INSIGHTS ‘workSMART’—Agility Is the New Business Mandate By Marge Axelrad Monday, February 12, 2018 12:00 AM Digitalization. Disruptive tech. Consolidation. Security. New forms of retail and e-tail competition. Health care system and cost pressures. An aging population. A changing consumer mindset. The power of media. Rapid-fire change. There should be some comfort in knowing that today’s business challenges feel more intense for everyone, for smaller companies and large, for newer companies and established businesses. This year’s Vision Monday Global Leadership Summit, our 12th, is geared to the senior leadership of optical companies and vision care professionals to confront these trends head on, to help them anticipate what’s coming down the road and to share with them the perspective of folks outside our industry. This year’s Summit “workSMART” program will investigate and illustrate the current thinking about why there is a new agility mandate for all businesses as the new world of work is redefining traditional retail, health care and service. This year, we hope our Summit attendees will leave with several meaningful Leadership Tactics for Transformative Times. What are the new executive and management approaches that are working best for others, even if they’re not in traditional vision care? Which alternatives out there could you consider trying and adapting to your business? VM’s Summit is asking why is “the pivot” so important today? Why is inflexibile the last thing you want to be? How does a business big or small, new or old, tackle that pivot, welcome the zig and zag, stay relevant in such a sea of change? Vision Monday purposefully keeps the attendance at our Leadership Summits exclusive. Close to 400 people gather at The Times Center each year, senior executives from the sectors of optometry, opticianry, finance, retail large and small, insurance, frame, lens and lab suppliers. If you’ve come in the past, thanks, we appreciate it and hope to see you there on March 14. And if you’ve not registered before, please consider it. It’s special. And it’s a different kind of conference which offers a break from the conventional, provides amazing networking opportunities and embraces the provocative idea. Invest in your success and join us just prior to your visit to New York and Vision Expo East. Learn more about the speakers who’ll be joining us on page 19.