Structural or transient? A board lens on macro disruptions

A central question for companies is no longer whether geopolitical disruption will affect their business; it is whether their strategy is suited to a more volatile global operating environment. This uncertain world is creating a churn of evolving risks and interdependencies that many companies did not anticipate when setting their strategies.

A key challenge facing companies and their boards is discerning structural changes that durably reshape the operating environment from transient disruptions that are significant but temporary. The distinction is a useful diagnostic lens but not always clear-cut. Structural shifts can increase the frequency or severity of temporary shocks, while transient disruptions can be symptoms of structural changes. Some transient shocks can ultimately catalyze other structural shifts.

This collaboration between the KPMG Board Leadership Center (BLC) and Eurasia Group examines a number of macro forces reshaping the global business environment, implications for board engagement in strategy, and offers considerations for robust conversations about calibrating strategy and risk through the prism of structural versus temporary change.