It’s time for CEOs to put suppliers first

It’s time for CEOs to put suppliers first

It’s time for CEOs to put suppliers first

It feels like we’re living in the age of crises: first the U.S.-China trade war, then the worst pandemic for a century, then rampant inflation not seen for 40 years, and now the first conflict between European neighbors since the Second World War.

For business leaders running international companies with supply chains that stretch around the world, the challenges are undeniably immense. Many have been quick to make their excuses, claim these were unexpected “black swan” events that could never have been predicted and issue warnings that the severe disruptions will negatively impact their financial performance.

But should they have been better prepared? In a word, yes. None of these events was a “black swan” event–a term coined by best-selling author Nassim Nicholas Taleb to describe a random, highly improbable occurrence. On the contrary, they were what the business writer Michele Wucker has called “gray rhino” events: highly probable, highly predictable, high impact but neglected threats that were charging toward companies like a crash of rhinos.

After Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea in 2014, no one should have been surprised by the subsequent invasion of the whole country in February this year. After