The International Council of Swedish Industry (NIR) is undertaking a major initiative to distill actionable advice for company leaders in complex markets. This work is grounded both in the growing understanding of the positive potential of business in conflict-prone and other sensitive environments, and in the pressing need for enhanced awareness and skills on the part of company managers to realise that potential. The Resource Book that emerges is most specifically intended for general managers who may be moving from a developed country to a more complex market, and for other company leaders who have responsibility for company strategy and operations in difficult environments.  

The Resource Book draws on the insight of a panel of international experts and partner organizations. Expert Advisors will provide leaders “frameworks for understanding” complex markets, including the underlying drivers of government fragility or social volatility; international legal and regulatory norms; and the dynamics of intervention by an “outsider” in an already-complex environment. They will provide leaders with “frameworks for action” that lead to more effective and efficient assessment of the complex environment and the company’s role within it; adaption of company management practices to meet the imperatives of a complex market; and engagement of the variety of stakeholders in company operations.

The Resource book will also point leaders towards high-quality, proven resources, guidelines and tools of particular relevance to general managers. Inspired and empowered to take on a more constructive leadership role in a difficult environment, managers will gain sufficient awareness and insight to pose the critical questions that shape effective strategy and promote more constructive action in conflict-prone and other sensitive environments. This is to the benefit of both the company’s core business, and the society in which the company operates.