Invited by Salman Viralipurath, Managing Director of Dubai Quality Group, to keynote the Ideas Arabia 12th International Conference and Competition at the Four Seasons, Dubai.
Matthew GriffinFounder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
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Salman Viralipurath, Managing Director of Dubai Quality Group, invited Matthew to be the keynote speaker at Ideas Arabia's 12th International Conference and Competition (IAICC) at the Four Seasons, Dubai. His presentation, Minds & Machines, followed opening remarks by His Excellency Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World and an early investor in Hyperloop.
His Excellency's ten minute remarks ran to over an hour and a half, and Matthew saw in them a story every CEO and entrepreneur should study. Oil contributes just 2 percent of Dubai's GDP, and its main natural commodity is sand. What it had in abundance were ideas, vision and an appetite for risk. Dubai borrowed £500,000 in the 1950s to dredge the Creek and repaid it; formed Emirates when Gulf Air threatened to cut flights; and expanded a single runway airport that critics called a future white elephant into the world's busiest by international travellers, handling over 85 million passengers a year.
"Dubai is becoming the embodiment of a city of the future, and we haven't seen anything yet."Matthew Griffin, Dubai, May 2017
When Dubai needed beaches to become a destination, a napkin sketch of a circle with roads through it became the Palm Jumeirah, with over 78km of beaches. The artificial islands have since added over 500km of new coastline.
For Matthew, Dubai is succeeding against the odds and has one of the most futuristic visions of any country, and it is executing it: moving the Emirate onto a blockchain and onto renewables, building Hyperloop passenger and cargo networks and a 3D printed skyscraper, and introducing robot police, flying taxis and a city wide self-driving car network. His conclusion was that Dubai is becoming the embodiment of a city of the future.
311 Intelligence
What this means for your leadership team
Resources matter less than vision.
Oil is only 2 percent of Dubai's GDP, and its main natural commodity is sand. Its edge came from ideas and a willingness to take risks. Leaders should ask what their own organisation has in abundance.
Critics are not a strategy test.
A single runway airport was called a future white elephant. It became the world's busiest by international travellers. Gulf mega hub airports and Gulf diversification borrowing show the same pattern of bold bets made early.
Execution turns vision into advantage.
Dubai is acting on blockchain, renewables, flying taxis and a 3D printed skyscraper. Each one is a live test of how cities and firms may run. Teams should move from reading about these shifts to piloting them.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
Which of our assets do we undervalue because they look ordinary?
Which bold bet are we avoiding because critics doubt it?
What are we piloting now, not just discussing?
The trends and technologies behind this session
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
It shows that a lack of natural resources need not limit growth. Clear vision, a high risk appetite and steady execution can build a global hub. Organisations can apply the same thinking to their own markets.
How does Gulf diversification borrowing relate to this session?
Dubai funded its early change by borrowing to dredge the Creek, and repaid it. Gulf oil states now borrow to move beyond oil. Leaders should watch how that debt shapes regional investment.
How do Gulf mega hub airports relate to this session?
Dubai grew a single runway airport into the world's busiest by international travellers. Other Gulf mega-airports are being built to pull long-haul connecting traffic away from Europe. Airlines and suppliers should explore what that shift means for their routes.
How can 311 brief our leadership team on this?
Through a private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector, in person first.
Bring this to your leadership teamA private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector. In person first, anywhere in the world.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s session and 311 data.
If Matthew gave this session today
Organisations must now grow at the speed of change.
How to Build Exponential Enterprises sets out innovation re-invented for the exponential era, and what it takes to grow at the speed of change, the same appetite for vision and risk that built Dubai.
