Inevitable Surprises: Thinking Ahead in a Time of Turbulence

Inevitable Surprises: Thinking Ahead in a Time of Turbulence

by PeterSchwartz (Author)

Synopsis

A stunning exploration of the plausible prospects for tomorrow's history, and the implications they suggest for the decisions we should make today. Events like the collapse of a major energy company or a devastating terrorist attack seem to come from nowhere. Not only are they shocking and disturbing, it often appears that their prevention would have been impossible. Not so, argues Peter Schwartz in this fascinating book. Many 'surprises', he says, soon acquire an aura of inevitability once the underlying patterns of behaviour are examined. And although we cannot do anything about the past, we can try to do something about the future. What, then, is the next big surprise? How might it play out? INEVITABLE SURPRISES covers high-level, universal trends -- from business to international affairs, from biotechnology to climate change -- but presents them in the context of the particular and concrete choices that different people must make. It distinguishes those forces beyond our control from the future that we can influence and help design -- for the world around us, for our organisations, and for ourselves.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
Publisher: Free Press
Published: 04 Aug 2003

ISBN 10: 0743239105
ISBN 13: 9780743239103

Media Reviews
A survey of all the major trends that are likely to affect our lives, Inevitable Surprises is a manual for survival in the 21st century. And an exploration of the plausible prospects for tomorrow's history, and the implications they suggest for the decisions we should make today. The author is one of the world's leading experts in 'discontinuities': things that take us by surprise but which, in hindsight, were sadly predictable and usually avoidable. Events like the collapse of a major energy company or a devastating terrorist attack seem to come from nowhere. Not only are they shocking and disturbing, it often appears that their prevention would have been impossible. Not so, argues Schwartz: although we cannot do anything about the past, we can try to do something about the future. Should appeal strongly to a business-book as well as a general non-fiction readership.
Author Bio
Peter Schwartz is co-founder and Chairman of Global Business Network, the world's pre-eminent research and consulting firm focused on scenario planning. He advises a variety of blue-chip clients from government agencies to giant corporations including the CIA, Boeing and Texaco. He is the author of THE ART OF THE LONG VIEW, WHEN GOOD COMPANIES DO BAD THINGS and THE LONG BOOM.