VISION & STRATEGY www.ceotodaymagazine.com 96 a massive iceberg in the immediate vicinity that they should be steering around. Like big ships, it takes a long time for larger companies to change course. They might get away with a few near misses, but if you’re travelling blindly and not planning that move well in advance, then you sink eventually. During the coronavirus pandemic, CEOs moved their big ships in ways they were never designed. The key learning is that leaders need to cope in all situations and have agile processes in place to navigate volatility for a smoother journey. It’s about taking the high performance in the short term and ensuring that it becomes part of any future process and that the right people are held accountable. At Oliver Wight, we call this integrated business planning or IBP. Learnings should inform the process library so that CEOs can handle any situation. IBP is about steering the ship in the right direction but recognising that it could take two or three years to do so if you move the rudder now. If you miss that decision point, you run the risk of making knee-jerk reactions and dealingwith events versus being proactive and managing the future to achieve optimal results. Admittedly it’s difficult to balance future planning, and investment in research and development, with near-term performance, especially with stakeholder pressures. Companies will go out of business if they don’t manage the short term well, but better-integrated visibility of the future is imperative and should be at the heart of decision making. Customer insights and greater visibility To know which direction to steer the ship, it is vital to gain insights from customers. What value are they looking for in the future? Once those insights have been gathered, a CEO must evaluate the business’ competencies and capabilities. For instance, are there likely to be supplychain problems, or is marketing fit for purpose? What do you need to do to reshape the organisation if there are challenges? It’s interesting to note that several large organisations have recently appointed CEOs outside of their industry. For example, Jim Rowan, who has been CEO of Dyson and has no experience leading an automotive company, has been positioned at the helm of Volvo. It’s a good move. Businesses are resetting, and by bringing outsider experience and perspective, organisations will be better placed to refocus and chart a successful course for the coming years. To predict and understand how the market is likely to develop, a good level of visibility is essential. It comes back to knowing your potential customers. You have to anticipate their needs and demands and make sure you can serve them. Technological advancement and societal trends are driving rapid change, meaning that businesses have to evolve at the same pace to survive in the longer term. It’s clear: business as usual is no longer enough. Embracing technology is critical, as it can take us beyond what the human eye can see. But it is equally important to invest in people. Leaders and their teams have to knowhow to interpret the greater visibility gained by technology and be empowered to make better quality decisions and smoother, more agile processes. Ultimately, implementing a strategic plan needs to be a holistic process to ensure the sustainable running of a business united towards growth. And by running an IBP process today CEOs and their organisations can gain the agility to process data quickly and make smarter decisions for tomorrow. For example, JimRowan, who has been CEO of Dyson and has no experience leading an automotive company, has been positioned at the helm of Volvo. Itʼs a good move. Businesses are resetting, and by bringing outsider experience and perspective, organisations will be better placed to refocus and chart a successful course for the coming years. “ “
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