January – scanning the horizon
Curiosity is considered a differentiating characteristic of excellent leaders and an essential strength in the boardroom. A director’s ability to ask the right questions and listen to a range of people providing the answers, determines the quality of board intelligence which will inform strategic decisions.
We start 2020 considering the wider world in which we live and exploring a range of sources providing curated insights into the themes preoccupying organisations in the public, private and third sectors.
Most business schools, strategy houses and professional firms publish their insights early in each calendar year, so January provides a wealth of intelligence.
Each year The World Economic Forum gather a global audience in Switzerland. Davos2020 invited teenagers from around the World to join political and business leaders and explore ‘Stakeholders for a cohesive and sustainable world.’ Climate change and its financial impact dominated conversations. Greta Thunberg, Swedish climate change activist called for global action now. Other themes included the potential for technology to enrich lives and the way in which we live and share resources. The forum leaves many questions to be answered by individuals, organisations and governments.
McKinsey shared four themes they took away from Davos2020. Highlighting the business cases which have already been made in boardrooms, they point to a change in tone and a decrease in trust, making clarity of purpose and stakeholder understanding critical for organisational success.
PwCs 23rd CEO Survey involved 1,581 CEOs in 83 countries with 126 CEOs in the UK. Economic uncertainty is perceived as the greatest threat and the focus is on implementing practical measures in order to keep growing. Confidence levels grow from 70 to 90% when considering the 1 and 3 year outlooks. Globally CEOs rank UK as the fourth most important territory for growth.
Scanning and triangulating sources will help avoid the natural bias to seek insights only from those who agree with our world view. We live in a global, instantly connected environment but the desire to focus on the ‘village’ we inhabit and share and explore patterns with people we trust, may limit our understanding. As Harvard Business School Professor, Rosabeth Moss Kanter has exhorted us for decades, we should think global and act local.
During 2020, I look forward to working with my clients as we explore strategic responses to these themes.
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