‘The Unthinkable Is Here’: What Leaders Must Do Now with Kylie Porter

Thinking the unthinkable is not a theoretical exercise. It is a leadership necessity. And most important it is achievable.

In this conversation, Kylie Porter, a CEO from northern Queensland in Australia, explains how she has done it. “It’s a big hairy topic that must not be avoided,” she tells TTU’s Nik Gowing.

Her organisation, GW3, is leading the economic transformation away from mining in the city of Mackay. She describes how it did a somersault, moving from resistance to readiness when facing an uncertain future.

“It’s like flying a plane while building it.” And a main secret was to take her 15 employees – all of them women - on the urgent journey of change.

There are no perfect models to follow. “We can only manage risk… we can’t eliminate it.” Instead, Kylie outlines the new mindset required to navigate uncertainty: curiosity, persistence, and “a good, big dose of bravery.”

As global shocks increasingly impact even the most remote regions, the unthinkable must not be regarded as a distant irritation. In Mackay it was already happening.

In this podcast Kylie Porter sets out a practical blueprint for CEO’s and leaders like her to face the complex unthinkables of profound, long-term change.

📄 Full transcript available on our website.

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