Seeking Alpha: The Top Gray Rhinos of 2016

safe_imagePredictions may be imperfect, but we do have tools at hand to help us think about what developments are most likely to sideswipe our plans. Every year, analysts compile lists of top risks for investors and policy makers.

Combined and filtered, they make for a strong comprehensive list of gray rhinos that provides a wider, balanced, global view of the year’s top risks than any individual ranking can on its own.

Most of these lists appear in the first quarter. In the months since, the momentous Brexit vote, conclusion of the U.S. primary season, and evolving economic picture make it worth revisiting them as the summer winds up and markets head into the typically volatile last part of the year.

My August 11th article on Seeking Alpha lists the Top Five Gray Rhinos of 2016 in order of importance, based on the frequency and rank of their mentions earlier in the year. I’ve updated each with my view on how the outlook has evolved over the course of the year.

Read the full article on Seeking Alpha

The Gray Rhino on The Exchange

I sat down with Reuters Breakingviews US Editor Jeffrey Goldfarb for a conversation on The Exchange about why it’s more important to look for gray rhinos than black swans and how to keep from getting trampled. The interview aired June 23, 2016. Click the image below to view the video.

With Reuters Breakingviews US Editor Jeffrey Goldfarb on The Exchange
With Reuters Breakingviews US Editor Jeffrey Goldfarb on The Exchange

 

Observer: Why We Ignore Obvious Dangers

In this Year of the Gray Rhino, I wrote for the New York Observer about how issues that are anything but the unexpected have sideswiped the Democratic and Republican parties:

Screen Shot 2016-05-26 at 1.12.49 PMThis year’s presidential campaign is full of the unexpected. Yet the underlying issues are anything but. It’s hardly news that middle- and working-class incomes have stagnated and that Americans are fed up with a government that even squabblesover an impending public health crisis like Zika. Why, then, have the country’s two leading parties been taken aback by voters who are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore?

It’s because everyone—not just politicians—underestimates the power of the obvious problems that loom right in front of us. So it’s a surprise when inaction creates unpleasant consequences. The Democratic and Republican parties are learning this lesson the hard way.

The truth is that we get into most trouble when we’ve ignored obvious problems. I call these issues “gray rhinos” because they are huge and charging right at us and ought to be harder to ignore. Yet we miss the most important information—like calling rhinos black and white even though they are all gray.

Read the full article at observer.com

 

Inc.: 3 Questions for Startups

Screen Shot 2016-05-24 at 11.49.32 AMThe best companies are the ones that see opportunity in adversity, and are always willing to change. Applying the gray rhino concept to the challenges facing start-ups –or any companies, for that matter– I penned this piece for Inc.: “3 Questions to Make Sure Your Startup Can Thrive With Change”

Have you asked yourself these key questions about your organization?

Observer Interview: Into the Wild

It’s time to pay attention to “gray rhinos,” says policy expert Michele Wucker.

Screen Shot 2016-04-03 at 8.31.23 PMParker Richards interviewed me for this piece in the New York Observer, published April 2, 2016. “It’s not just a book, it’s a new way of thinking about the world’s problems,” he wrote. Read the full interview HERE.

WGN Radio -The Download

MWJustinKaufman

Why do we choose to ignore pending doom? Good question! I had a great time talking with Justin Kaufman on his WGN Radio show, “The Download,” on March 31 here in Chicago, about THE GRAY RHINO, financial meltdowns, kicking the can, climate change, and the tricks our minds play on us with  LISTEN HERE. That’s Michigan Avenue in the backdrop of the photo.

PCMA Convening Leaders Interview

Here’s a brief interview with me talking about gray rhinos, done a few minutes after my presentation at PCMA Convening Leaders in Vancouver January 11, 2016,about how use the gray rhino concept to help your organization act on obvious dangers instead of avoiding them.

Davos 2014: Takeaways for the Year to Come

I was honored to attend the 2014 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which wraps up a season of predictions for the year ahead and helps set the coming agenda for world business, civil society and political leaders. Continue reading “Davos 2014: Takeaways for the Year to Come”