Business & Beyond A Tale of Four Davos: Insights From a Week With World Leaders | Rich Lesser (Global Chairman, BCG)
Feb 5, 2026
Rich Lesser, Global Chairman of BCG and former CEO, offers a compact Davos postmortem. He outlines four concurrent conversations: the cautious global economic outlook, AI moving from hype to value at scale, rising geopolitical fragmentation and sovereignty trade-offs, and the green economy as a growing business opportunity. Short, reflective, and forward-looking.
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Build Geopolitical Muscle With Five S's
- Build geopolitical muscle using five S’s: sensing, scenario planning, strategy, supply-chain flex, and shaping.
- Lesser emphasized scenario breadth and partnering to shape the environment rather than going it alone.
Invest Prudently In Resilience
- Accept that resilience carries cost but is preferable to brittle structures; use sensing and scenario planning to target high ROI resilience investments.
- Examples include slightly higher inventory, stronger facilities, and paying more for flexible suppliers.
AI Shifted From Hype To Value At Scale
- The AI conversation at Davos shifted from hype to value at scale, focusing on embedding AI into workflows and business models.
- Investors now ask when AI investment will translate into P&L impact, pushing leaders toward deployment at scale.