The periphery -- that 'fuzzy zone' at the edges of your organization's focus -- is where early signals of both threats and opportunities can first be sensed, the authors argue. Their study of more than 300 global executives found that 80 per cent felt that their organizations had less capacity for peripheral vision than they needed, and the majority of leaders in another study said that they had been surprised by as many as three high-impact events in the past five years alone. They describe how 'network reach', 'network capture', 'network speed' and 'network resilience' can be harnessed to contribute to strong peripheral vision.

We now live and work in a 'butterfly effect' environment, the notion from Chaos Theory that the flapping of a butterfly's wings in China might cause a hurricane on the other side of the world. As a result, the authors argue that today's leaders must develop 'vigilance' - the ability to scan the periphery of their environment and spot opportunities and threats before their rivals. While investors don't expect prescience, they do rely on a leadership team to sense and act on early warning signs. They describe the three primary qualities that distinguish vigilant leaders from those in the majority, who strive primarily for operational excellence.

In a highly-connected world, signals from the periphery of our environment are initially difficult to capture, but they can be vital early warning signs of both threats and opportunities. Unfortunately, most of us are 'passive scanners' of our environment, say the authors: we wait for information to reach us, and deal with it as it arrives. The danger in this practice is that it is all-too easy to miss unexpected and unfamiliar weak signals on the periphery - that blurry zone at the edge of our vision, where not many people or firms focus their attention. The authors provide four guidelines for addressing the periphery of your organization.