In the latest instalment of London Business School‘s “Five minutes with the faculty” series, we sit down with Professor Donal Crilly to explore how global politics, corporate strategy and stakeholder expectations collide. A leading voice in international strategy, Crilly’s research examines how executives navigate complex, often volatile environments – from shifting regulatory landscapes to heightened social scrutiny. In this brief but revealing conversation, he reflects on the forces reshaping multinational businesses, the skills leaders now need to thrive, and why understanding the interplay between firms and society has never been more critical.
Crilly on navigating global strategy and complex stakeholder demands
For Donal Crilly, the real test of strategy lies not in the boardroom slide deck, but in the messy, contested spaces where governments, NGOs, communities and investors collide. He argues that multinationals must stop treating stakeholder pressure as a distraction from “real” strategy and instead see it as an early-warning system and a source of innovation. In his research and classroom discussions, he shows how executives can use structured stakeholder mapping and scenario planning to identify where political risk, social expectations and regulatory change converge.The aim is not to appease everyone, he notes, but to build a coherent position that is defensible, adaptable and credible across jurisdictions.
Crilly encourages leaders to build what he calls a “multi-lens” view of the world, combining hard data with on-the-ground intelligence. This involves:
- Listening systematically to NGOs, regulators and activists before crises erupt.
- Embedding local voices into global decision-making, rather than retrofitting policies after the fact.
- Testing trade-offs openly so boards see the political and social costs of strategic moves.
| Strategic Lens | Key Question |
|---|---|
| Global | Does this decision align with a long-term narrative across markets? |
| Local | Who gains, who loses, and how visible is that on the ground? |
| Stakeholder | Whose consent do we truly need to move forward? |
Inside the classroom how real world dilemmas shape LBS learning
In Donal Crilly’s sessions, students don’t start with theories – they start with tension. A pharmaceutical firm debating whether to withdraw a profitable drug on ethical grounds; a tech platform weighing user privacy against national security; a consumer brand deciding if it should exit a politically volatile market. These are not abstract puzzles but live dilemmas, often drawn from headlines or the personal experience of classmates. The classroom quickly becomes a newsroom-meets-boardroom,as students are pushed to defend not just what a company could do,but what it should do,under real constraints of time,information and stakeholder pressure. As the debate unfolds, frameworks from strategy, ethics and political economy are layered in, turning messy reality into structured insight.
- Conflicting incentives – mapping trade-offs between profit, principle and policy.
- Stakeholder mapping – identifying who gains, who loses and who has power.
- Scenario stress-testing – exploring how decisions play out under different futures.
- Decision ownership – asking who decides, who is accountable and who speaks up.
| Classroom Element | Real-World Outcome |
|---|---|
| Debate on political risk | Sharper market-entry judgment |
| Regulation role-play | Stronger stakeholder negotiation skills |
| Ethical case workshop | Clearer corporate values in action |
Research with impact turning corporate responsibility into competitive edge
Crilly’s work reveals that environmental and social commitments are no longer a philanthropic side-show but a strategic lever that shapes how firms are perceived by regulators, investors and employees. His research shows that leaders who integrate ESG thinking into core decision-making can capture opportunities that more conventional rivals miss,from accessing new capital pools to attracting top talent that actively seeks purpose-driven employers. Rather than treating stakeholder pressure as a constraint, he argues it can become a source of insight, helping executives identify blind spots in global supply chains and anticipate reputational risks before they appear on a front page.
In practice, this means moving beyond glossy sustainability reports to measurable change in how companies allocate resources, design products and engage with communities. Crilly highlights that firms gaining an edge tend to:
- Embed ESG metrics into board-level KPIs
- Link executive pay to clear social and environmental outcomes
- Use scenario analysis to test long-term climate and regulatory risks
- Co-create solutions with local stakeholders rather than imposing policies from headquarters
| Focus Area | Risk View | Competitive Edge |
|---|---|---|
| Climate | Compliance cost | Innovation in low-carbon products |
| Labour | Regulatory scrutiny | Higher retention and productivity |
| Governance | Reporting burden | Investor trust and lower capital costs |
Advice for future leaders building judgment courage and cross cultural fluency
Crilly urges tomorrow’s leaders to treat judgment as a muscle, not a gift. That means deliberately seeking out situations where the “right” answer is unclear and the data is incomplete, then reflecting on the choices made. In his classroom, managers are pushed to articulate not just what they decided, but why-and which assumptions they were willing to bet their reputation on. He argues that true courage lies less in headline-grabbing heroics and more in the quiet, repeated act of backing your principles when they run against internal politics, short-term numbers or the comfort of conformity. To prepare, he recommends building a personal “decision log” that tracks tough calls, what you feared, who you consulted and how events unfolded, turning lived experience into a private case library.
For global leaders, he stresses that courage without cultural fluency can quickly become recklessness. What looks like moral clarity in London can sound like arrogance in Lagos or Shanghai. Crilly encourages executives to develop a disciplined curiosity about context through:
- Triangulating perspectives – regularly testing ideas with stakeholders from at least three different cultural or functional backgrounds.
- Learning local fault lines – understanding which issues are symbolically charged in each society before announcing a bold stance.
- Creating “friction rooms” – small, diverse groups empowered to challenge the ethical and political blind spots of major decisions.
| Leadership Habit | Daily Practice |
|---|---|
| Judgment | Note one decision and its trade-offs |
| Courage | Voice one dissenting view constructively |
| Cross-cultural fluency | Ask one genuine question across cultures |
Insights and Conclusions
As our brief conversation with Donal Crilly draws to a close, one theme stands out: the complexity of global business cannot be met with simple answers. Whether examining the political pressures on multinationals, the responsibilities of firms beyond profit, or the evolving expectations of society, Crilly’s work underscores a core message – leaders must learn to think in systems, not silos.
For London Business School students, that means stepping beyond case studies and frameworks to grapple with real-world trade-offs and uncertainty. For executives, it means recognising that reputation, regulation and responsibility are now strategic variables, not peripheral concerns. And for researchers, it is a reminder that the most pressing questions in business often sit at the intersection of disciplines.
Five minutes is barely enough to scratch the surface of these issues. But Crilly’s insights hint at a future in which managers are not only skilled at navigating markets, but also at understanding the societies in which those markets are embedded – and the consequences when they fail to do so.
