No More Top-Down Leadership

In addition to 24/7 virtual problem solving, we need new forums in which people can physically meet. Face-to-face interaction is still paramount. We need moments where we pause, where we step outside our traditional paths, where we try to connect the dots. These meetings should integrate more young and unusual voices—people from business and politics, of course, but also religion, nonprofits, social ventures, etc. Creating such a talent "commons" would increase trust and cooperation among diverse groups of people, something that's essential to 21st-century problem solving.

Even if such new channels of communication were in place, however, there's still a need to reform the old. Nation-states will play a central role in government for some time to come, and thus it's important to continue to think about new shapes for groups like the United Nations, the Bretton Woods organizations, the G8 and the G20. They must adapt to preserve their utility and legitimacy. In fact, they should work to integrate their own operations and decision making with the groups mentioned above. This will help them to transcend reactive, one dimensional thinking. It is only through these sorts of really profound global partnerships that we can help avert chaos— economic and political—in the future.

Schwab is founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum.

© 2008