Leadership for change Leadership for Change Programme About Margaret Heffernan Born in Texas, raised in Holland and educated Master Class 2 at Cambridge University, Margaret worked Willful blindness: ‘Why we in BBC Radio for five years where she wrote, directed, produced and commissioned dozens of ignore the obvious at our peril’ documentaries and dramas. with Margaret Heffernan Leaving the BBC, she ran the trade association Thursday 4th September 2014 IPPA, which represented the interests of independent film and television producers and 10am – 3pm was once described by the Financial Times as “the Venue: Friends House, most formidable lobbying organisation in England.” In 1994, she returned to the United States, London where she worked on public affair campaigns in Massachusetts and with software companies trying to break into multimedia. She then joined CMGI where she ran, bought and sold leading Internet businesses. She was named one of the Internet’s Top 100 by Silicon Alley Reporter in 1999. This is the second of five one day Master Classes offered as part of the Leadership Her third book, Willful Blindness, which examined for Change programme. This is a unique the phenomenon of people ignoring the truth when it is in plain sight, was a finalist for the Financial opportunity to spend a day with entrepreneur, Times/Goldman Sachs Best Business Book award. Chief Executive and author Margaret Heffernan. Leadership for change Margaret argues that the biggest threats and dangers we face are the ones we don’t see – not because they’re secret or invisible, but because we’re willfully blind. She examines the phenomenon and traces its imprint in our private and working lives, and within governments and organizations, and asks: What makes us prefer ignorance? What are we so afraid of? Why do some people see more than others? And how can we change? Examining examples of willful blindness in the Catholic Church, the SEC, Nazi Germany, Bernard Madoff’s investors, BP’s safety record, the military in Afghanistan and the dog-eat-dog world of subprime mortgage lenders. Margaret will explore how willful blindness develops and then goes on to outline some of the mechanisms, structures and strategies that institutions and individuals can use to combat it. Her latest book A BIGGER PRIZE: ‘Why Competition Isn’t Everything And How We Do Better’ was published in the spring of 2014. Participants in the first two cohorts of the Leadership for Change Programme will automatically have a free place reserved for them at this Master Class. A small number of additional places will be made available to non-programme participants from the broader ‘place teams’; these will be for senior people who are working directly with participants on the Leadership Challenge in their locality and who are therefore familiar with the construct of Systems Leadership. To enquire about booking a place at this Master Class please contact the team at [email protected] Or telephone 0115 7484192..