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Dear Hunter,

This year is off to a tumultuous start with promise of more to come as the world’s political, economic and technological drivers churn with unprecedented velocity and amplitude.

I’m just back from a busy week in Japan trying to help key corporate leaders there understand what it all means and where we’re headed. Of course, the simple answer is we really don’t know. After all, predictions missed the mark pretty badly this past year on some of the world’s most dramatic developments. However, we would be making a major mistake were we to conclude from failed forecasts that trying to discern the forces of change is a foolhardy exercise. Rather, only by powerfully imagining and rigorously researching a range of alternative futures can we be prepared to seize the opportunities and manage the risks that might present themselves.

Over the last few weeks I posted two Forbes columns which I would like to bring to your attention in case you missed them. The first column (“Davos: What’s New, What’s Not, and What’s Next [ https://info.atkearney.com/email_handler.aspx?sid=5c0e58c8-19fa-4a69-bffb-7025707563a7&redirect=http%3a%2f%2fbit.ly%2f2llSwtl ] ”) offers my reflections on the prevailing views “on the mountain” in Davos this year. I found the thinking and spirit rather different from many of the other annual meetings of the World Economic Forum I have had the opportunity to attend over the last two decades. In my column I urge business leaders to work with government and civil society leaders to ensure the benefits of globalization are more equitably shared. We either get this right with some urgency, or we all lose.

My second column returns to a consistent refrain from my past writing regarding the centrality of trust to successful leadership. In particular, I reflect on part of the reason Donald Trump beat all the odds in becoming the 45th president of the United States (“Three Critical Keys to Trump’s Success [ https://info.atkearney.com/email_handler.aspx?sid=5c0e58c8-19fa-4a69-bffb-7025707563a7&redirect=http%3a%2f%2fbit.ly%2f2lRl63N ] ”). In my view, whether he can build on his core base of support and overcome skepticism and downright strong opposition, will be a function of how well he hits the trust “trifecta”. I’m afraid the first month of his presidency is not off to a promising start on the trust index. I hope he and his team can learn fast.

I will continue traveling a good bit over the course of the next few months….Europe a few times, South America, the Middle East….and I look forward to continuing to learn from all the experienced and talented people I have the good fortune to encounter. Thank you, as always, for allowing me to share my views with you, and for reciprocating with your insights, which always enrich my thinking.

Best.

Paul

Paul A. Laudicina

Chairman, Global Business Policy Council

Partner and Chairman Emeritus, A.T. Kearney

A.T. Kearney, Inc.

1300 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1550

Arlington, Virginia 22209

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