Top strategist upbeat about Sri Lanka’s future prospects

A globally-acclaimed futurist and a growth strategist who visited Sri Lanka recently said that he is very upbeat about the country’s future and its culture of innovation.
Global Change Limited Chairman Dr. Patrick Dixon made this observation, when he addressed a gathering of Sri Lankan CEOs at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

“Plans for establishing a Colombo International Financial City is a symbol of confidence and of future economic growth. With a highly skilled workforce and strategic location, the nation has a great future as part of Asia’s rapid rise in global influence and power over the next 50 years,” he said.
Dr. Dixon was visiting Sri Lanka to help promote the new mobile payments platform ROKA PAY.
“ROKA PAY was designed and built here, with potential to transform mobile payments in many nations – just one example of Sri Lanka’s excellence in innovation,” he said.
 The futurist, who was ranked among the world’s 20 most influential business thinkers alive today by ‘Thinkers 50’, was speaking to the CEOs on ‘The Future of Almost Everything’ – the title of his latest book.
Dixon advised the business leaders to remain fast and flexible in their decision making.
“The world can change faster than you can hold a meeting, so we need to be flexible in strategy, and think ahead. But at the same time, many mega trends are changing relatively slowly and predictably, which is the basis of corporate strategy,” he said.
“If you’re a fashion house, a 6 month horizon may be far enough, but banks need to plan at least 5 years ahead because new technologies take time to integrate and launch. Insurers typically calculate risks over 10 years ahead, stretching to 25 years for pharma because it takes 15 years to bring a new drug to market,” Dixon added.