ERIC GARLAND
EXCERPTS
An industry that once told hard truths to corporate and government clients now mostly just tells them what they want to hear, making it harder for us all to adapt to a changing world
When the intelligence business works, it helps create organizational cultures where empirical evidence and concern for the long-range strategic impact of a decision trump internal politics and short-term expediency. And in the past, many such cultures have thrived in businesses and government agencies alike. But three trends are making this harder, or even leading these intelligence providers to have the opposite effect.
1. Explosion of cheap capital from Wall Street has led major industries to consolidate….Too Big to Fail… markets are thus convoluted by subsidies, special regulations, and protectionism.
2. Decisions are simply not in vogue right now. Industry consolidations have created gigantic bureaucracies. — massive bureaucracies are so much more common than they were even a few years ago,
3. Most importantly, the world’s economy is today driven more by policy makers than at any time in recent history.