2011 Agenda

The Rise of the Great American Company

In 1970, Stephens took a small Arkansas-based discount retailer public. The IPO provided the capital that helped Walmart become one of the world’s largest companies. It was also the start of a long and constructive partnership between Sam Walton and Jack Stephens. In an informal conversation, former Walmart CEO David Glass and Warren Stephens explored the drivers behind the unprecedented growth of one of America’s great success stories. Joining them were the two Stephens investment bankers who worked directly with Sam Walton in the '60s and '70s, including in the original underwriting of Walmart’s IPO.

David D. Glass, Former President and CEO, Walmart
Warren A. Stephens, Chairman, President and CEO, Stephens
J.D. Simpson, III, Executive Vice President, Emeritus, Stephens
Michael R. Smith, Executive Vice President, Emeritus, Stephens

Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation

What kinds of environments and societies give rise to good ideas? How can the average person maximize the odds of coming up with a great idea? People often credit their ideas to individual “Eureka!” moments. But best-selling author Steven Johnson shows that history tells a different story. He identifies seven patterns that are common to “fertile” environments: “The more we embrace these patterns—in our private work habits and hobbies, in our office environments, in the design of new software tools—the better we will be at tapping our extraordinary capacity for innovative thinking.”

Steven Berlin Johnson, Author, Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation

America in the World

This context-setting session focused on relevant macro issues of America in the global economy. Issues of competitiveness, where innovation is driving the next round of growth, trade policy, and wealth and value creation were discussed. Drivers can be both cultural and economic in nature: Who is managing global risk—is a “G-Zero” world inevitable? Or does innovation offer a way out? Is inflation the next bogeyman? Or will something else grip the world?

Arthur B. Laffer, Founder and Chairman, Laffer Associates

U.S. Strategic Implications of China’s Modernization

Few are more qualified than James Baker, former Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury, to address America's geopolitical role in the world, with a focus on the U.S.-Sino relationship. China’s increasing economic and military strengths are a challenge to the United States and the world. In a conversation with The Wall Street Journal’s Paul Gigot, Baker explored how the longer-term outlook for the global economy depends in large part on how successful both countries are in restructuring their economies and how each defends its interests on the political and military stages.

James A. Baker, III, Former Secretary of State and Distinguished Senior Statesman
Paul A. Gigot, Editorial Page Editor and Vice President, The Wall Street Journal

The Pursuit of Happiness

Renowned social scientist Arthur Brooks argues that the United States is one of the only countries to enshrine happiness in its credo. Yet happiness tends to get discounted in public policy in favor of other priorities. In this eye-opening session, Brooks discussed how our “gross national happiness” depends on the way we teach and live our values—which make up the ecosystem of happiness in America. This session included lively discussions on what makes people content and fulfilled in life and work, and how public leaders and public policy can help make America happier.

Arthur C. Brooks, President, American Enterprise Institute

The Imperious Bureaucracy—Part I

Three years after the financial meltdown, a deluge of new restrictions imposed on big banks and Wall Street has done little to safeguard the system or fix what went wrong. The original problem—banks that were “too big to fail”—has only worsened as a direct result of the government forcing bloated, troubled institutions to merge to survive. But the hundreds of new rules, many of which still aren’t in place more than a year after they were first hailed as a panacea, have been all too effective in befuddling banks, stifling the confidence to invest or lend. Curt Bradbury and Peter Wallison surveyed the damage and examined what needs to be done to improve the situation.

Click here to download Peter Wallison's Dissent from the Majority Report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

Curt Bradbury, COO, Stephens
Peter J. Wallison, Arthur F. Burns Fellow in Financial Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute

The Imperious Bureaucracy—Part II

The looming gap between what should have been done—and what was done—to reform a broken financial system was explored by some of the smartest players in the world of business: the Center Street participants. Regulations are incubated in the rarified confines of Congress and the federal bureaucracy, but their impact and success (or failure) are felt far beyond, in the ranks of business people trying to create wealth and jobs. Summit participants brought tales of their triumphs and travails, and their most unvarnished opinions, and joined a rousing group conversation led by Rich Karlgaard on how to ease the pain and reform the system—in the right way.

Rich Karlgaard, Publisher, Forbes magazine

The Innovator’s Prescription

Disruptive innovation, a concept developed by Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, describes a process by which a product or service takes root initially in simple applications at the bottom of a market and then relentlessly moves “up market,” eventually displacing established competitors. Christensen examined the healthcare industry through this innovation lens and offered solutions that will lower the costs of healthcare while improving quality in the long run. In Christensen’s view, disruptive technologies will simplify and standardize the delivery of medical care, reducing our reliance on highly paid specialists.

Clayton M. Christensen, Author and Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Myths of Rich & Poor: Why We’re Better Off Than We Think

In spite of occasional disruptions, America’s economic system, the best in the world, promotes innovation, growth and wealth. In this discussion, led by W. Michael Cox, former Chief Economist of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the media’s economic scaremongering was evaluated in the context of actual statistics on America’s quality of life. Cox argued, in fact, life, on the whole, has never been better for Americans.

W. Michael Cox, Director, O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom, Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business

Leadership: Ultimate Performance

Delivering consistent, high-level performance over the long haul is an elusive goal, and companies that are able to sustain excellence for years on end are few and far between. Much can be learned from how people and organizations in very different fields address these challenges. Best-selling author and renowned business journalist Paul Sullivan explored the secrets of top performers—business leaders, soldiers, litigators—who excel under pressure and maintain an edge over the competition. According to Sullivan, these clutch performers have figured out how to perform under high-stress conditions as if they were everyday situations.

Paul Sullivan, Author, Clutch

Televised Sports

CBS Coordinating Producer, Lance Barrow gave sports aficionados the opportunity to go behind the scenes. Barrow is the person who decides whether Phil Mickelson’s birdie attempt or Rory McIlroy’s shot from the rough is the one people all over the country will see, and who will first be interviewed following a Super Bowl victory. Summit participants gained an insider's perspective on the sheer enormity of televising the Masters, the PGA Championship and the NFL's Super Bowl.

Lance Barrow, Coordinating Producer and Lead Game Producer, THE NFL ON CBS; Coordinating Producer, Golf
Steve Melnyk, Senior Vice President, Stephens