Fredrik Härén's Blog, page 45
March 1, 2014
A short, but intense month took a speaker around the world.
February was a short month but I still managed to be the speaker for conferences and events that happened in Seoul, Korea; Manila, the Philippines; Jakarta, Indonesia; Munich, Germany and Oslo, Norway – and of course Singapore.
I spoke for such diverse groups as the clients of EY, the delegates of the global sales conference of BMW and for managers of Tesco in Asia and many other groups. The groups might have been different; the countries, industries and events too, but they all had the same thing in common: a keen interest to know more about the world of ideas and the ideas of business.
(ps. The best speaker gift of 2014 was – by far – the kick-bike that the MAN CEO handed over to me to give to my son. Talk about being a hero when he came back from that trip.)
The best speaker gift of 2014 was – by far – the kick-bike that the MAN CEO handed over to me to give to my son
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January 27, 2014
Universal Creativity
As the Chinese new year approaches Fredrik gets to summarise the first month of 2014.
What does producers of luxury sunglasses (Luxottica): the producers of rubber seals (Trelleborg) as well as the largest mobile phone company in the Philippines (Smart) have in common?
Not much most people will say. But they all invited Fredrik Härén to speak to them in January of 2014. It is amazing how the theme of business creativity is universal – it is really needed in all industries, and in all parts of the world.
View from the hotel where one conferences that Fredrik spoke at in January was held. (yes, being a global speaker does have its perks.)
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News for January
News from January.
As the Chinese new year approaches Fredrik gets to summarise the first month of 2014.
What does producers of luxury sunglasses (Luxottica): the producers of rubber seals (Trelleborg) as well as the largest mobile phone company in the Philippines (Smart) have in common?
Not much most people will say. But they all invited Fredrik Härén to speak to them in January of 2014. It is amazing how the theme of business creativity is universal – it is really needed in all industries, and in all parts of the world.
View from the hotel where one conferences that Fredrik spoke at in January was held. (yes, being a global speaker does have its perks.)
The post News for January appeared first on Inspiring Ideas.
January 13, 2014
Inspiring Ideas. Globally.
For me 2013 was the “global year”. I launched my new book – One World. One Company – about being a Truly Global Company. And then I set out to travel the world to speak. It turned out to be a pretty global year. Here are some statistics about my 2013:
* I spoke in 26 different (!) countries just last year
* 92.6% of my paid speeches in 2013 where outside my “home country” of Singapore.
* +45% of my speeches in 2013 where outside my home continent of Asia.
* I passed 50 countries spoken in in 2013
* I spoke on 5 continents in 2013 (and have spoken on 6 in total as a professional speaker.)
* I boarded 137 flights that took med to speak in 37 different cities
* I spent 700 hours on planes in 8 months (which is the same as a professional airline pilot 
(I had 4 months of in 2013 as I was on paternity leave, so I did the above in 8 months.)
* And finally, I spoke on “How to be a global speaker” at the “Global Speaker Summit” 
It was a great year. A fun year. And a global year!
I did some videos about the crazy, global year of 2013.
You can find them here:
http://goo.gl/BG1nXZ
My three favourite ones are:
I hope these videos, and my book, will encourage people to have a more global mindset. It has never been more important – or valuable – to think globally than now.
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January 4, 2014
News for December
In December Fredrik Härén got the honors of speaking at The Global Speaker Summit. He was invited to speak on the subject of being a Global Speaker – a suitable theme for a speaker who spoke in 26 different countries in 2013.
In the month of December Fredrik was able to speak in Canada, India, Myanmar, Singapore and Malaysia before going off for a 2 weeks vacation in the Philippines on Dec 15.
Fredrik got to speak to managers of General Electric in Bangalore, for government officials from ASEAN on a conference in KL, for health care professionals in Myanmar and for teachers in Singapore.
Here is a video done in December to illustrate the inspiration that Fredrik got from speaking in so many developing countries.
