Latest news with #CEOs
Forbes
14 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Is Your Business Ready? How Strategic Reinvention Beats Disruption
As leaders, we are all facing an accelerating cascade of disruptions. We had barely recovered from the pandemic when Russia's invasion of Ukraine plunged Europe back into war, further disrupting global supply chains in the process. At the same time, the emergence of generative AI is transforming whole industries and impacting virtually every aspect of your business. If all that was not enough to contend with, we now must deal with tariffs, trade wars, and the upending of the global rules-based order. That is why the most urgent task for every company is what I call strategic reinvention. Don't wait to become a victim of disruption – take control of your future by beginning the process ... More of strategic reinvention today so your company doesn't just survive change, but thrives by leading it. According to PwC's latest annual survey of CEOs, 42 percent say their companies will not make it another 10 years if they continue on their current path – and that was before the current trade war began. PwC found that 63 percent of CEOs have tried to change course, but most of those efforts are insufficient to meet the challenges those companies face. 'Will these moves be enough to power reinvention? For many CEOs, the honest answer will be no,' PwC concluded. 'Barriers to reinvention include weak decision-making processes, low levels of resource reallocation from year to year, and a mismatch between the short expected tenure of many CEOs and powerful long-term forces, or megatrends, at work.' I believe companies can overcome these deficiencies through a simple, four-phases strategic reinvention process. It starts with radical clarity – taking a hard, unflinching look at your company's situation, both internally and externally, and the challenges and opportunities created by this current era of disruption. You need to identify the assumptions you are making and challenge each of those in a structured and deliberate manner. You also need to look at not only the macroeconomy, but other external forces and factors that are impacting your business, or which could impact your business in the future. Once you have that clarity, you need to develop a strategic reinvention plan. If you are a successful company, this will be an evolution of your current business strategy informed by the insights you gleaned from the first phase. If you are already struggling or facing an existential crisis, then a more radical reinvention may be in order. In any event, this should be a collaborative, iterative process that includes your entire leadership team. Don't pay others to do this for you; developing and implementing a winning strategy is why you and your executive team get the big bucks. Don't outsource thinking to a high-priced consulting company that you know will turn that work over to a bunch of recent business school grads or dust off the same plan they developed for one of your competitors last year. The next step is resiliency testing. That means stress-testing your strategic reinvention plan to ensure that it is strong enough and flexible enough to stand up to whatever tomorrow throws at you. The best way to do this is by conducting a Pre-Mortem Analysis. This is a powerful technique developed by my friend and colleague Dr. Gary Klein that is designed to uncover the causes of failure so that you can modify your plan to prevent those from occurring or develop mitigating actions if they do. Other tools, such as my own Swan Dive method can help as well. The final phase is unified execution. This not only means working together effectively as one team to implement your strategic reinvention plan but also communicating your plan simply and clearly so that every single man and woman in your organization understands it and knows where to put their shoulder to get the flywheel moving in the right direction. Unified execution also means effectively managing the implementation of your new plan, and that requires transparency and accountability. The best way to create both is the Business Plan Review Process developed by my mentor, legendary CEO Alan Mulally. He used the BPR Process to save two of the largest, most iconic companies in the world from bankruptcy: Boeing and Ford. It will work for your company, too. By working through these four simple phases together with your leadership team, you will gain a better understanding of where you stand as a company and how to navigate the current maelstrom to help ensure your future success in an increasingly volatile marketplace. This will enable you, as a leader, to move forward with confidence. How does this work in practice? Imagine a large multinational semiconductor corporation facing escalating trade wars and geopolitical tensions. Initially, the leadership team would assess how tariffs, sanctions, and shifting alliances affect their global operations and supply chains. Challenging existing assumptions, they might discover vulnerabilities in raw material sourcing and market dependencies. Next, they would collaboratively develop a strategic reinvention plan to diversify their supply chain, invest in regional manufacturing capabilities, and pivot product portfolios toward markets less exposed to geopolitical disruptions. They then apply resiliency testing, conducting a pre-mortem to anticipate potential failures like sudden sanctions or export controls, adjusting their strategy accordingly. Finally, the entire organization aligns through unified execution, clearly communicating the new strategy to all employees and adopting a transparent management process such as the weekly BPR to maintain agility and swiftly respond to emerging geopolitical shifts. This proactive, internally driven approach positions the corporation not merely to survive disruptions but to thrive amidst uncertainty. 'If CEOs need further encouragement to double down on reinvention, they should note that we see a strong association in the data between the number of reinvention actions companies have taken and the profit margins they achieve,' PwC noted in its annual report. This reveals a powerful truth that highest-performing companies already know: Strategic reinvention is the secret to long-term success, even in more stable operating environments. The best businesses are the ones that disrupt themselves before they are disrupted. I witnessed a great example of this back in 2004 when Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Fujio Cho delivered one of the most amazing keynotes I have ever witnessed at the global automobile industry's annual confab in Traverse City, Michigan. This was hostile territory for Toyota. The auditorium was packed with executives from all the world's automakers, but it was dominated by the three home teams: General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. Many of them scowled at Cho or rolled their eyes as he went through a detailed presentation showing how Toyota was meeting or exceeding its strategic targets for every market in the world. When he was finished, Cho took off his glasses, folded them, looked out over the room and said this was why Toyota needed to change its strategy. 'Any company not willing to take the risk of reinventing itself is doomed,' he said. 'The world today is changing much too fast.' Four years later, Toyota passed GM to become the largest automaker in the world. By the end of 2021, it was number one in the United States as well. Like Toyota's Cho, the best leaders in the world know that change is the only constant in the world – and that change requires strategic disruption. This is true in business, and it is true in government and the military as well. Those still fighting the last war always lose. So, don't wait to become a victim of disruption – take control of your future by beginning the process of strategic reinvention today so your company doesn't just survive change, but thrives by leading it.
Hans India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Intimate tour programmes to public in advance: CM to officials
Bengaluru: 'DC and CEOs should make their tour programs available to the public in advance. Inspection reports should be kept in proper records. Schools, hostels, residential schools should be visited regularly in the district to ensure that they are functioning properly. I have repeatedly instructed that such visits should be conducted every month without prior notice'. 'However, I have received reports that some have not followed this. It is your responsibility to ensure that the departments and officers under your jurisdiction function properly. If you do not work efficiently, how can you expect your subordinate officers to work?', queried Siddaramaiah. The exploited, the poor, the common people usually come to the office of the DC. If you do not listen to their problems, who will solve them? To whom should they tell their problems? All officers should be required to live in the taluk and district headquarters. All officers should be available at the centre and available to the people. The DC should ensure this. I should be given a report on the action taken against officers who are not at the centre. The District In-charge Secretaries should visit their respective districts at least twice a month and inspect the development works. Along with that, they should make surprise visits to schools, hostels, hospitals and submit a report to the Chief Secretary, instructed the CM.'No one should act against the intentions and objectives of the Constitution. Such forces should not be allowed to grow under any circumstances. In recent times, such forces have been rising, and such forces should be nipped in the bud. Whoever such people are, it is the responsibility of the DCs, CEOs and SPs to ensure that such forces do not grow', the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said vehemently. On 10 October 1949, the Constitution Implementation Meeting discussed whether the Indian Civil Service was needed and decided to create the IAS. In that meeting, Vallabhbhai Patel said, 'To lead the country in the spirit of real freedom struggles, there should be IAS service, you should understand its real concern social justice. We are running the government with the tax money of the people. We should not forget that we and you are enjoying all the privileges with the tax money of the people. We have given all the privileges including cars and houses with tax money. Therefore, we should work with a pro-people attitude. This is the basic idea of democracy. This year, 700 child marriages have taken place, incidents of becoming mothers in childhood have also been reported. FIRs have also been filed in many places about this. It has come to my attention that it has not been recorded. How is it that 700 child marriages are taking place even after so many years of independence? There are laws and regulations to prevent child marriage. However, they have not been used effectively in some places. Isn't this wrong, he asked. Why does child marriage not come to the notice of the DC? Don't your subordinates report to you? If your subordinates do not tell you, it means that you are not efficient. You have no control over the officials, it means that they are not afraid of you', he said. He added, '295176 applications have been submitted for forest rights, of which only 16700 forest rights have been provided. This should be disposed of properly. Cases should be disposed of properly in the DC, Tahsildar, AC courts. Decisions should be made on merit. There should be no tendency to postpone cases'.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Wild market swings are good reason to take stock: podcast
Follow on Apple, opens new tab or Spotify, opens new tab. Listen on the Reuters app., opens new tab Read the episode transcript. Amid the tariff volatility, shares of companies from Burberry to Hasbro have gyrated when reporting financial results. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate why investors are rattled, how CEOs are responding, and whether the listed life looks less appealing. (The hosts are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own.) Further Reading Big earnings reactions dent public market's appeal Market turmoil rewrites the lessons of investing: podcast Market jitters hand IPO wannabes a thorny dilemma Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement, opens new tab for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit opens new tab to opt-out of targeted advertising.
Hans India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
ECI plans to redefine voting with major initiatives
New Delhi: In a sweeping drive to strengthen electoral management and improve voter facilitation, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has rolled out 21 major initiatives over the past 100 days. The reforms, introduced under the leadership of the 26th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, showcase a big strategic push for several areas. These include procedural clarity, technological integration, and stakeholder inclusivity in the electoral process, say EC sources. These steps were charted out during the Conference of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) held in March 2025. Election Commissioners (ECs) Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi were also present on that occasion. The initiatives represent a 'purposeful, pragmatic, and proactive' approach in the first 100 days of the new CEC's tenure, added the sources. One of the key measures includes reducing the maximum number of voters per polling station from 1,500 to 1,200. The purpose is to reduce congestion and ensure a smoother voting experience. To further improve access, additional polling booths will be established in densely populated areas, particularly in gated communities and high-rise buildings, so that no voter has to travel more than 2 km to cast their vote.
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
What Do Consultants Do? Increasingly, They Become CEOs
Never miss an episode. Follow The Big Take daily podcast today. For decades, General Electric — the conglomerate known for making everything from trains to microwaves — was also known for churning out executives. Time spent at the company's Crotonville campus was seen as the gold standard for leadership training in Corporate America. But as GE has lost its luster, a new CEO pipeline has emerged. On today's Big Take podcast, Bloomberg work and management reporter Matt Boyle joins host David Gura to share what he's discovered about where tomorrow's CEOs are learning to lead — and what it means for global business. Listen and follow The Big Take on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Terminal clients: click here to subscribe. Here is a lightly edited transcript of the conversation:
