Page 19 - Accelerating out of the Great Recession

INTRODUCTION

nomic environment. The second survey, completed in
September 2009, focused on companies’ expectations for the
future development of the world economy. Throughout this
book we will refer to these surveys (primarily the September
2009 survey) to demonstrate how our ideas about possible eco-
nomic developments are supported by many of these leaders.
(For more information about the surveys, see Appendix B.)
What our research shows is that the factors that drive the
success of the best performers in a downturn are actually simi-
lar to the factors that make for success in more benign times. In
particular, high performers have strong leaders who take deci-
sive action, act early and with resolve, display courage and a
commitment to take the fight to their competitors, show a will-
ingness to rethink the entire business model (they spurn sacred
cows), and demonstrate the ability to bring their organizations
along with them.
Having said this, today’s executives probably have more on
their plates than their predecessors did. Certainly the strategic
and business challenges are more complex today than they were
yesterday—as we explain in Chapter 6.
We believe that the agenda of today’s CEO needs to include:

1. Reassessing the challenges and opportunities presented
by globalization.
2. Rethinking how businesses are managed for shareholder
value.
3. Reorganizing compensation systems to align with the
new ethics of business.
4. Redesigning corporate governance to avoid uncontrolled
risk taking.
5. Regaining public trust in business.

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