Amazon is a corporate behemoth, the largest Internet retailer in the world based on revenue, selling everything from books to groceries to garage door openers. It’s also an electronic commerce and cloud computing giant, its very success since its founding in 1994 based on remaining ahead of the technological curve. As such, this Seattle-based company is a microcosm of much of today’s corporate world – a business that’s underpinned by technology.

Dale Beaumont is best known as an award winning entrepreneur, technology enthusiast and a passionate promoter of education. Having started his first business at the age of 19, Dale went on to build three different million dollar companies before the age of thirty.

In this video Dale proposes seven ways smart business owners can manage their time.

Brand and reputation specialist Kirryn Zerna helps ideas, businesses and teams to stand out in the age of online influence. Kirryn is a captivating and creative keynote speaker whose presentations immediately translate into action.

Widely recognised as an expert in brand communication strategy, Kirryn’s passion is to help individuals and teams to stand out in the age of online influence. Having spent almost two decades working with corporate and public sector clients large and small, Kirryn’s passion is to help clients get the attention they deserve and the cut-through they desire.

More than ever we need to broaden what it means to lead. Leadership has a too limiting definition. It seems to relate to only the chosen few, and we need to challenge this perspective.

We can respond by starting to build in our organisations unlikely leadership. The founding principle of unlikely leadership is knowing that leadership is inherent in everyone if it is developed and empowered. There is so much untapped human potential hidden within every work place. Increased complexity and constant disruption means that organisations need as broad a leadership bench as possible. Developing unlikely leaders - unleashing leadership from unexpected people and places makes sense. 

Stevan Premutico is one of Australia’s leading tech entrepreneurs. In 1997, in the middle of the GFC he conceptualised Dimmi on the back of a napkin and went on to revolutionise the Aussie restaurant industry. In 2015, his startup was acquired by one of the great tech businesses of our time, TripAdvisor.

Who are you giving your energy to?

Think back to your last week. For most of us, we'll have given all our energy to our work, then come home exhausted, drained and disconnected from our partners, children and friends. 

We're giving our worst energy to the people that matter the most.

This is just one of three (critical!) elements Kamal Sarma has identified that prevents us from living an incredible life. One where we have clarity, connectedness and congruency. A life of balance, peace and prosperity.

Watch this incredibly powerful and insightful TEDx, where Kamal Sarma gives the three steps to a life worth living.

VIEW KAMAL SARMA'S SPEAKING PROFILE

During my 15 years as an army officer and U.N. Peacekeeper I faced many challenges, in many different locations around the world. But challenge is a regular part of everyone's lives - not just those in high-pressure positions.

The great irony is that we often resist challenge, despite knowing that the outcome will frequently be enormous personal growth, and potential improvement in our lives - whether that be career, family, relationships or financial rewards.

So why do we resist challenges so thoroughly?

Find out more about Matina Jewell

It is impossible to predict all of the challenges that life will throw our way. There is absolutely no point even trying to predict and prepare yourself for challenges that haven’t occurred yet. What is important is that with every challenge that you do face, resilience is built, lessons are learnt and opportunities arise.

Sailing, whether for survival or competition, is an unforgiving business. The teams that excel in such environments provide a multitude of learnings for leaders back on dry land. So, by drawing on my experiences, as well as those of some of Australia’s best sailors, I set out to explore the most important and universally applicable leadership lessons from the oceans.

Here’s a question: How often do you allow your mobile phone to go flat?

If you’re like me, the answer is almost never probably because you’re never too far from your charger – at home, in the car and, oh, the tragedy of forgetting to pack the charger when you’re travelling, right?!!

So now consider that you are actually not dissimilar to your mobile phone. Highly sophisticated multi-tasking capabilities, indispensible and absolutely unable to function effectively unless regularly recharged. Yet most of us don’t think to manage our energy levels as astutely as we manage our phone’s! It’s quite astounding how much we take ourselves for granted.

The need for a personal energy management plan is something I learned early on in my sporting career. High performance athletes have to learn to master their energy in order to bring the best of out themselves when it really counts. There are many habits that helped me do this and they can work for you, too.

Start by observing yourself over the course of a week and see if you can identify a pattern in your energy levels. Most of us can relate to Wednesday hump day or that mid-afternoon slump but see what comes up for you. Start to work out times or days when there’s a natural drop in your energy when you can schedule in an energy booster.