FindyouressentialHowtothriveinapost-pandemicrealityC-suiteSeries:The2021CEOStudyTheIBMInstituteforBusinessValue,incooperationwithOxfordEconomics,interviewed3,000CEOsfromnearly50countriesand26industries.Theseinterviewswereconductedvirtually.Inaddition,throughlivevideoconferencingandphoneinterviews,andwhensafe,in-personmeetings,theIBVconducteddeep-diveconversationswithtwodozenselectCEOsfrom11industriesand11countries.Contents2Introduction6Chapter1EssentialprioritiesPerformwithpurposefulagility,maketechmattermore,andembraceemergingregulations14Chapter2EssentialadvantagesFivefactorsthatsetOutperformersapart28Chapter3EssentiallessonsDefinenext-levelcompetitiveadvantagearoundcustomers,products,andoperations46ActionguideEssentialtruths50ResearchandanalysismethodologyThisisamomenttotakestockinanentirelynewway.WhetherCOVID-19impactssubsidefromhereorpersist,2020servedasadramaticinflectionpoint.Neverbeforehastheentireplanetreconfigureditsbehaviorsimultaneously,participatinginlockdowns,quarantines,andenforcedsocialdistancing.Forbusinessesandgovernments,theimplicationshavebeenextreme,withassumptionsandplansradicallyaltered.FromAsiatotheAmericas,thestatusquohasevaporatedbothwithinandacrossindustries.Thefutureismurkierthanever—yetpresentsbothnewopportunitiesandnewrisks.Tobetterunderstandthissingularmoment,theIBMInstituteforBusinessValue(IBV)launcheditsmostextensiveChiefExecutiveOfficer(CEO)researchprojectever.Buildingonalmost20yearsofC-suitestudies,theIBVgatheredinsightsfrommorethan3,000CEOsandthemostseniorpublicsectorleadersacrosstheeconomyandaroundtheworld,supple-mentingitsowndeepexpertisewiththatofOxfordEconomics,aleaderinglobalforecastingandquantitativeanalysis.Inaddition,IBVhand-selectedtwodozenCEOsforextensive,exclusiveinterviewsthatdelveintothemindsets,themes,andchallengesthattopleadersaregrapplingwithrightnow.Whatwe’velearnedisextraordinary.Wediscoveredeye-openingsurprisesthatreflectjusthowunprecedentedthenexterawillbe,withnewprioritiesandnewareasoffocus.Fromemergingex...
