ThinkTWENTY20

IBM’s newly released research paper, 2021 CEO Study: Find Your Essential, says that, as a result of Covid, “Never before has the entire planet reconfigured its behavior simultaneously, participating in lockdowns, quarantines, and enforced social distancing. For businesses and governments, the implications have been extreme, with assumptions and plans radically altered. From Asia to the Americas, the status quo evaporated both within and across industries.”

According to the paper, the future is murkier than ever – yet presents both new opportunities and new risks. To better understand this singular moment, the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) launched its most extensive Chief Executive Officer (CEO) research project ever. Building on almost 20 years of C-suite Studies, the IBV gathered insights from more than 3,000 CEOs and the most senior public sector leaders across the economy and around the world, supplementing its own deep expertise with that of Oxford Economics, a leader in global forecasting and quantitative analysis. In addition, IBV hand selected two dozen CEOs for extensive, exclusive interviews, that delve into the mindsets, themes, and challenges that top leaders are grappling with right now.

“We discovered eye-opening surprises,” says the paper, “that reflect just how unprecedented the next era will be, with new priorities and new areas of focus. From emerging expectations around remote work to accelerated technological adoption, leading practices of yesterday and requirements of tomorrow are far from aligned.”

The paper explains that the central, overarching question of this new era is: “What will it take to be essential – to your customers, your employees, your community and your investors?” The CEOs surveyed almost uniformly emphasized that focusing on the sharpest edge of their businesses – what differentiates their organizations and delivers the most value – has become the overarching imperative.

“Out of the chaos has come clarity: get rid of diversions and indulgences, root out ‘tradition for tradition’s sake,’ and exploit distinctive advantages,” the paper concludes. “This applies externally, in products and services, as well as internally. Who is essential to your organization, and what is essential to your operations.”

For all details of the research, get 2021 CEO Study: Find Your Essential at Find your essential: How to thrive in a post-pandemic reality (ibm.com).