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December 4, 2013
News for November
How much can you see in one months?
Well, in November Fredrik spoke for IT-professionals in Malaysia, for the global top sales & marketing management team of Volkswagen, for media experts in Stockholm, for an advertising agency in Gothenburg and for bankers in Singapore.
He got to see the Sydney Opera house in Australia, as well as speak in Mumbai. He spoke for Toastmasters and the Swedish Chamber of Business. He spoke for car salespeople in Mexico and for robot experts in Finland.
He got to experience summer, winter, spring and fall. All in 30 days.
Some videos from these travels can be seen here:
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November 18, 2013
All is Gone. Now all we have left is new ideas.
Last week that dream got a punch in the face in the form of super-Typhoon Yolanda.
All that we had been building over the last few years got destroyed. Our house, our two boats, our infrastructure. Everything. Even our tree-house got blown away. As our caretaker wrote in his first SMS to us when his mobile started to work again: “All is gone.” Luckily our staff is safe! But the dream that we made happen is gone. We are back to where we started: with an empty island with nothing on it. Seeing the idea of Ideas Island go from idea to realisation to over-night destruction has made me realise something: To see one of your favourite ideas come to life is one of the purest forms of happiness there is. To see one of your favourite projects be ruined is not sad. It just leaves you with a feeling of emptiness.
And from that I have drawn the conclusion that we should all think about what grand, beautiful, crazy or beautiful ideas we are carrying around with us. What is stopping us from making them happen? Is it fear? Of what? Failure? Of what will happen if it doesn’t become a success? Of what will happen if we invest all that time, money and effort into something that will never take off – or if it all gets blown away in a storm?
Well, take it from me:
The joy of giving birth to ideas is greater than the sorrow of seeing ideas die. Immensely bigger. We have nothing to fear. You have nothing to fear.
Go back and revisit those gorgeous ideas of yours and pick the one that you really would like to make happen. That one idea that the world really needs. Or the one you just think is a fun, little, cool thing that would make people smile – like our idea of Ideas Island. And then make it happen.
If it does become a success you will feel immortal . If it fails you will not die. The sun will rise again, you will move on – but at least you will feel happy that you tried. Ideas inspire us like almost nothing else in life. The word inspiration means “to breathe in” – in other words, to be inspired is “the oxygen of our mind” – it’s what’s keeps us alive.
Believe in your ideas.
Make them happen.
Tell your friends to make their ideas happen.
You will be glad you did.
Even if you one day wake up to the news that your idea was blown away in a storm.
Trust me. I know.
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November 4, 2013
News for October
October was a crazy month. In 30 days Fredrik got to see Thailand, Sweden, Denmark, USA, Australia, Taipei, Singapore, Dubai, UK, the Philippines and Malaysia.
He spoke for bankers, students, IT-professionals, Oil & Gas Experts, Accountants, consultants, teachers and many, many more.
He spoke on a beach in Phuket, in a conference place next to a castle and in a casino.
It was an amazing months – full of inspiration from – literally – around the world.
Here are some videos from the month of October:
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October 15, 2013
Fredrik Haren featured in Bangladesh media
Fredrik Haren, an author and speaker on business creativity, founder of interesting.org, shares his theories of creativity with Dhaka Tribune
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October 4, 2013
News for September
September was a month of contrasts.
Fredrik got to speak for Kommerskollegium – one of the oldest government institutions in Sweden – it’s been running since 1651!
But he also spoke for branding professionals in Bangladesh.
The contrast could not have been bigger.
He also got to speak to banking managers as well as sales people. Quite a big contrast too.
He spoke in a dark room for designers in Finland and for young students in Singapore. Also that a big difference.
All in the month of September.
The ability to speak for different professionals in different industries and from different parts of the world gives a speaker a unique ability to get a bigger picture of what is going on in the world.
Below is a short video to give a glimpse into the life of Fredrik in September.
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