I recently participated in The Guardian‘s year-end predictions and analysis series. While there were lots of themes and issues to pick from, I decided to focus on five. Here’s an excerpt:

The next phase of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, fittingly termed the Sustainable Development Goals, shift priorities from insular goals like reducing poverty and increasing hygiene to more inclusive and integrated ones that push for systemic change like the rule of law, dignity and prosperity for all. The implications are significant.

And business is being called on to provide active support for the first time. This presents an unprecedented opportunity to tie businesses’ growth to their communities and the environment. For the first time, capitalists are welcome and actively needed at the table. This marks a key acknowledgement that determining our path forward as an interconnected economy will require the tensile strength of every single sector.

So how do you make sure your business is syncing its growth plan with the new UN goals? How do you get past the loftiness and map the real changes that are needed against the trajectory of your business plan?

You’ll want to start by investing in some scenario planning.

You can read the full article on The Guardian.

And while I wasn’t able to respond to the comments that flew in before the commenting period ended – yes, I really did shut down my electronics this holiday! – I’d like to continue the conversations here. So if you agree or don’t, have a question or a solution, please do respond. As I promised in the piece, my mantra is clear:

Tell the whole story, help our executives and leaders connect the dots, identify the context, and empower stakeholders through knowledge. When I started writing about these issues, I committed to connecting the dots. Always.

A decade later, that hasn’t changed.

And remember, joy is contagious. But so is skepticism. Stay clear. Steer carefully – and lead gracefully – onwards.

Wishing you a happy and productive 2015.