Insights: A Conversation With Retired General Stanley McChrystal

Retired Four-Star U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal spent over thirty years serving his country in the armed forces—from West Point to Commander International Security Assistance Services Forces – Afghanistan. In this episode of HPS Insights, General McChrystal and coauthor Anna Butrico join HPS Partners Tony Fratto and Stacy Kerr for a conversation on risk in today’s dynamic landscape and their book, “Risk: A User’s Guide.” The authors discuss how individuals and organizations often fail to appropriately identify and mitigate risk. Leveraging his decades-long military service, General McChrystal offers insights into his battle-tested system for effectively detecting and responding to risk. 

On the podcast, General McChrystal and Butrico offer lessons for leaders at all levels, urging them to take responsibility for their organizations’ “risk immune systems,” even when that means breaking from established practices and old perspectives. “If the people before you or your peers are all doing it a certain way, there’s a safety in doing what they do—even if you fail.”

You can listen to the full conversation here. You can also learn more about the book here. Subscribe to the HPS Podcast Channel on your favorite podcast service for more insights and our weekly Macrocast.