Distressed, stunned, shocked: These are the words used by Michael Useem, director of Wharton's Center for Leadership and Change Management, to describe the mood at Davos, the global economic forum usually known for its blue-chip guest list, high-level debates and upbeat mood. Not this year. As Useem, who has been attending the forum off-and-on since 1997, notes: "If exuberance ignited the financial meltdown in 2008, anguish described those now picking through the debris." In the article below, Useem offers a perspective on the global economic crisis and the opportunities for moving forward, as seen through the lens of Davos.
Distressed; stunned; shocked. However portrayed, the mood was extraordinarily subdued when 2,500 business and political leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland, January 27 through February 1 for the 39th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. If exuberance ignited the financial meltdown in 2008, anguish described those now picking through the debris.
And what a contrast it was to what I had witnessed in 1997, my first visit to this annual conclave of global business leaders. Then, banks stood strong, free enterprise reigned and technology promised prosperity. When Microsoft's Bill Gates and Intel's Andy Grove walked through a reception hall in Davos, their mere passing stopped conversation as participants silently turned to watch two icons of the global era who were helping to define a new age that looked limitless.
See full Article.
Posts
