The five questions QLD’s chief entrepreneur Leanne Kemp asks herself every Monday morning

Already it’s been a big start to the year, but as we also start the new decade, these five questions are high on my list

Every Monday morning I ask myself these questions.

•What are the three things I absolutely need to accomplish this week?

•What are my roadblocks?

•What resources and help do I need?

•What meetings do I need to schedule or reschedule?

•Where do I want to be on Friday?

As we start the new year and new decade, these questions are high on my list. But there’s something about this year that has people talking. Maybe it’s the arrival of a year that just a few decades ago seemed like “The Future”.

Maybe it’s the symmetry of the year or just what happens when we tick over into a new decade.

Maybe it’s really starting to feel like we are actually in the 21st century.

For me, 2020 has been on my horizon for some time now. When I started my company Everledger in 2015, 2020 seemed far enough in the future to be distant, but near enough to mark the progress of a fledgling company.

Already it’s been a big start to the year. In Australia we’ve had fires and floods; these climate catastrophes that have sparked debates around how we respond to, manage and plan for what is increasingly becoming commonplace events.

Then Coronavirus has sprang up and we wait and watch as the world scrambles to keep ahead of the pandemic. It’s been heartening to see the community response to these events corralling support for those affected.

Leanne Kemp, Queensland Chief Entrepreneur, in Townsville. Picture: Shae Beplate

I started the year at the 50th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The meeting always makes headlines around the world and this year was no different. It was my fifth time attending and what struck me was the scent of change in the air.

The next generation of leaders, diverse and alternative voices, how we collectively face the future…the discussions and actions were inclusive with thought and attention given to all the voices at the table.

In particular it was clear that the youth of today have a strong voice, one which we need to listen to, embrace and invite to keep challenging us, and the status quo.

As Queensland Chief Entrepreneur, I viewed the annual meeting through the lens of reflecting back on how Queensland is tracking on the world stage.

There were two areas in particular where Queensland is leading the way.

The first is in advanced manufacturing. Sixteen per cent of global GDP relies on manufacturing, but there are increasing signs that the complex supply chain networks that support millions of small businesses and workers are starting to crack.

While increasing transparency and traceability here is key, so too is transitioning to fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies, and perhaps even more pertinently, to 4IR ways of thinking and transforming business models and systems.

At Davos this year, the World Economic Forum awarded Queensland with advanced manufacturing hub status. This is a coup for Queensland as we join only ten hubs around the world marking us globally as a place where great ideas are born and where innovation is an engine of our state.

We know manufacturing is in transition but we are well placed to be at the forefront of the next wave of development.

Secondly, at Davos, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship announced that its community has improved the lives of more than 622 million people in 190 countries since the year 2000.

Examples of impact include: distributing $6.7B in loans of value of products and services, mitigating more than 192 million tonnes of CO2, improving education for more than 326 million children and youth, improving energy access for more than 100 million people, and driving social inclusion for over 25 million people.

These are grand numbers on an international scale. But let me tell you, Queensland has a thriving social entrepreneurship community.

Even recently I’ve met with baby startups through to our largest corporates who understand the shift from shareholder to stakeholder.

Let’s listen to them. It is clear that as we stare down the barrel of a new decade, the time has come to act.

Make 2020 the year of change, and this decade, the turning point in the fight for the future.