3 Guiding Principles for the New Decade

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Good morning.

Six days in, the new decade has already pilloried prognosticators. Few put war with Iran high on their lists. So I hesitate to follow the forecasters’ path.

But a few things can be said about the next decade. There is a crisis of confidence in the Western world, with the most fundamental tenets of democracy and capitalism being called into question. At the same time, there is swelling confidence in China, where some of the most cherished beliefs of the West have never taken hold. And there is an economic reality underlying it all, neatly captured by the folks at Axios, here. The last decade was unfathomably good for the very rich, but also saw an unprecedented alleviation of poverty among the world’s most poor. Inequality within nations grew, but inequality across nations declined. The result is a complex stew of internal and external challenges that will grow over the new decade.

Fueling it all is a technology revolution that will not just change how things are done, but how decisions are made. That is its promise and its peril. More than previous technology waves, this one has the potential to upend almost every aspect of business…and of life. (Concerns about cyber security—heightened by events of the last few days—will put speed bumps in the way, but won’t stop the tsunami.)

The private sector will play a central role—if not the central role—in shaping this new world. At Fortune, our mission is to help inform and guide that effort. We aim to make business better, by spotlighting corporate success, uncovering corporate failure, and providing opportunities to share best practices.

As guiding principles, there are three ideas that have withstood the test of time, and no doubt will continue to do so in the 2020s:

Capitalism is the best system known for organizing an economy. It should be improved, not replaced.
Globalization is both an inevitable and a desirable result of economic and technological progress. We should shape it, not fight it.
Leadership matters. The decade ahead will put leaders to the test. They will need wisdom and courage, and must build a reservoir of moral authority to guide us through.

CEO Daily hopes to be your guide to these developments in the years ahead. Stay with us.

By the way, Fortune editors collected predictions from some of the most thoughtful people we know on the coming decade, worth reading here.

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