A beginners' guide to Davos

So you have received the much sought-after invitation to attend the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos. But what should you look out for?

Be prepared for cold weather

The gear

For starters, pack the right kind of clothes. Davos is high up in the Swiss mountains, above 1,500 metres.

In January that means it is cold, especially at night time. Temperatures can drop to minus 20 Celsius. You need some serious winter gear, and good boots to trudge through the snow and ice.

Some people swap their mountain boots for fancy shoes at the venues, but most people don't bother carrying the extra luggage.

Your wardrobe should strike the right balance between keeping warm and what's loosely termed "business casual". Most men wear suits or smart jackets, but ties are optional.

There's one exception: If you are the founder of a sophisticated tech firm. Especially if the company starts with the letter G and is big in the web search sector. If that's the case, you can wear anything from trainers to an old jumper - although even the world's new billionaires have started to dress up. When Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg attended Davos a couple of years ago, he decided to drop the Harvard dorm room look and sported a tie - even though nobody else was.

The agenda

The biggest problem for a newcomer is to avoid being overwhelmed.

Hundreds of official sessions have been crammed into five days, and then there is the lure of dozens of private parties and networking events every day.

Stock up on sleep ahead of Davos, and work out to which sessions you really want to go.

Then reserve a place at your key sessions early. Some events are full within 15 minutes after booking starts. Until a couple of years ago, sessions were released for booking in two stages, and the reservation system did not open until Wednesday morning.

The Davos InterContinental will provide much-needed extra rooms

Now you can start reserving your place from 14:00 on Tuesday (Swiss time), and once again there's an app for that, which will run on almost any smartphone or tablet you may be carrying and can be downloaded here.

Make sure you attend a few of the more off-beat sessions, for example you can take part in the Refugee Run, which simulates the daily challenges faced by refugees or go to a workshop session on leading mindfully.

Striding with a purpose

Some people come to Davos and don't attend a single session. Instead they have back-to-back meetings with dozens of business partners or politicians, because only here can they find them all in one place.

But that's the exception, and applies exclusively to the highest-powered business leaders.

Don't be intimidated when everybody seems to be striding through the conference centre full of purpose.

"They look as if they do know what they are doing, but they don't," was the advice of Lord Digby Jones, once a Davos regular.

Even Davos regulars can get lost at times. Last year saw the opening of a new venue - the InterContinental Hotel which hosted various receptions and meetings.

By the way: if you move between buildings, say the Congress Centre and the Belvedere hotel (where most parties are held), always allow for some extra time to get through security.

And in the controlled chaos that is Davos, especially within the labyrinthine Congress Centre, there is no shame in letting yourself drift like flotsam to soak up the atmosphere.

Schmoozing

The business card, your most important tool in Davos

If you do that, you are most likely to have your best "Davos moments".

Strike up a conversation with people you've never met before. Nearly everybody in the Congress Centre is either interesting or potentially highly useful.

There are no public relations managers and no personal assistants. Just you and about 2,500 of the most powerful people in the world.

It is here that social entrepreneurs, young executives and technology pioneers make the contacts that can change their lives and the fate of their companies.

Whether you call it networking or schmoozing, the rules are simple: Talk, listen, learn; be open to surprises and be prepared to surprise others.

Which leads us to the most important item on your pack list: Don't forget your business cards - make sure you bring plenty of them.