Over the last thirty years, corporate fortunes have been made and lost more dramatically than ever before. The most valuable businesses were invented in college dorms and shabby garages, and didn't even generate revenues let alone profits in their early years. Trillion dollar industries were created right under the noses of then market leaders, who had almost no idea what was happening. Freshman became billionaires faster than their elders could ask the way to the executive suite. Meanwhile, the world has witnessed the greatest financial crisis in a century, and three quarters of a billion people are now saddled with some of the largest national debts the world has ever seen. With leading companies armed with the most sophisticated financial analytics ever developed, and supported by a new breed of executive coach in the form of management consultants, how could this ever have happened? If the free market was really so effective, how could so much relative value be created or destroyed so rapidly? And if companies were really focussed on shareholders' long term interests, how could global leaders miss such big opportunities or squander their inheritances so rapidly? This book tackles these questions head on and sets out new ways to identify opportunity and assess risk. Would you spot the $100bn hiding in your garage? Would you know if your company had the supremacy gene? Is there an inflexion point hiding around the corner which will mean that your low risk, short term strategy will turn your organisation to financial dust in under a decade? And if you have figured out how you can transform your organisation, who is going to fight hardest to stop you unlocking its hidden value? Whether in Government or business, the daily challenge is how to deal with the short term crisis whilst balancing long term needs. Nigel Lake provides a clear framework to address this challenge whilst also detailing the need to change to survive on any journey. Change involves risk, however it also may be the very reason that you remain in your job. A must for any manager, leader or Minister - compelling reading. The Hon. Mike Baird MP, Premier of New South Wales Absolutely riveting! Gerry Grove-White Director, Flibe Energy and previously COO, Tata Power ...well written...worthwhile messages...useful historical perspectives...entertaining anecdotes! Professor Jorgen Randers, Co-author of international best sellers The Limits to Growth, Beyond the Limits and 2052