As part of Accenture’s ongoing High Performance Business research program, we have focused on identifying and understanding the forces shaping globalization. Specifically, an Accenture study in 2007 concluded that the world was moving away from long-established geographic centers of economic power and toward a much more complex environment with multiple centers of economic and business activity. We refer to this new era of globalization as the “multi-polar world.”

Since then, the unfolding of an unprecedented economic downturn has underscored just how interconnected and interdependent the global economy has become. And in response to the changing dynamics in both business and government, Accenture has published two new reports with best practices and management ideas to help leaders on their journey to high performance in today’s global environment.

In the report, Strategies for Achieving High Performance in a Multi-Polar World, we draw upon the experiences of high-performance businesses around the globe, including many multi-national organizations in emerging markets. The result is a playbook for how companies can execute global strategies and position themselves to emerge from the downturn as more relevant and responsive organizations.

Another report, Challenges to Government from the Multi-Polar World, looks at many of the issues affecting governments, such as developing national talent, managing the movement of people and money, and protecting national security. We conclude that to succeed in a multi-polar world, government entities must focus on the broader concern of creating public value…as well as collaborate more than ever with businesses, citizens and other governments.

Without question, interconnectedness and interdependence in the global economy are here to stay. We hope the insights from these reports will help leaders—in both the public and private sectors—to think beyond traditional geographic boundaries and respond in a way that advances their pursuit of high performance in an increasingly multi-polar world.

Thank you

CEO