Inside the Decisions, Doubts, and Disciplines of today's CEO
Today’s CEOs are navigating terrain as complex as anything we’ve ever encountered. It’s not just the extraordinary political dynamism, rapid technological advances, and related workforce disruptions, but also the sheer pace at which these challenges are emerging and the growing fatigue and cynicism they are creating. Leading confidently through a landscape that refuses to be predictable, as stakeholder and investor pressure grows, and employees’ livelihoods and wellbeing are impacted, makes steady leadership even more important. It has never been lonelier at the top.
We recently asked 31 CEOs across industries – from nonprofit networks and retail legacies to manufacturing mainstays and tech giants – to tell us directly: What’s keeping them up at night? How has their leadership evolved through one unprecedented moment after another? Is their decision-making changing? And, do they have any advice for new CEOs? What follows are their unvarnished answers.
"Coming out of Covid, people kept referring to 'the new normal,' but I think everyone is realizing there is no new normal.”
"The dependable ways of doing business in the past have shifted so much that the unknowns are more unknown than ever. You can't be on cruise control. You can't be on autopilot. You have to hold the wheel with both hands and drive into the storm.”
What’s keeping today’s CEOs up at night? Read our full report, Leading Without a Map, to find out.