Beating the Global Odds: Successful Decision-Making in a Confused and Troubled World

Contending with the 24/7 news cycle and an endless barrage of choices and information has stymied leadership and decision-making strategies among those at the top. But we all know, this is not a just a problem for the elite. The broad-based reaction to this chaotic, unmanageable assault has been to retrench, and to focus on immediate, controllable decisions. In the process, we lose sight of the horizon. More dangerous still, is the shift we’ve seen from value creation to wealth creation, where information technology 1.0 has enabled a transaction-based society in which the “deal” is more important than the value it drives or the relationships it is based on. On our current path, the odds of a better future are slim.

What we need is a new value proposition.

Beating the Global Odds is the answer to the dangers of too much of a good thing. There’s no going back, but there is the opportunity to set things right. In this book, Paul A. Laudicina, Managing Partner and Chairman of the Board of global consulting firm A.T. Kearney, provides a fast-paced and engaging tour of how we got to this point and what we can do about it.

Drawing on examples from everything from world history and current media to anecdotes from his vast network of CEOs and the world’s most innovative thinkers, Laudicina helps bring our world of seemingly fuzzy and disconnected pixels into sharp focus.

The result is a compelling case for change and call to action—not only for global leaders but also for everyone who struggles with the question of how we can inspire and seize a better future… how we can beat the global odds.

About the Author

Paul Laudicina is the CEO, chairman of the board, and managing partner at global management-consulting firm A.T. Kearney, and the founder and chairman of the firm’s Global Business Policy Council. He has more than 40 years of professional experience in various capacities in government, research institutions, businesses, and the United Nations and has worked in over 30 countries at the national, provincial, state, and community levels.

With more than 25 years of global consulting experience, Paul has worked with leaders of corporations and governments across a broad range of strategic, corporate, and public policy issues. He has also led scenario-based strategic planning and risk-management engagements for many of A.T. Kearney’s largest private- and public-sector clients.

In early 2006, the Partners of A.T. Kearney elected Paul to lead the firm following its management buy-out, and under his leadership the firm has strongly rebounded to retake its place among the world’s leading management consulting firms, returning to robust growth and retiring its debt within a year of regaining independence. Prior to the MBO, A.T. Kearney had been an EDS subsidiary for over a decade, and the relationship with the parent had become strained and this storied, pioneering consulting firm was in serious trouble. Some six years later, A.T. Kearney is one of the great turnaround stories of the professional services sector, with strong growth fuelled by global expansion, a differentiated brand identity, and client satisfaction and employee loyalty scores that have enabled it to reclaim its place as an industry leader.

Before joining A.T. Kearney in 1991, Paul was senior vice president and director with SRI International, the former Stanford Research Institute, where he was employed for 10 years. He is also the founder of its policy division. He had earlier served as legislative director to then U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr.; director of preinvestment studies for Mobil Corporation; associate fellow of the Overseas Development Council; and research associate for the United Nations’ Center for Economic and Social Information. In that role, he worked domestically and in Latin America, Switzerland, and East Africa.

Paul is the author of a number of articles and books, including World Out of Balance: Navigating Global Risks to Seize Competitive Advantage, which was published in six additional language editions and was selected as one of the top business books of 2005 by Soundview Executive Book Summaries. He was also named to Consulting magazine’s annual ranking of the Top 25 Most Influential Consultants in 2005 and 2007.

Paul sits on the board of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Mayor’s Board of Chicago World Business, the President’s Council of the University of Tokyo, CEOs Against Cancer, and the International Advisory Board of BritishAmerican Business. Additionally, he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations as well as CEOs in Partnership for a New American Economy, which is a non-partisan coalition to address U.S. immigration issues.