Transforming our Critical Systems

Abstract

We have entered an era of perverse economic growth, at the expense of social and natural capital. As the world runs further behind on the Sustainable Development Goals, managing and mitigating the looming environmental and social crises in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world will be one of the biggest challenges, but also biggest commercial opportunities of our time. Building on earlier research on systemic change, using the WHAT-HOW-WHY framework, this Element presents actionable insights for the radical systemic reinvention of our 'critical systems' that satisfy human and societal needs, such as nutrition, mobility, infrastructure or health. The authors highlight ten emerging paradigms for future-fit systemic change, discuss how stakeholder mindsets can be developed, and present new skills for leaders and a pathway for companies to become drivers of collaborative transformation. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.