"It is
impossible for ideas to compete in the marketplace if no forum for
Letter from the President
Please Note: The "Letter from the President" evolved in 2001 from "Tomorrow's News" that we had previously published in The Business Forum Calendar & Report since 1984. It started out as a simple way for me to convey the benefits from conversations I have with leaders in Government, Academia and Business and potential problems that I learn about during my occupation as a Moderator of Think Groups for The Business Forum. However, since we began publishing on-line it has over the years become a personal "Bantering" from someone (me) surrounded day by day in the endeavor of Change. Usually it is whimsical in nature, and nothing more than my viewpoints on what I see happening around me on a daily basis. The "Letter from the President" therefore, has little to do anymore with The Business Forum, it is just me sharing my thoughts and ideas with anyone who cares to read them. Please feel free to publish it, in part or in total, or to pass it on. In February of 1982 The Business Forum held its very first luncheon at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California for Coopers & Lybrand. We mailed slightly under one thousand invitations, and received more than a thousand responses. The CEO's, CFO's and Presidents of most of the major corporations and many of the senior officers in local Government in Los Angeles and surrounding counties attended that Business Forum Luncheon; in fact we actually had to hold two luncheons to accommodate the numbers who registered.
Many of the Founders of The Business Forum have recently suggested to me that we should repeat that first luncheon, albeit on a different subject, on the third Thursday of February in 2007 to celebrate what we have accomplished over the years. For what we set out to do in Quixotic ambition back then has since succeeded far beyond our greatest hopes of the time. Of course many of my original partners retired a long time ago, (some of them permanently if you know what I mean). And so, the concept obviously appeals to me Twenty five years ago, before Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Novell and many of the other organizations we have helped since had even been heard of by most people, senior executives were a lot more interested in the reputation and longevity of their organizations, than they were in today's obsession with quarterly results, and they understood the need to meet and associate with their peers, even their competitors, in a civilized setting - and also, back then, most of the attendees would stay long after the Luncheon had ended to socialize with each other. So it interests me to see if we can recreate the business concept of a quarter of a Century ago one more time; a time long before laptops and cell phones were invented. That first meeting we held back in 1982, was on the subject of "Competing in a Global Economy", which is still a rather interesting concept. In February of 2007 however, I would like to hold a meeting on the subject of "How Technology is Changing our Future"; and rather than have just one speaker, I would like to put together a panel of experts to answer the questions of our guests - and I would also like to audio and video-tape it for our members, friends and supporters who are today located all over the world. I think that we have proved ourselves over the last twenty five years to those who have sponsored our Forums (http://www.bizforum.org/www_sponsorcomments.htm) and to our members and guests who have attended them (http://www.bizforum.org/www_guestcomments.htm). And, as this is such a momentous event in our small history, I will guarantee every guest the finest dining and information sourcing experience that they have had in the last quarter of a Century. I also suggest to all of our friends in the 165 countries around the Planet who qualify to attend, and who use our web site every month, (or old friends who do not happen to live in sunny Southern California anymore), this will be the perfect excuse to leave whatever cold climate you reside in and fly to Los Angeles for a short vacation and a little further education. That is what frequent flyer miles are for! I want this to be a celebration of business information sourcing as pioneered by The Business Forum and an occasion of a lifetime for our friends. It will be the high point of The Business Forum Concept! My kindest regards:
John Hathaway-Bates You can
email me at
john@bizforum.org
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