Legal risks are a significant part of a firm’s overall risk profile, and is typically guided by calculating the probability of risk and its potential magnitude. Yet this calcuation does not fully capture how risks manifest for organizations. This chapter presents a novel way of evaluating legal risk termed transformative legal risk management. Transformative legal risk management is different from traditional approaches because it incorporates a new layer of understanding legal risk. Using a four-pronged approach to risk management known as VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity). This chapter introduces two of the four VUCA risks: volatility and uncertainty. The chapter defines volatility, identifies sources of legal volatility, and presents responses that legal experts can use in response to volatility risk. The chapter then defines uncertainty, identifies sources of legal uncertainty, and presents responses firms can use to reduce uncertainty risk. The chapter shows how firms applying VUCA can not only minimize harm from legal risks but also elevate legal risk management into a practice that generates a competitive advantage over rivals.

Continuing the exploration of transformative legal risk management, this chapter addresses the remaining two risk dimensions that govern a VUCA environment: complexity and ambiguity. Complexity is an environment that contains numerous interconnected parts, accepts inputs, generates outputs, and develops a capacity to learn and remember. The fourth and final dimension of VUCA is ambiguity. Especially challenging for firms deploying legal knowledge, ambiguity is an environment where causes and effects propelling events forward are largely unknown, the firm does not know whether an organized system will emerge, and little historical precedent exists for determining the most appropriate course of action. The chapter defines complexity and ambiguity, explains how they are applicable to legal risk, and articulates strategies for firms to use their legal knowledge to anticipate and address complex and ambiguous legal problems.

Leading Organizational Change highlights how a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment challenges preexisting mindsets and moves companies into the “Age of Agile.” Change scenarios that companies face depending on their current performance are described: anticipatory, reactive, and crisis. The change process (assessing the readiness for change, initiating and adopting the change, and reinforcement and realignment) explains how the process of change unfolds, facilitated by a design thinking approach. The dilemma of excessive persistence versus premature abandonment is discussed, suggesting that the trade-offs of staying on or leaving a course of action must be carefully considered. IBM’s change trajectory, which fundamentally altered the company, is described.

Global Leaders in the 21st Century examines the current context of international management and looks at the noteworthy changes in the business and leadership contexts of globalization. A major shift appears to be taking place in the global political economy. The predominant system characterized by global economic agreements, free trade, global supply chains, and multilateral institutions is being challenged by an increase in the primacy of national interests and security. In this volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment, traditional ways of managing are not entirely adequate, and global leaders need to develop new skills. This chapter introduces the concept of Mindful Global Leadership and its components of context sensitivity, perspective taking, and a process orientation. It also presents a global leadership typology-based task complexity and relationship complexity.