Mats Lewan

Futuristic Leadership – The Manager Who Sees Around the Corner

The pace of change today is faster than ever before, and there is nothing to suggest that it will slow down. In order to fulfill their roles, managers and leaders must not only take care of everyday decisions and leadership tasks such as gathering, motivating, and coaching employees through various situations and challenges. They also need to have an idea of what the future looks like tomorrow, or in ten years.

This way, they can adapt their leadership so that the organization is prepared for change well in advance. In this talk, Mats shares his methods for observing the world and using it as a basis for building scenarios for the future. He starts from an experience many of us can relate to: “Why didn’t I see this? It was right in front of my eyes!”

From there, he goes on to explain how we can become better at observing the world, and how current technological progress, in combination with human creativity and willingness to change, give rise to mega-trends that we need to relate to.

Throughout the lecture, Mats also keeps a steady eye on our human qualities, and how we need to remind ourselves of our dreams, needs, and unique abilities.

What you will take away:

• Inspiration and hope for the future
• A deeper understanding of how the future is shaped by technological development and human creativity and willingness to solve problems
• Five ways to become better at opening our eyes to what is happening around us
• Insights and practical tips on the leadership required today and tomorrow as the pace of change increases
• An uplifting lecture with the opportunity to exchange thoughts, ideas, and experiences.

Technology Changes the World, But People Make It Magical

By lifting our gaze and taking a look at history, it is easy to see that what changes the world in the long term is not war and politics, but technology and inventions. The wheel, the printing press, the steam engine, and electricity have led to enormous changes that have lasted for centuries. And today, the major driving force for change is AI, the internet and digital technologies.

In this fascinating and inspiring lecture, Mats Lewan looks forward by looking back. He explains why technology and innovation have always driven change throughout history, and why digitalization and AI continue to do so. But just as Gutenberg’s printing press could not imagine all the thoughts, ideas, stories, and histories that would flow through it, no other technology can understand how it will be used. Instead, it is we humans who make the world magical by dreaming, reflecting, being curious, desperate, hopeful, and loving.

Mats applies this insight to today’s most advanced technologies, and explains why it is more important than ever to take advantage of our human values and abilities. And why today we have a particularly good reason to pay attention to what cannot be measured, and therefore cannot be digitized or automated. He also helps us look ahead and see what we can understand about the future, and how we can be part of shaping it.

What you will take away:

• A deeper understanding of how technology, such as digitalization and AI, drives change
• An explanation of the interplay between humans, technology, and the problems we want to solve
• Insights into the role of humans and the importance of what cannot be measured
• Practical advice on how to think in order to not feel threatened by the technology storm
• An uplifting lecture with the opportunity for exchange of thoughts, ideas, and experiences
• Inspiration and hope for the future

Leading Different Personalities in a Digitalized World

Some employees can hardly wait to explore all the new things, while others love to fine-tune and improve the existing operations – regardless of age. Both of these groups are needed as technology is driving change at a rapid pace. That’s why it’s increasingly important for leadership to provide the right support for both explorers and fine-tuners, and to get them to communicate with each other.

In this talk, Mats describes what distinguishes the two different groups and why they are important in different ways. While one contributes to creativity, innovation, and risk-taking, the other is needed to ask the difficult questions, guarantee long-term stability and important routines, and to be vigilant about serious risks.

Mats also discusses the different leadership styles required for the two groups to function well and for employees to feel that they are being coached in a constructive way. What is important for one group can be directly threatening to the other. Since the two groups are so different, they often have difficulty understanding each other. Mats therefore touches on the perhaps most important task of leadership, which is to increase understanding so that the abilities of the two groups are combined in an optimal way.

What you will take away:

• A deeper understanding of why different ways of seeing the world are important when the pace of change increases
• Practical tips for the leadership required to coach both explorers and fine-tuners
• Insights into how different perspectives can decrease understanding between coworkers
• An uplifting lecture with the opportunity for exchange of thoughts, ideas, and experiences
• Inspiration and hope for the future

The Intrapreneur is Your Best Friend When the World Changes

In today’s fast-changing world, everyone recognizes the importance of innovation to stay ahead. However, more often than not, it’s just talk. Intrapreneurs, on the other hand, are the employees who can bring about truly fruitful innovation. They are known as dreamers who do because they not only come up with great ideas, but they are also passionate about them and willing to go to great lengths to try them out.

But in an organization, having intrapreneurs is not always enough. Many other factors require time and energy, and the lack of understanding and trust from colleagues can hinder their progress. Additionally, there’s always the risk that the idea won’t work.
While trying out new ideas may not cost much, what intrapreneurs truly need is the support of sponsors who have the freedom to pave the way for them. A series of world-famous examples illustrate the power of intrapreneurship, such as Sony Playstation, Google Gmail, and Amazon Web Services. But there are countless others, less known.

During this talk, Mats will delve deeper into why intrapreneurs are so valuable and how organizations can support and benefit from them. He will provide concrete examples of different ways to work with intrapreneurship. Furthermore, this lecture will provide an uplifting experience and an opportunity to exchange thoughts, ideas, and experiences.

What you will take away:

• An understanding of what intrapreneurship means for the organization and why the work of intrapreneurs is so valuable.
• Practical advice on what is required to support and coach intrapreneurs.
• Examples of different ways to work with intrapreneurship.
• An uplifting lecture with the opportunity to exchange thoughts, ideas, and experiences.
• Inspiration and hope for the future.

Tomorrow's transportation - from environmental villain to environmental hero

With multiple simultaneous technology shifts and passionate entrepreneurs with visions of sustainable and smart transportation, the transportation industry is undergoing significant changes. In this talk, Mats Lewan draws on years of experience monitoring and analyzing innovation and technological progress in different parts of the transportation industry. He explains how it now has an opportunity transform itself from environmental villain to environmental hero – a journey that affects us all, daily.

What you will take away:

• An understanding of the opportunities offered by new technologies to support sustainability and a circular economy
• A view into which new competences will be required due to multiple technology shifts
• Insights into the importance of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs as role models and inspirational drivers
• An uplifting lecture with the opportunity to exchange thoughts, ideas, and experiences.