, so it’s important to allocate time and energy wisely. Sometimes less is more: Instead of chasing the next “conference high”, sometimes it’s best to just say no, retreat, rest and recharge. When you are out and about, it’s best to be fully present and at the top of your game.

3.      Contribute!

The WEF has been extraordinarily successful in large part, because it fosters a spirit of cooperation, sharing and mutuality. Carry this through, adopting a mindset of contributing value to the WEF and your fellow participants. Everyone is invested and may at some point act as a conduit. So, engage and come up with concrete suggestions for action!

4.      Open your Mind!

The world is in transition. Corporations are being disrupted and work is digitized, with wide-ranging social, economic and political implications. Against this backdrop, it is important to employ a transitional mindset, which will help you anticipate trends and open your mind to new opportunities.

5.      Network!

·      Value quality over quantity, connecting over collecting, and farming over hunting. Don’t spread yourself thin: according to “Dunbar’s Number,” our minds have the cognitive capacity to retain about 150 true connections or relationships.

·      Connect across different groups by pointing out things you have in common – that’s homophily!

·      Be memorable: stand out in a positive way, be it by way of charisma, intelligent contributions, quick wit, or acts of kindness.

·      Be interesting and bring conversational currency to the table: effective networking must be built on content and substance.

·      Be mindful of people’s time and be prepared to give them an “out”.

·      Be discreet and resist the urge to gossip – nothing good will come out of it.

·      Roll with it. If you have not been invited to an event – shrug it off. It’s not personal, and there’s always next year.

·      Be kind and gracious at all times, because people may forget what you said or did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

·      Be inclusive: proactively seek to include loners and facilitate networking for those to whom it doesn’t come naturally.

·      Position yourself at a geographical hub: sooner or later everyone will pass by you.

·      Be yourself! People sense authenticity instinctively and it puts them at ease. Focus on character and be warm to build a foundation of trust, as your competence is assumed.

6.      Connect Cross Culturally!

A globalized world can be deceiving: While we may often communicate via a common language and have many common reference points, subtle cultural differences remain and are not to be underestimated.  Keep your assumptions in check and constantly decode nuances, sensitivities, and differences in underlying values, ethics and belief systems.

7.      Learn!

To future-proof yourself for this increasingly complex world, be curious, and hungry for knowledge. A common trait of Davos superhubs such as Klaus Schwab, Christine Lagarde and Bill Gates is their boundless intellectual curiosity. As WEF participants belong to multidimensional interdisciplinary networks—of people, businesses, and institutions—this makes cross-fertilization and disruption of “silo-thinking” particularly effective. Make a conscious effort to get out of your filter bubble of homogeneous thinking. Surround yourself with people who are different from you and challenge your ideas.

8.      Build Social Capital!

Take the opportunity to build social capital, which opens access to support, resources and opportunities. Superhubs invest social capital to build relational capital and increase their “return on relationships”. “Relational capital” is an intangible asset that reflects the value of a person’s relationships. Social capital is accumulated labor expended for the benefit of another, most often in the form of favors. Favors are like loans collateralized by the status of the borrower. When people invest in their social connections, they implicitly or even subconsciously expect a correlated return. Successful givers work to create situations where everyone will benefit – either immediately or in the future, where that “favor” might come in handy when needed for return.  Due to the goodwill built throughout their lives, superhubs have access to support whenever called for, all the while knowing where to set boundaries.

9.      Give Serendipity a Chance!

Don’t overbook yourself, but leave room in your schedule for serendipity, which often creates the most valuable opportunities. You may run into a person who is or could be immensely important for your business, receive an invite to a circle that was previously inaccessible, or have a conversation that opens up new perspectives. Many powerful executives credit serendipity with at least part of their success.

10.  Focus on weak ties!

Don’t neglect weak ties: Whereas people with strong ties are reliable and easily accessible sources, weak ties are equally important because they open up access to new information outside of established business and social circles. Superhubs connect with strong and weak ties alike in order to weave an ever-tighter web of alliances, which provide greater influence.

Bonus tip:

Follow-up, think long-term!

Follow up, but don’ t come on too strong or impose. Many of the most valuable relationships start out without any specific motivation or business purpose and mature over time, withstanding trials and tribulations, before becoming mutually beneficial.

In summary:

Being out of your usual element at a remote location in the midst of the world’s braintrusts alerts your mind, sharpens your perception and stimulates your thinking. Contrarian dialogue fuels idea flow and generates new viewpoints. Make an effort to mindfully communicate with other people and expose yourself to novel ideas, which will enlighten your perspective, prompting you to ask different questions. This will help spark one of your most important qualities, your creativity! And remember: Davos is not a just destination, but a new way of seeing the world.

This article is based partially on excerpts of Sandra Navidi’s international bestseller $uperHubs: How the Financial Elite and their Networks Rule Our World A Bloomberg BOOK OF THE YEAR