**5. Conclusions**

Conventional wisdom, used knowingly or unknowingly, has not always been the friend of the strategist, especially in an emerging market environment where institutional voids, rampant corruption, and other dangers loom large and can be found next to unparalleled opportunities. Due to the scarcity of strategic frameworks to assess the BRICS since the GFC, this paper aims to help fill this gap by providing a simple but holistic and analytical framework that we call the Holistic Risk and Opportunity Analytical Framework (HROAF). It relies on both qualitative and quantitate data, as well as macro (trends) and micro (behaviors) analyses. It can provide the strategist with a different lens to manage a new normal of uncertainty, volatility, risks, and opportunities, thereby creating some unconventional wisdom and a sustainable competitive advantage for him or her. Whereas the HROAF should allow strategists to generate some initial insights, each strategist is expected to dive deeper in each portion of our multi-dimensional framework, as needed. We believe that, when used regularly,

<sup>23</sup> https://www.aacsb.edu/newsroom/2018/2/new-leadership-named-to-aacsb-board-of-directors.

this framework could become a useful tool to unleash the potential of a new strategic and global mindset that will help reduce the biases and dangers that come from conventional wisdom.

Limitations: as useful as this approach may be, it has limitations. It is based on only one researcher, his experience, his research, and his natural biases. Only five assumptions were tested as a basis for illustration. It is possible that additional assumptions would unleash more insights. In addition, mixing methods can be challenging and require a large team supporting each strategist. Not everyone can expect to have such support to implement this framework.

More research, a deeper dive, and more triangulation are needed, especially on how deeply-rooted in conventional wisdom any assumptions are. In an era of fake news, scholars have the societal responsibility to redirect assumptions and bust myths that have been misleading investors, policymakers, and voters. Uninformed decisions can have catastrophic economic and human consequences for any given country and the world economy.

Using our Holistic Risk and Opportunity Analytical Framework to discover some much-needed unconventional wisdom and setting inclusive globalization as a priority could be a way to rebuild the BRICS and allow everyone to prosper in peace.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest.
