News flash: Nordic Business Forum 2026, a review

One of the best things about attending the Nordic Business Forum isn't the pull of headline speakers like Oprah and Steven Bartlett but the plethora of other speakers that you may otherwise never have come across but who land a punch equally as weighty as the headline acts that top the bill.

The theme for this year's forum was the human edge - a subject more and more people seem to be focussing on - and how we compete in a world that seems built to leverage all that technology can do.

The answer? - or at least my big takeaway - discernment.

Its our judgement - our ability to appraise and think critically - that sets us apart in the world. It unlocks creativity and enables us to achieve things no technology can or will on its own.

Take Rahaf Harfoush for example. Over the course of three sessions she talked extensively about existing in a world of 'infobesity' and how that information is only going to get more overwhelming with time. Its our job - as creative, critical thinking beings - to discern what's true from untrue. We need to ask more questions, do more digging and surround ourselves with trusted sources of information and insight.

Then there's Michael Beckley who talked at length on the breakdown of globalisation and the risks leaders now need to manage. What information are we using to understand and navigate that risk and can we trust it? The world is facing unprecedented speed of change and we need to get out ahead of the competition or risk being lost to it.

There are so many speakers I could rave about. This is an event that hits you between the eyes with all thats going on in the world and unpacks it piece by piece to help you navigate it.

There's so much I want to write about but the character limit on LI simply wont allow it. 

So here's a few more key takeaways - below - and i'll write more in the coming days that shines a light on each speaker and what I learnt from this mind blowing conference.

➡️ Paul Polman spoke brilliantly on the responsibility of leadership, how we need a new kind of leadership today where we lead the companies the world needs. Are we a company who takes more than it gives or one which leaves behind more than it takes?

➡️ Angela Duckworth shared insight into her new book, Situated, - which I read on the plane out BTW - which breaks down how resilience and grit aren't enough in the world we now operate in. We need to be much more situationally aware and be making changes that enable us to utilise grit to best advantage if we want to thrive in the world as it is today.

➡️ Alison Wood Brooks blew my mind with her session on conversation being a game of coordination. How each us enters in a conversation with intent but we rarely spend time establishing what that intent is and as a result, find communication harder than it really needs to be.

The human edge lies in our ability to question, interpret and discern - not just absorb.