I remember sometime back when I shared the IBM global CFO report with you
all; I talked about how the global crisis last year brought CFO’s in the
spotlight and added a whole bunch of new responsibilities on their
shoulders. This time around I have the pleasure of sharing the newly
released IBM Global CEO report with you all. The report, unlike CFO study,
showcases the period of evolution, change, crisis, opportunity that a CEO
has been dealing with.
We all agree that the economic environment of year 2009 was a wake-up call.
As Mr Sam Palmisano, Chairman, MD & CEO, IBM says – It was just the latest
in a series of alerts that sounded during the first decade of this new
century. In a very short time, we’ve become aware of global climate change;
of the geopolitical issues surrounding energy and water supplies; of the
vulnerabilities of supply chains for food, medicine and even talent; and of
sobering threats to global security. The common denominator? The realities
— and challenges — of global integration.
We occupy a world that is connected on multiple dimensions, and at a deep
level — a global system of systems. That means, among other things, that it
is subject to systems-level failures, which require systems-level thinking
about the effectiveness of its physical and digital infrastructures. It is
this unprecedented level of interconnection and interdependency that
underpins the most important findings contained in this report. Inside this
revealing view into the agendas of global business and public sector
leaders, three widely shared perspectives stand in relief.
1. The world’s private and public sector leaders believe that a rapid
escalation of “complexity” is the biggest challenge confronting them. They
expect it to continue — indeed, to accelerate — in the coming years.
2. They are equally clear that their enterprises today are not equipped to
cope effectively with this complexity in the global environment.
3. Finally, they identify “creativity” as the single most important
leadership competency for enterprises seeking a path through this
complexity.
Events, threats and opportunities aren’t just coming at us faster or with
less predictability; they are converging and influencing each other to
create entirely unique situations. These firsts-of-their-kind developments
require unprecedented degrees of creativity — which has become a more
important leadership quality than attributes like management discipline,
rigor or operational acumen.
Hence as a CFO, I am thinking aloud on:
a. How do I capitalise on the new business complexities ? This needs
investments to not only manage but also benefit from it. As soon as I look
at it as a cost head, I have ceded ground to my competitors
b. Creativity can be defined more accurately by industry verticals – For
e.g. we all know about the ongoing Euro crisis. Different industries will
have a different impact and the creativity to address this will be
different once again.
c. How do I ensure that my CEO has insights and understanding of the
finance organisation in the complex environment
I am keen to seek your views and comments on these.You may like to
download your own copy of the IBM CEO report from
http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/ceo/ceostudy2010/index.html . I am sure
it will be a good read. This is the largest CEO study till date after
direct interviews with over 1500 CEOs across the globe.
I remember sometime back when I shared the IBM global CFO report with you all; I talked about how the global crisis last year brought CFO’s in the spotlight and added a whole bunch of new responsibilities on their shoulders. This time around I have the pleasure of sharing the newly released IBM Global CEO report with you all. The report, unlike CFO study, showcases the period of evolution, change, crisis, opportunity that a CEO has been dealing with.
We all agree that the economic environment of year 2009 was a wake-up call. As Mr Sam Palmisano, Chairman, MD & CEO, IBM says – It was just the latest in a series of alerts that sounded during the first decade of this new century. In a very short time, we’ve become aware of global climate change; of the geopolitical issues surrounding energy and water supplies; of the vulnerabilities of supply chains for food, medicine and even talent; and of sobering threats to global security. The common denominator? The realities — and challenges — of global integration.
We occupy a world that is connected on multiple dimensions, and at a deep level — a global system of systems. That means, among other things, that it is subject to systems-level failures, which require systems-level thinking about the effectiveness of its physical and digital infrastructures. It is this unprecedented level of interconnection and interdependency that underpins the most important findings contained in this report. Inside this revealing view into the agendas of global business and public sector leaders, three widely shared perspectives stand in relief.
1. The world’s private and public sector leaders believe that a rapid escalation of “complexity” is the biggest challenge confronting them. They expect it to continue — indeed, to accelerate — in the coming years.
2. They are equally clear that their enterprises today are not equipped to cope effectively with this complexity in the global environment.
3. Finally, they identify “creativity” as the single most important leadership competency for enterprises seeking a path through this complexity.
Events, threats and opportunities aren’t just coming at us faster or with less predictability; they are converging and influencing each other to create entirely unique situations. These firsts-of-their-kind developments require unprecedented degrees of creativity — which has become a more important leadership quality than attributes like management discipline, rigor or operational acumen.
Hence as a CFO, I am thinking aloud on:
a. How do I capitalise on the new business complexities ? This needs investments to not only manage but also benefit from it. As soon as I look at it as a cost head, I have ceded ground to my competitors
b. Creativity can be defined more accurately by industry verticals – For e.g. we all know about the ongoing Euro crisis. Different industries will have a different impact and the creativity to address this will be different once again.
c. How do I ensure that my CEO has insights and understanding of the finance organisation in the complex environment
I am keen to seek your views and comments on these.You may like to download your own copy of the IBM CEO report from here. I am sure it will be a good read. This is the largest CEO study till date after direct interviews with over 1500 CEOs across the globe.
Data Source/References/Quotes:
http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/ceo/ceostudy2010/index.html
Disclaimer
The views and opinions mentioned in this blog are strictly my own and in no way reflect those of IBM or any other corporation or individual in any manner
My name's Robert Parker, and I have been working with IBM India from April 2008 as a Vice President, Finance and Operations IBM India/South Asia. In my 23 years of career with IBM I had a wide range of financial positions within Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
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