The Economist: Managing Uncertainty: Strategies for surviving and thriving in turbulent times - Hardcover

Devine, Marion; Syrett, Michel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1846684889 ISBN 13: 9781846684883

Publisher: Economist Books, 2012

Synopsis

Global recession, rebellion in the Middle East, and heartrending natural disasters in places as far apart as Japan and Haiti highlight how devastatingly surprising the world we live in can be. So how does a business construct and implement a strategy and embed a management approach that will enable it to get through uncertain times successfully? The authors answer this question and more, in an essential book which

*analyses the sources and triggers of business turbulence, and explores different models for classifying uncertainty;
*explores the cost of uncertainty in the shape of business disruption and lost opportunities - as well as the price paid by staff in the shape of psychological stress, diminished job satisfaction, trust and commitment;
*shows how embracing uncertainty can lead to greater innovation and business growth;
*draws on new thinking from practitioners, academics and consultants and the experiences of a wide variety of organisations including Intel, Procter & Gamble, Siemens, Boeing, Qinetiq, Philips, China Telecom, Ford, Apple, Nokia, Mars, Shell and Glaxo SmithKilne.

Managing Uncertainty is for any business leader or manager who is looking for new ideas and approaches that will help them to succeed in the highly uncertain times we live in today.

About this title

Book Description:

Showing how the art of managing uncertainty is a business imperative in today's modern world

From the Back Cover:

The global financial crisis has ushered in a period of extreme uncertainty leaving major unresolved issues, such as the euro-zone crisis, which may take years to play out fully. Managing this level of uncertainty has introduced a new and complex challenge for managers, for whom there has been no established framework to help them prepare and steer their company through turbulent and unpredictable waters. This book provides such a framework. Through a detailed survey conducted by PA Consulting Group in collaboration with the authors and follow-up interviews by them with senior executives in a range of leading global firms that explored the way organisations reacted to the shock and aftershocks of the financial crisis, the authors have identified six critical characteristics that organisations must display if they are to survive and thrive in these uncertain times. These characteristics are:

• Strategic anticipation
• Navigational leadership
• Agility

Many industries are seeing unprecedented shifts in market share, resulting in a clear separation between winners and losers. The message of this book is that business leaders who act now to develop these six characteristics in their own organisation?facing the possibility of turbulence and planning to emerge stronger from it?will be the winners.

"A book that every CEO should read ? and act on. Doing so may make the difference between winning and losing in the coming crisis."
Sir John Banham, former chairman of Johnson Matthey PLC and Whitbread PLC, and former Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry

About this edition

• Publisher: Economist Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1846684889
• ISBN 13: 9781846684883
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224