The clock is slowly ticking down to the start of the Forum next Sunday (15th) and the team here are putting the finishing touches to what I am sure will be a great few days – especially looking at the content on display for the various sessions and workshops.

We can clearly see both at a European level – with political and social uncertainty, plus at a more global level, economic and trade issues that the environment is far from certain and the challenges that face the market are perhaps more difficult than ever before. Added to this is the predicated impacts of climate change and the ever-present threats and results of terrorism and cyber-attacks, which I’m sure will keep all of the delegates occupied in Monaco.

Given these topics and the depth of insight and opinion that the market has, it is really encouraging to see the extent to which many have embraced social media ahead of the Forum. By sharing their thoughts and expertise, this highlights the different approaches taken to tackling challenges.

Unfortunately, there are still many bad examples of how companies look to reach out to their audience – poorly written emails with no relevance to the recipient, badly created images/graphics etc – all of which do nothing to demonstrate value and arguably perhaps do more harm than good. But, that said, we have seen many really looking to engage positively – accepting that some of those who would value the knowledge that is being shared won’t make the trip to Monaco. Some still focus on the ‘see you there…’ approach, but the more forward-thinking are certainly looking to the broader market and global community with meaningful insight and thoughts that are of value.

If you are attending the Forum, take time to search out the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ – so that you can see the difference yourself and in turn decide who is in fact leading the way and who is following.

See you in a few days.