Suddenly, everything is important. And change can come from anywhere. CEOs find themselves — as one CEO from Canada put it — in a “whitewater world.” — from IBM Global CEO survey
How do you stay ahead of this rapid pace of change?
One thing that helps me to stay ahead of change is to look out on the horizon to see what storm clouds or rays of light are forming off in the distance. For me, that involves scanning publications and identifying trends, especially those in much larger, more complex organizations.
That is why this post, Learning From Large Corporation CEOs, from Small Business Labs caught my attention and directed me to a great resource — IBM's latest survey of global CEOs, “Capitalizing on Complexity.” Here is what they had to say about the report:
“The main finding is the world, business and running a large corporation is getting more complex. In response — according to the study — large company CEOs need to:
“Embody creative leadership.
CEOs now realize that creativity trumps other leadership characteristics. Creative leaders are comfortable with ambiguity and experimentation. To connect with and inspire a new generation, they lead and interact in entirely new ways.“Reinvent customer relationships.
Customers have never had so much information or so many options. CEOs are making “getting connected” to customers their highest priority to better predict and provide customers with what they really want.“Build operational dexterity.
CEOs are mastering complexity in countless ways. They are redesigning operating strategies for ultimate speed and flexibility. They embed complexity that creates value in elegantly simple products, services and customer interactions.”
The report starts with leadership findings:
“CEOs now realize that creativity trumps other leadership characteristics. Creative leaders are comfortable with ambiguity and experimentation. To connect with and inspire a new generation, they lead and interact in entirely new ways.”
Check out their top five leadership competencies for the “new normal”:
- Creativity
- Integrity
- Global thinking
- Influence
- Openness
I also agree with their closing comment, “This seems like an excellent list for small company CEOs” — including managing partners of CPA firms.
What do you think — relevant or not?