Powerful Times, Rising to the Challenge of Our Uncertain World

by Eamonn Kelly

Understand the most revolutionary human transformation in four centuries... and prepare for it! We're not just living through an age of we're living through a 'change of age': the most profound inflection point in human history since the Enlightenment. That's the thesis of Eamonn Kelly's remarkable new book Powerful Times . From terrorism and nuclear proliferation to emerging technologies and economic globalization, Kelly weaves together 7 powerful 'dynamic tensions' that will reshape human life in the coming decades. Kelly offers breakthrough insights into how these tensions will conflict -- and how they'll resonate, creating giant waves of change beyond anything we've ever faced. He takes on the truly big questions. To answer pivotal questions, Kelly draws on breakthrough 'scenario planning' techniques he techniques hundreds of top organizations now rely on. Simply put, this book will help you prepare for humanity's most profound transition in 400 years. For every executive, strategist, manager, entrepreneur, public policymaker, and citizen interested in the trends that will most powerfully impact business and life in the coming decades. Eamonn Kelly, the CEO and president of Global Business Network , the renowned future-oriented network and consulting firm, has for over a decade and has been at the forefront of exploring the emergence of a new, knowledge-intensive economy, and its far-reaching consequences for society, organizations and individuals. He has consulted with senior executives at dozens of the world's leading corporations in virtually every leading business sector; with key global and national public agencies, and with major philanthropic foundations. Kelly co-authored What's Exploring the New Terrain for Business and The Future of the Knowledge Economy , and authored GBN's 2003 Scenario Book .

Hardcover

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

Eamonn Kelly is the author of Powerful Times: Rising the Challenge of Our Uncertain World (Wharton School Publishing, October 2005), and the co-author of What’s Next: Exploring the New Terrain for Business (2002) and "The Future of the Knowledge Economy" (1999).

Eamonn, a Monitor Group partner, is leading the firm's network, thought leadership, and marketing initiatives. For the last 10 years, he served as CEO and president of Global Business Network, where he was central to sustaining GBN's thought leadership about the future and the development of insights, tools, and methodologies for mastering change and uncertainty.

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thinking today is often plagued with complex ideological conflicts, often with no clear framework for reasoning. PT frames the complexities into "dynamic tensions," all of which are explored through two useful lenses, governance and innovation. The overall tenor of the book is set in a "both/and" rather than an "either/or" style of thinking. Anyone who is grappling with ordering the chaotic world to act force for positive change as should read this book.

[David Wygant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second time I read this book. I'd recommend it for anyone who reads the newspaper, but if you're a consultant or advisor at any level, it's a must!!!