World business forum

Learning is important. You and I are to be lifelong learners in order to be successful.

And this is why I would set aside a time of the year so I can have my “Study Sabbatical.”

I choose a school, take up a summer course, attend a seminar anywhere in the world and be equipped with lessons and learning I can get from the experts. Bring the ideas back. Process them. See how they would be of help to our local businesses and share.

May this year, I did just that. I also took my son Bryan along with me now that he is constantly invited to speak in many organizations as well.

The 3-day learning event was good and we learned a lot. But I have this funny feeling inside me that says it still was not enough for me.

Perhaps the older you get, the more new things you want to learn. Maybe the lineup of speakers in the last conference wasn’t very impressive with their presentations and failed my expectations.

Perhaps the hunger to want to learn more has propelled me to take another “Study Sabbatical” this year.

There was the tension of thinking that this year’s study budget has been exhausted and to attend another one would be expensive.

Truth to tell, this meant that I have to politely decline the many invitations for me to speak, incur income opportunity loss and spend money to go to another one. Hence, it took me a while to decide.

Then the lineup of speakers was presented. One look at it made me decide I should not miss this one though.

Let me give you a description of the speakers:

Kevin Spacey. He is one of the most talented actors of his generation. His brilliance has been built on a willingness to and a keen eye for spotting opportunity in the unconventional.

I would love to hear his thoughts about his experiences in the film industry.

Richard Branson. Since he was 16, Branson has been shaking up exhausted industries, taking on complacent giants and dreaming big.

Infusing every new project with a sense of adventure and fun, Branson is an unmatched multipreneur who has made billions by doing things his way.

He is the only person to have built eight billion-dollar companies in eight different sectors.

Walter Isaacson. I have read his books and he writes them outstandingly. Isaacson was the former chairman and CEO of CNN and the editor of TIME magazine.

Today, he is better known as one of the world’s best known biographers and to his credit has had bestsellers like Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin.

He published his latest book in 2014, The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution – and it is a good one.

Jim Collins. I have heard of him at least 4 times in different conferences and I never fail to learn from him.

Driven by relentless curiosity and passion for his work, for more than a quarter of a century, Collins has been researching what makes great companies tick.

He has authored or co-authored six books that have sold in more than ten million copies worldwide, including classics such as Good to Great and Built to Last.

In addition to his work in the business sector, Collins has passion for learning and teaching in the social sectors, including education, healthcare, social ventures, and cause-driven non-profit organizations.

And these are just some of the celebrated speakers included in the roster of this year’s WOBI (World of Business Ideas) that will be held in New York this November.

Other speakers would include Mark Ibarra Bertolini, Stephen Farinetti, Stephen Kohlriesser, Carolyn Eversson, Herminia Ibarra and a lot more.

Will the learning investments be costly? Of course they will be, but then again the old familiar line from a philosopher sometime in the past says: “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”

I have been attending this conference on a regular basis and last year had the privilege to interview Malcolm Gladwell up close and personal.

This year’s World Business Forum New York is built on the theme, “The Storytellers.” The organizers promise that the conference will not disappoint. I know they won’t and you may want to attend, too.

(For more information go to: http://wbf.wobi.com)

(Connect with Francis Kong on www.facebook.com/franciskong2. Or listen to “Business Matters” Monday to Friday 8 a.m. And 6:30 p.m. over 98.7 dzFE-FM ‘The Master’s Touch’, the classical music station.)