Executive Session: See Sooner, Act Faster

Philanthropy faces an increasingly turbulent future in which the digital, social, political, and economic forces of change will become less predictable. This will put a premium on the ability of foundation leaders to detect, anticipate, and respond to early signals of threats and opportunities.

In this small conversation with foundation executives, Wharton Professor Paul Schoemaker will discuss “vigilant” organizations that see the looming risks and opportunities sooner than their rivals and position themselves to act faster when the fog of uncertainty lifts. Their leaders look for weak signals of threats and opportunities, take time to figure out what they mean through probing and monitoring, and place small bets early to learn more and improve their market position. Drawing upon a study of foundation leaders conducted in partnership with the Council on Foundations and the Knight Foundation, Paul will share broader insights from his forthcoming book with George Day, See Sooner-Act Faster: How Vigilant Leaders Navigate Digital Turbulence, that will be published by MIT Press in the fall of 2019.

Organized by the Knight Foundation, Council on Foundations, and The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

This session is by invitation only.