Political Risk, Condoleezza Rice
Political Risk, Condoleezza Rice
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Political Risk
How Businesses and Organizations Can Anticipate Global Insecurity

Author: Condoleezza Rice, Amy B. Zegart

Narrator: Grace Angela Henry

Unabridged: 8 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Twelve

Published: 05/01/2018

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

From New York Times bestselling author and former U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and Stanford University professor Amy B. Zegart comes an examination of the rapidly evolving state of political risk, and how to navigate it.

The world is changing fast. Political risk-the probability that a political action could significantly impact a company's business-is affecting more businesses in more ways than ever before. A generation ago, political risk mostly involved a handful of industries dealing with governments in a few frontier markets. Today, political risk stems from a widening array of actors, including Twitter users, local officials, activists, terrorists, hackers, and more. The very institutions and laws that were supposed to reduce business uncertainty and risk are often having the opposite effect. In today's globalized world, there are no "safe" bets.

POLITICAL RISK investigates and analyzes this evolving landscape, what businesses can do to navigate it, and what all of us can learn about how to better understand and grapple with these rapidly changing global political dynamics. Drawing on lessons from the successes and failures of companies across multiple industries as well as examples from aircraft carrier operations, NASA missions, and other unusual places, POLITICAL RISK offers a first-of-its-kind framework that can be deployed in any organization, from startups to Fortune 500 companies.

Organizations that take a serious, systematic approach to political risk management are likely to be surprised less often and recover better. Companies that don't get these basics right are more likely to get blindsided.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ed on July 29, 2018

I had high hopes for a deep dive into political risk, its implications and suggested solutions. Sadly, this book proved highly disappointing. Rice and Zegart return time and again to the same tired examples and sources. How many times do you want to lean on quoting Marc Andreessen about risk or regu......more

Goodreads review by Peter on August 02, 2018

If you want to learn about how LEGO and FedEx handle political risk, this is your book. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother reading. Interesting nuggets of knowledge and anecdotes scattered across but there are few are far between. Both authors are clearly smart and knowledgeable but this book is just not......more

Goodreads review by David on March 29, 2025

What a great read, worth rereading. Make sure to read some other books on risk before getting into this one, since it focuses on a specific kind of risk.......more

Goodreads review by James Dupree on November 26, 2018

My response to this book is a bit of a shrug. It does a good job of providing a framework to digest and manage political risk but probably did not need to be a book. The examples were too repetitive. If they had added mostly new examples during each chapter, as opposed to recycling the old, this wou......more

Goodreads review by Dean on May 13, 2018

Maybe title should be political risk AND reward. Shorting SeaWorld based on its exposure to political risk has been a very profitable trade. LIke little reads that come from courses taught by Professors whose courses on campuses I will never attend.......more


Quotes

"Rice and Zegart's POLITICAL RISK should be read by every business leader. Any company that fails to learn and apply the lessons of this wise and practical book can quickly find itself in rapid decline. But equally, those who become skilled at its application can do more than merely mitigate such risks; they can thrive upon them. Well-written and chock-full of compelling case stories wrapped inside a coherent conceptual framework, POLITICAL RISK gets and keeps your attention, page after page. We cannot predict the future, but -- with the help of this marvelous masterwork--- we can prepare for it."—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 12.0px Arial}Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and co-author of Great by Choice and Built to Last

"Smart. Informative. Overdue. Will completely change the way you think about political risk."—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 12.0px Arial; color: #2d2d2d}Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google and Alphabet, Inc.

"Secretary Rice and Dr. Zegart have melded their professional experiences of managing political risk at the highest levels with other case studies into a uniquely useful and profound book."—p.p1 {margin: 5.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 12.0px Arial; color: #275d90}span.s1 {color: #2c2c2c}Frederick W. Smith, chairman & CEO, FedEx Corporation

"Political risk was once centered on honest-to-goodness political actors -- governments, central banks and the like. But as Rice and Zegart clearly show, technology has forever changed who counts as a 'political actor.' This book is truly excellent, both for tracing how far the political risk field has come in the last two decades, and how much further it has left to go."—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 12.0px Arial; color: #2c2c2c}Ian Bremmer, president, Eurasia Group

"Clearly written and timely, this book will interest not only current and future business executives but also would-be-whistle-blowers and corporate watchdogs."—Publishers Weekly

Praise for Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom

"Condoleezza Rice serves as an able and insightful guide in this journey through democracy across the globe. Her knowledge and clear-eyed assessment of the challenges facing this system of government make this book an important contribution to a pressing debate on democracy today."—Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations

"[An] accessibly written study of that imperfect but ideal form of government...[One that] deserves a broad audience, especially in our current political climate."—Kirkus Starred Review

"[A] ringing call for democracy promotion...Ms. Rice should be commended."—Max Boot, The Wall Street Journal

"Working daily alongside Condi at the White House and State Department, I witnessed firsthand her foundational belief in the power of human freedom and the crucial need for democratic institutions to protect it. This book, full of fascinating anecdotes and insights, is a sweeping view of the global struggle for democracy and a must-read for all who care about the future peace of the world and its people."—Karen Hughes, former under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs