Top CEO Challenges
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What CEOs want, CIOs must deliver--which is why the Conference Board's latest study CEO Challenge 2007: Top 10 Challenges, is so important. Of the 769 CEOs surveyed worldwide, more than 409 work in the United States. The message to CIOs: Focus on execution. |
Here's the Conference Board's list of the top challenges for U.S. CEOs:
1. Sustained and steady top-line growth 41.3%
2. Excellence in execution 39.6%
3. Consistent execution of strategy by top management 38.5%
4. Profit growth 29.9%
5. Customer loyalty/retention 25.6%
6. Finding qualified managerial talent 20.9%
7. Top management succession 20.1%
8. Corporate reputation 19.7%
9. Stimulating innovation/creativity/enabling entrepreneurship 19.2%
10. Speed, flexibility, adaptability to change 18.2%
What's missing from the top 10 list is technology. Aligning IT with business dropped from 13th place last year to 18th place--a significant drop.
Recruiting and retention of IT staff turns up in the section of the Conference Board report devoted to innovation: "Lack of qualified technical personnel" is the No. 3 barrier to innovation worldwide (9% of CEOs), after government regulation and lack of qualified management personnel.
What does it mean for CIOs? It appears CEOs aren't looking for help creating strategy, as much as they want to find an executive team that can deliver on it. Expect the pressure to stay on you to improve business processes and create better ones. Growth, rather than reducing costs, is likely to remain the focus. (Only manufacturing CEOs placed improving productivity on their top 10 list of priorities.) Investments and projects in business intelligence and customer service applications will continue to get strong support from the top. And in my opinion, CIOs can safely infer that developing stronger IT management talent is also a concern for CEOs.
