LEADING THROUGH CRISIS AND DISRUPTION
July 11, 2021
In uncertain times, the role of CEO has become an increasingly difficult one. CEOs today are leading in a world moving through crisis and disruption—where challenges have no known solutions, or if they do, there are far too many choices and few clear ones. Yet even while driving change amidst all this uncertainty, they need to keep the trains running on time.
In my conversations with CEOs, I’ve found that they seem to agree on at least one thing: the pace and fluidity of change is unprecedented. In fact, in a recent PwC survey , 95% of CEOs said that they’re facing increased levels of uncertainty or disruption as compared to even five years ago.
In the current environment where challenges have no known solutions due to being in unprecedented times, CEO's must make a decision between big and bold ideas or doing what needs to be done to keep the busines afloat but risk the businesses future. In the last 15 years we've seen Pandemics criple the economic world, terrorist attacks occur more frequently, technology changing faster than ever and also the many economic and political challenges which every nation faces. So how does a CEO make decisions when the landscape is changing so rapidly?
One of the best examples we've seen so far was demonstrated in the pandemic outbreak, or swine flu (H1N1). The CEO's responsible for managing pandemics knew that they had to start with people—not by focusing on the viruses themselves. This meant identifying and monitoring those at highest risk for infection. It also meant increasing supply chain transparency, providing early warnings of pandemic outbreaks and taking steps to prevent the spread of pandemics.
How did these top CEOs make such bold decisions in the midst of crisis? There doesn't seem to be any magic formula but rather it required persistent practice with a commitment to constant renewal. They are constantly asking themselves and others hard questions, and they never stop thinking about what the future will look like.
Questions such as: What are our most important strengths? Where do we see the greatest opportunities for growth? How can we encourage creative risk-taking throughout our organizations? And how can we remain both flexible and focused in times of crisis or rapid change and disruption?
In fact, in a recent PwC survey of more than 600 CEOs worldwide, we found that many are looking beyond the usual solution sets to seek other approaches. In this study, they told us that technology is no longer just part of their business—it has become central to it.
So what does this all mean for the future? Today we are seeing more and more organizations turning to business models that need no big capital outlays, no large teams nor long product cycles. Will pandemics, terrorism and technology bring about another Industrial Revolution? Only time will tell. But what is certain is that the ability to innovate rapidly and effectively will be key to building a successful business.