The reforms that are being put in place post-recession are looking set to change the financial world as we know it - in some ways dramatically.

As everyone begins to dust themselves off - albeit cautiously - people and corporations need to have a clear understanding of what these new proposals mean for individuals and corporations alike. What is the future of financial markets? What are the roles of hedge funds, investment banks, rating agencies - all pieces of the puzzle which, to a greater or lesser extent, have very much been seen as culprits of the 2007 crisis?

Much has been said recently about the economic turbulence in terms of the impact on industries, on companies, on countries. There has not been much on how it affects us as individuals. How does the current situation impact our internal drivers? And importantly, how do we deal with it effectively?

Survival mode involves only a limited amount of energy and opportunistic thinking - and it is up to leaders to inspire oft over-extended, frustrated people and help them to see the opportunities that come with any crisis.

In order to lead the switch from the prevailing negative mindset to the idea that we are poised for a recovery, leaders need to "lead at the edge" - or - in other words, lead the way to a positive mindset and a state of inspired energy.

We have a new reality - it looks as if uncertainty is here to stay for a while. And the effects are filtering through: complexity, interdependence, variety and change - words we will be hearing frequently in the future.

We must all learn to embrace uncertainty and make it part of our operating reality. Here we look at some of the management essentials for dealing with uncertainty - Simplify and Amplify using the three Cs...

The United States is still the most competitive economy in the world, Denmark is the country best equipped to deal with the current world economic crisis, and the economic crisis has undoubtedly taken its toll on certain countries, including Ireland and Taiwan, both of which are dropping in competitiveness.

These are some of the results of IMD’s 2009 World Competitiveness Rankings - the world’s most renowned, comprehensive Annual Report on the competitiveness of nations - which sets out to rank and analyze how a nation’s environment creates and sustains the competitiveness of enterprises.

Last November, IMD Finance Professor Stewart Hamilton gave his reaction as some of the largest financial institutions went into meltdown. Six months on, he takes a fresh look at the financial crisis, where we stand today and what lessons we can learn going forward...

With the boom well and truly bust, how do you go about managing your customers in today’s economic downturn? As part of IMD’s series on "Leading in turbulent times", Professor Jacques Horovitz explains why now, more than ever, it’s time to put the customer first...

When times are good and your company is growing, you tend to focus on markets - increasing market share or targeting new markets - and it’s easy to forget about your customers.

Once upon a time, there was a girl who came from a very poor family in the countryside in China. When she was 16, her father could no longer afford for her to attend school and gave her RMB 600 (the equivalent of around US $80) hoping she could set herself up to earn a living with it.

As much as I consider myself a realist on matters related to the global economy - indeed some call me a pessimist - never would I have believed that in my lifetime I would be seeing anything remotely resembling the 1930s. I did invariably remonstrate with those who in the booming last couple of decades would claim that "globalization was irreversible". Nonsense, globalization has been repeatedly reversed throughout history. But I never expected it would go quite so far.

IMD is ranked number one outside the United States and number two worldwide in the Financial Times 2009 Executive Education Rankings. IMD’s open programs were ranked second (up from third in 2008) and custom-designed programs fourth.