Question

What are the risks and considerations of a hyperconnectivity strategy?

Answer 1

The business case for extreme resilience has been demonstrated repeatedly in recent years as we adjust to what the World Economic Forum’s 12th Global Risks Reportrefers to as a global ‘reset’. But, given every business leader’s mandate to maximise shareholder value, they cannot settle for purely defensive positions: they also need to identify opportunities within risk.

“Managing risk and driving growth cannot be viewed as separate imperatives for business”, says Valerie Butt, Head of Commercial Insurance Customers and Distribution, Zurich, “but to optimise the upside of the major shifts shaping our world today, companies need the confidence of an enterprise-wide resilience framework.”

The Global Risks Report 2017 is a stark reminder of how broad and holistic any resilience framework needs to be, with uncertainty today challenging global and national governance, civil society, social protections and the planet. Further, shocks in any of these areas could trigger related shocks elsewhere.

"It is the interconnected and systemic nature of global risks that creates surprises when their impacts are felt not only locally but also globally. Against this background, it is important for businesses to understand the triggers, trends and scenarios to look out for, and to prepare for the possible consequences of any of those risks", adds Butt.

Interestingly, if we extend the philosophy of risk interconnectedness to include a link between risk and opportunity, this same report could be read as a playbook for growth: most of the risks relate to profound and interconnected shifts that invite fresh thinking from the private sector about how to drive value with solutions. Four of the report’s key themes offer a useful lens through which to illustrate this.