As far back as 2003, the Trends editors identified how faulty assumptions and perverse incentives were leading to a housing bubble. They correctly forecast the collapse, including the timing and magnitude of the bubble's burst. But, even the TRENDS Editors underestimated the fragility of the broader system and the consequent collateral damage caused by the bubble's collapse. Looking ahead, what can you expect? What are the risk factors? Most importantly, what does this mean for you? Keep listening to find out.

Recessions, depressions, and collapsing bubbles are always painful. The winds of creative destruction sweep away the weak and leave the strong. In the wake of bankruptcies and down-sizings, assets and skills can be redeployed to create new wealth in a new cycle. Today, we are coming to the end of the downward cycle and getting ready for the redeployment. What can you do to benefit most from this crisis in the years just ahead? Keep listening to find out.

Never in history have we had access to more information, on a more timely basis. Yet, every new revelation about the financial crisis has us asking, "How could so many smart people consistently make such horrendously bad decisions?" Aside from a smattering of willful corruption, the answer is that all too many crucial decisions were based on untested but strongly held beliefs; what the decision-makers had done in the past; or uncritical "benchmarking" of what "yesterday's winners" had done.

As we rebuild from the rubble of this catastrophe, now is the time for managers to adopt an approach that will enable us to avoid similar mistakes going forward. The Trends editors argue that for the first time in history, the technology and motivations are in place to implement "evidence-based management." As we'll explain, this approach, growing out of best practices in the medical profession, can deliver a substantial competitive advantage to those who rigorously adopt it.