Utility Week Live

"Are we going to see the same pattern of behaviour that we saw in the global financial crisis, where one-third of companies orient themselves correctly to the scale of the change and the opportunities that it throws out, and two-thirds have a passive defensive approach to it and end up doing worse as a result?" Mark Thomas, strategy and mar- keting expert, PA Consulting, p15 "New talent is needed to fulfil the growing demand for highly qualified occupations" Neil Robertson, chief executive, Energy & Utility Skills, p18 "As a leader, you've got to show commitment to the change. The leader can't sit on the sidelines and get other people to explain to staff what's going to happen" Robert Symons, chief executive, Western Power Distribution, p20 Change /Trust/Resilience Transformation is on the agenda Drawing on lessons learnt by others who sur- vived periods of traumatic change may help utili- ties survive and prosper over the next 12 months. UtilityWeek S P E C I A L R E P O RT: PA RT 1 / JA N U A RY 2 0 1 5 13 | 16th - 22nD JAnUAry 2015 | UtILIty WEEK COLONEL JOHN BOYD Colonel John Boyd, US air force pilot and Pentagon consultant, had a standing bet that, from an initial period of disadvantage, he could manoeuvre his plane into a position to defeat any opposing pilot within 40 seconds. He never lost. Points of view Find out how his lessons can be applied to business, p15 40 seconds A s utilities enter 2015, only one thing is for certain: change. For the people running water, gas and electric- ity businesses, the 12 months ahead will see transformation on an unprecedented scale. New regulatory regimes in energy networks and water; the CMA inquiry into energy retail; a gen- eral election that is too close to call; and the introduction of competition to the non-domestic water market are all game-changers. These events will place immense demands on businesses and business lead- ers. With many outcomes beyond compa- nies' control, they must become accustomed to managing uncertainty, planning for mul- tiple future scenarios, and transforming traditional utilities into flexible, smart and customer-focused businesses of the future. This is the first of three special reports in which we take an in-depth look at the three areas we believe are key to running utilities in 2015: change, trust, and resilience. In this report, produced in association with PA Consulting, we look back to the financial meltdown of 2007/08 to see which busi- nesses managed to thrive in adversity, and discover how they did it. We ask what skills it takes to lead a business through change, and map the top chal- lenges facing utility leaders. We look at the extent of the skills gap facing utilities as they prepare for the future, and ask what changing skills are needed in each area of the industry. All these questions will be addressed at the keynote conference at Utility Week Live, a new exhibition and conference being held on 21-23 April 2015 at the NEC in Birming- ham. The keynote conference is themed "Inside Out" and draws on the experience of other sectors, asking what utilities can learn. Speakers from other industries will be joined by panels of industry leaders to debate the big issues facing utilities in 2015. The first day will be themed "Change": see www. utilityweek-keynote.com to find out more. HOw CaN BUSiNESSES THRivE iN aDvERSiTY? ELLEn BEnnEtt, EDItor In association with:

• Cover