Global Futurist Anton Musgrave delivered a ‘Colliding Worlds’ workshop, exploring current innovations and how they will shape the world at Enterprise Ireland's second SME Leaders Community Series on December 2nd at its headquarters in Eastpoint, Dublin. Thirty companies from across different market sectors signed up to attend the full-day workshop, which challenged SME business owners and managers to think about how they are responding to a rapidly changing world. Throughout the day, there were opportunities for SME Leaders to network and create connections and discuss the issues raised.

In his thought-provoking presentation, Anton invited attendees to consider how their companies can stay relevant in an age of artificial intelligence when routine tasks are outsourced to computers. He pushed his audience to re-evaluate the ‘toxic limiting assumptions’ that can prevent them from seeing new opportunities and thriving. This was Anton’s second visit to Enterprise Ireland - in 2014 he opened the Innovation 4 Growth programme.

The SME Leaders’ Community aims include creating a connected network for business owners and managers to come together and attend Enterprise Ireland hosted events that support their role, as well as support each other, with the ultimate aim of growing exports.  More than 500 companies are now part of the community, which is progressively expanding to provide more structured support for the community. The next SME Leaders’ Community event will take place in Spring 2017. 

Building on the face-to-face events, Enterprise Ireland is also exploring the use of technology to leverage the expansion of this connected community and is undertaking research with clients in Q1 2017 to further scope this out.