University of Switzerland Published by Palgrave Macmillan (ISBN-10: 1137413980, ISBN-13: 978-1137413987)

 

Strategic Thinking for Turbulent Times is an admirable follow-up to El Namaki’s excellent 2008

work, Strategy and Entrepreneurship in Arab Countries. This new volume carries the same El Namaki hallmarks of rigorous research coupled with sometimes ruthless analytical thinking.

Strategic Thinking for Turbulent Times starts from the premise that we must set aside the entrenched thinking that helped us in the past and acknowledge that time and events have overtaken us and that we require a new type of thinking for a new age. The Three Cs are tackled first as catalysts for the change: capital markets, China and corporations. All three have metamorphosed in recent years to force us to re-examine how they fit into our modern world view and business landscape. The author establishes three compelling forces in free market capitalism, business risk and leadership.

 

These are the core elements that need to be harnessed to see corporations and governments weather the turbulent times in business, government and every other realm of serious endeavour. “Thinking will need to pass new tests,” according to El Namaki, “dramatic changes and far-reaching shifts will reveal new horizons for corporate strategic thinking.”

 

Every forward thinking business leader should make the time to read this insightful volume, if only because it will challenge perceptions of what we once accepted as truisms and contribute to the vigorous debate over ‘what do we do next?’