Workshop Wednesday's - Building Brilliant | Escape Velocity and Agile Absorbers Presented by Dr Saville

At Workshop Wednesdays, we'll be shining light on some of Workshop17's most successful entrepreneurs—running their own teams with a string of successful projects and awards gracefully hanging in their back pockets. These creative mavericks are ready to share their successes and secrets. As creatives, ideas are part of our DNA; it's turning those brilliant ideas into viable, monetizable, and long-term business ventures that is another story entirely.

Join us as Dr Saville, renowned economist, shares insights from a 20-year study of 20,000 companies, revealing how top businesses achieve lasting growth through innovation, market expansion, and resilience. His talk highlights the strategies of “agile absorbers” and offers practical guidance for South African businesses navigating a low-growth economy.

21 May 2025

Workshop17 Hyde Park Corner, Johannesburg

17:00 - 19:00

Hosted by tech strategist and growth leader, Craig Leppan from B2BS Consulting

Building Brilliant | Escape Velocity and Agile Absorbers

In business, fate, luck, and choice are often mistaken for one another. However, a study of more than 20,000 companies across the globe, spanning over two decades, allows us to separate chance from choice – revealing the specific attributes, behaviours, and strategies that drive businesses to achieve the strongest and most sustained growth. These exceptional companies "agile absorbers” don't just adapt to their circumstances; they break free from them. By design, they achieve escape velocity, pulling away from country constraints and defying industrial and economic gravity. Their success is not a product of luck but of deliberate strategy and execution.

For South African businesses trapped in a low-growth economy, the lessons from these agile absorbers are invaluable. Their strategies offer a practical guide for business leaders, executives, and investors looking to unlock new growth trajectories by finding new markets, building new business models, and developing new mindsets. Through a set of company case studies, this talk will provide roadmaps for resilience, reinvention, and sustained performance. In business, hope is not a strategy – but learning from the best can be.