Ten Years to Midnight

PricewaterhouseCoopers's global strategy leader offers a powerful new framework for understanding and resolving the root causes of the 21st century's most pressing problems.As global leader for strategy for one of the largest organizations in the history of the world, Blair Sheppard sees humanity as facing four major crises in the next ten years- a crisis of prosperity, a crisis of technology, a crisis of institutions, and a crisis of leadership. In this book, he and his team uncover five factors that underlie these crises, which he calls the ADAPT framework- Asymmetry of wealth; Disruption wrought by technology; Age, both the greying of the population in developed countries and the youth explosion in the developing world; Populism and its rejection of international cooperation and social norms; and Trust, which is increasingly lacking in both our leaders and our institutions.This book shows how the ADAPT framework helps us identify the most critical elements of each of these four crises. It's not foretelling a doomsday ten years from now, either--the book points to solutions to these crises that result from the clarity and insight provided by this new understanding.

“"Unnervingly real with compelling hope. Sheppard's book shows how humans have brought us to the brink and how humanity can find solutions. I urge people to read with humility and the daring to act." --Harpal Singh, former Chair, Save the Children India, and former Vice Chair, Save the Children International "An interconnected global economy has lifted a record number of people out of poverty but also triggered a wave of disruptive forces within and between countries that threaten the sustainability of the existing system. Sheppard cogently outlines the issues and lays out a framework of potential solutions that the people across the globe who most benefited from the last seventy years would be wise to embrace." --Alan Schwartz, Executive Chairman, Guggenheim Partners "A sense of urgency but also of opportunity is the takeaway from this profound book by Blair Sheppard. He combines in-depth knowledge of global affairs, strategic thinking, and experience advising leaders all over the world to find solutions for very diverse issues and sectors. We are living in uncertain times, and if we do not succeed in solving the crises we face before midnight--2030--we will be left in the dark. So let's get started: there are no excuses after reading this book." --Julia Pomares, Executive Director, CIPPEC "A remarkable tale based on the author's real-world leadership experience across the globe, view of the seemingly overwhelming challenges facing us all, and ultimately, optimism on the path forward." --Dr. Yinuo Li, World Economy Forum Young Global Leader and former Partner, McKinsey”

“Unnervingly real with compelling hope. Sheppard’s book shows how humans have brought us to the brink and how humanity can find solutions. I urge people to read with humility and the daring to act.”
—Harpal Singh, former Chair, Save the Children India, and former Vice Chair, Save the Children International
 
“An interconnected global economy has lifted a record number of people out of poverty but also triggered a wave of disruptive forces within and between countries that threaten the sustainability of the existing system. Sheppard cogently outlines the issues and lays out a framework of potential solutions that the people across the globe who most benefited from the last seventy years would be wise to embrace.”
—Alan Schwartz, Executive Chairman, Guggenheim Partners
 
“A sense of urgency but also of opportunity is the takeaway from this profound book by Blair Sheppard. He combines in-depth knowledge of global affairs, strategic thinking, and experience advising leaders all over the world to find solutions for very diverse issues and sectors. We are living in uncertain times, and if we do not succeed in solving the crises we face before midnight—2030—we will be left in the dark. So let’s get started: there are no excuses after reading this book.”
—Julia Pomares, Executive Director, CIPPEC
 
“A remarkable tale based on the author’s real-world leadership experience across the globe, view of the seemingly overwhelming challenges facing us all, and ultimately, optimism on the path forward.”
—Dr. Yinuo Li, World Economy Forum Young Global Leader and former Partner, McKinsey

“An impressively informative, thought-provoking, and meticulously detailed work of original and seminal collective scholarship…an invaluable contribution to our national and international dialogue with respect to Environmental Economics, Government Management, and Strategic Business Planning.” —Midwest Book Review

Blair Sheppard is the global leader for strategy and leadership at PricewaterhouseCoopers, a consultancy committed to solving business's most prominent worldwide issues. Prior to that he worked at Duke University for thirty-three years, having been the principal force behind opening Duke's campus in China, the dean of Fuqua School of Business, the founder of Duke Corporate Education, and the first recipient of the faculty of the year award at Fuqua.

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