Description

Retired four-star general Stan McChrystal has lived a life associated with the deadly risks of combat. From his first day at West Point, to his years in Afghanistan, to his efforts helping business leaders navigate a global pandemic, McChrystal has seen how individuals and organizations fail to mitigate risk.

Why?

Because they focus on the probability of something happening instead of the interface by which it can be managed.

In fact, McChrystal says the U.S. response to the pandemic was mismanaged from the beginning.

“We always knew another virus was going to come and threaten a pandemic,” he told the Military Times recently. “We not only knew it was inevitable, but we know how to deal with a threat like that through public health. And we blew it; we absolutely have flubbed the response.”

“Like many people, I’ve lived a life that touched risk and dealt with risk, tried to mitigate risk or defeat risk, and over the years, I’ve come to the conclusion, we don’t do it very well.”

In his new book, Risk: A User’s Guide (Portfolio Hardcover, October 2021), McChrystal offers a battle-tested system for detecting and responding to risk. Instead of defining risk as a force to predict, McChrystal and coauthor Anna Butrico show that there are in fact 10 dimensions of control we can adjust at any given time. By closely monitoring these controls, we can maintain a healthy Risk Immune System that allows us to effectively anticipate, identify, analyze, and act upon the ever-present possibility that things will not go as planned.

The HBS Club of New York will present an exclusive conversation with Gen. McChrystal, in which we will cover a wide range of global and national issues. Join us for this great conversation. Please purchase your copy from your favorite bookstore and support our speakers who make time for us.

Participants must register by NOON on October 20th to receive details on joining the discussion. The Zoom link will be sent out 24 hours before the event.

Please note that no refunds will be issued.