CEOs Want To Get Creative, Says IBM

Chief executives believe the world is getting more complex and think they will need to be creative to emerge from the recession in a stronger position than they went in, according to a survey carried out by IBM.

CEOs in the UK and Ireland are more confident in the level of talent, but are equally worried about the increasing complexity around them, found the survey of 1500 chief executives from 60 countries, including 66 from the UK and Ireland.

Survey finds CEOs want more help

As one might expect from a survey of this kind, the CEOs were able to express what they wanted to do, but the question of how to go about it was rather more hazy. The needs they expressed, when processed into IBM’s final report, “Capitalising on Complexity”, came out as buzzwords that dovetail very well indeed with the kind of things that IBM prides itself on providing.

“CEOs identified complexity as a challenge,” said Howard Tollit, who leads strategy and change for IBM’s Global Business Services unit. “They want creative leadership, to reinvent customer relationships and adopt a customer-centric approach.”

Beneath the buzzwords, a more interesting story is revealed. IBM has run the CEO survey overy other year since 2004, in a sort of dialogue with a similar survey of chief information officers (CIOs), who tend to express more about what technology issues they see and the blocks to providing what the CEOs dream of.

Ironically enough, 2008’s CEO survey expressed a desire for change – which has probably been fulfilled in a rather more extreme way than the CEO’s wished.

IBM has also now introduced a chief financial officer (CFO) survey, which should add a further level of dialogue or confusion, as the massed virtual brain of the world’s finance officers grumbles about the difficulty of paying for the needed changes.

Regulations add to complexity

The CEOs may be right in spotting increased complexity, but where does it come from? Technology was supposed to reduce complexity by reducing barriers and enhancing the globalisation of markets. Instead, more regulations are being applied and new competitors add to complexity, said Tollitt.

“Eight out of ten CEOs believe that innovation is shifting to the rapidly developing markets, while the majority in the UK believe that government regulation is getting heavier,” said Tollitt (the survey was carried out in January, when a change in government was not particularly imminent).

The UK’s CIOs flagged the information explosion as the biggest factor in increasing complexity – “though some of them called it the misinformation explosion” quipped Tollitt. They also worried a bit about a shortage of “talent” (in the rarified atmosphere breathed by CEOs, “talent” is more important than the “skills” which CIOs would be more likely to want).

In fact, while six out of ten CEOs worldwide believed they had a shortage of talent, a minority – four out of 10 – thought it was a concern in the UK, suggesting a complacent view that the UK is more talented than the rest of the world.

Industry transformation scored highly on the CEOs radar, coming ahead of “sustainability” which included economic survival as well “green” issues, said Tollitt.

IBM would no doubt applaud the CEO’s view that technology is increasingly important. Since the 2004 survey, it has gone up from number six to number two in the most important “external forces” that CEOs watch for.

But are the CEOs just whingeing? “There was certainly a lot of wistful thinking, hoping that things will ‘get back to normal’ after the recession,” said Tollitt. “One or two of the things we drew out indicate there may be a weakness in UK and Irish responses … a reluctance to accept the extent of complexity, as something they must respond to effectively.”