There’s an insightful book authored by the current CEO and co-COO of Pimco (also past investment manager of Harvard Management Company, Harvard University) Mohamed A. El-Erian called ‘When Markets Collide–Investment Strategies for the Age of Global Economic Change’. The book discusses how financial markets, and players, will have to adapt to the changing economies of the world.  Failure to do so has caused the economic problems we’ve experienced for the past two years.  The advise and analogies he gives could as well be for the participants of the healthcare industry in the USA.  The current business-as-usual mindset will no longer work.  Much of the past analyses in finance, and tools used to alter economies and make fortunes, are based on premises and situations that no longer apply.  He likened the situation to teams of young children playing soccer— two groups of kids huddled together chasing the ball wherever it goes on the field.  As they grow older and more experienced, they learn to strategically position themselves on the field to take advantage of the options open by passing the ball.  The young children don’t think ahead; their view is likened to data analysts whose views are backward looking and do not take into account changing fundamentals and thoughtful consideration of the range of possible moves.

For those who have enough of a finance and economic background to follow the book, ‘When Markets Collide’ is a guide to being strategically wise and risk averse.  It’s better to understand the forces affecting your economy than to believe that actions that worked in the past will continue to do so  in the future.  The ability to temporarily ‘fix’ things can blind you to the need for more far reaching interventions.  Awareness of change, a deep understanding of how things work, and the ability to create tools that let  you understand the effects of your actions and controllably alter your actions for the desired result … these requirements are universal.