ABB CEO Fred Kindle gave the closing keynote on Thursday reinforcing Dinesh Paliwal[base ']s earlier remarks on the positive results and outlook for the company. He also reinforced the themes of the entire conference[~]partnership with customers and collaboration.
[base "]We were facing serious problem four years ago, but met the challenge,[per thou] Kindle stated. The key word is execution, he stated, but also [base "]the real important thing is the motivation of the people. If people start smiling and feel proud, then progress can be made.[per thou]
For the business theorists among you, Kindle left these thoughts. Writers say that there are three important elements to business success[~]strategy, execution and people. But, Kindle points out that execution is the key. [base "]You[base ']d better not wake up every morning thinking strategy is the most important thing you have to do today. If you do, you have big problems. You[base ']d better wake up thinking of the things you have to do today to execute your strategy.[per thou] His other piece of advice: don[base ']t bet on stability.
Thursday[base ']s first keynote was delivered by Linda Sanford, senior vice president of enterprise on demand transformation and information technology at IBM.
If there was any question where the intellectual foundation for the week[base ']s emphasis on collaboration came from, Sanford[base ']s words served up the answer. She reported on a survey of close to 800 chief executive officers conducted globally by IBM account executives. CEOs in the survey believed that they must radically transform business operations. The common denominator was innovation, and they believed that collaboration and partnering were the key to innovation.
Post survey analysis showed a strong link between collaboration and financial performance. One final thought, don[base ']t mistake collaboration for consensus building. That latter method can both slow down the process and water down the outcomes. Collaboration is involving people, soliciting ideas and taking the best that filters through the process.
8:05:45 PM 
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