Global thought-leader Michele Wucker came up with the concept of the “gray rhino”. But what is it really about? What is the idea behind it?
A “gray rhino” is a highly probable, high impact yet neglected threat: kin to both the elephant in the room and the improbable and unforeseeable black swan. Gray rhinos are not random surprises, but occur after a series of warnings and visible evidence. The bursting of the housing bubble in 2008, the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters, the new digital technologies that upended the media world, the fall of the Soviet Union…all were evident well in advance.
Why do leaders and decision makers keep failing to address obvious dangers before they spiral out of control? Michele Wucker examined the concept of gray rhinos and how we can manage better.
Watch the videos below to learn more:
Michele Wucker is an award-wining global thought leader who draws on three decades of experience in media and non-profit management and policy development.
Michele is the author of several books, the third of which is the highly praised “THE GRAY RHINO: How to Recognize and Act on the Obvious Dangers We Ignore”, which grew out of a presentation at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland in which she coined the term “gray rhino” for highly probable, high impact crisis events.
Michele founded Gray Rhino & Company in 2015 to help leaders and organizations to identify and strategize responses to gray rhino risks that are neglected despite -and all too often because of- their size.
Michele has been recognized as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and a Guggenheim Fellow, among other honors. Her previous leadership positions include Vice President for Studies at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs; President of the World Policy Institute, which she re-launched in 2007 in a dramatic turnaround; and Latin America Bureau Chief at International Financing Review. She also has taught master’s students at the School for International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, of which she is an alumna. An engaging keynote speaker, moderator, panelist, and facilitator, she has delivered presentations in 16 countries on five continents. She lives in Chicago.
Michele’s speaking topics include:
- Gray Rhino-Proofing Your Future: A New Way to Think about Risk and Response
- Gray Rhinos, not Black Swans: A New Way to Think about Risk and Response
- Demographic Gray Rhinos: Robots Meet Aging and Migration
- Beyond Kicking the Can: How to Stop Muddling and Innovate
Contact us if you would like to engage Michele Wucker for your next conference.