CEO Today - February 2023

January 2023 Photo: Wikicommons - Duncan Hull

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STAY CONNECTED! Follow us on: CEO TODAY Copyright 2023 Circulation details can be found at www.ceotodaymagazine.com The views expressed in the articles within CEO Today are the contributors’ own, nothing within the announcements or articles should be construed as a profit forecast. All rights reserved. Material contained within this publication is not to be reproduced in whole or part without the prior permission of CEO Today. Disclaimer: Images used in this edition have been done so under the creative commons licenses. For details, see links below. creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode Editor’s Note. February 2023 6

34. 24. 38. 66. Katina Male Editor Hello and welcome to CEO Today’s second edition for 2023! After a month of sticking to our New Year’s resolutions and planning the next 12 months, I’m excited to present CEO Today’s February dose of inspiration for 2023! 7 Our Favourite Stories from this month: All of this and so much more - I hope you enjoy the content in CEO Today’s second issue for 2023! Make sure you check out the full list of features and exclusive interviews over the next pages. If youwant to stay connectedwith us until our next edition, visit our website for more, join the conversation on our Twitter (@CEOTodayMag) and follow our LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram pages. Best wishes, The CULT of the CEO What Can Leaders Learn from the Challenges of 2022? 5 Things Leaders Can’t Ignore in 2023 Top Luxury Hotel Openings for 2023

CONTENTS. February 2023 14. Mission “Serve the Community” 18. The Future of Spinal Fusions is Right Here 24. The CULT of the CEO 30. CEO Predictions for 2023 34. What Can Leaders Learn from the Challenges of 2022? 38. 5 Things Leaders Can’t Ignore in 2023 42. CEOs with Visibility Across All Operations Will Sail to Success in 2023 48. The Ultimate Morning Zen Ritual to Follow for A Confident & Calm Start 52. HR in 2023 56. How Meetings are Stealing Valuable Time 62. Is Now a Good Time to Invest in Precious Metals? 66. Top Luxury Hotel Openings for 2023 8

66. 30. 48. 24. 9

10 The Stories Everyone’s been Talking about News. February 2023 10

Jack Ma Gives Up Control of Ant Group The billionaire founder of the FinTech Giant Ant Group, Jack Ma, will give up control of the company following a regulatory crackdown. Ant Group has announced that no one will have overall control after the change. Mr Ma has been absent from the public eye since openly criticising the financial sector in China in 2020. His criticism resulted in an abrupt halt in Ant Group’s planned £26bn stock market flotation in November 2020, which would have been the world’s largest flotation. Ant Group owns the main online payment system in China and the world’s largest mobile payment platformAlipay, which serves over 1.3 billion users and 80 million merchants. Mr Ma directly and indirectly controls more than 50% of Ant Group, but following the changes in governance structure, he will control just over 6%. In a statement, Ant Group announced that the shareholding structure will also change. The Group is in the final stages of a two-year restructuring which has been driven by regulators. According to Reuters, Chinese authorities are expected to impose a fine of over $1bn on the FinTech firm. Classic Cars Could be a Go-To Investment over Houses Classic cars under £50,000 are revealed to be the most profitable investment compared to property, gold and stocks. Data gathered by Confused.com revealed that affordable classic cars (under £50,000) made a 70% return on investment, on average, between 2019 and 2022. But some classic cars could see owners pocketing more than they first anticipated. That’s as data shows that investing in a Ferrari F355 pre-pandemic would see a whopping 214% return on your investment now, on average. According to data, the propertymarket grewby 19%between 2019 and 2022. But this is less profitable than buying an affordable classic car or gold. The data also showed that the value of gold only increased by 34% over the same timeframe. Meanwhile, the stock market appears to be the least profitable asset, only increasing by 3% since the pandemic, on average. Louise Thomas, car insurance expert at Confused.com, said: “Classic cars could be a great way to invest your money, especially in the rarer makes and models. While the housing market, stocks and gold can all be unpredictable, data shows that classic cars seem to be in high demand. “But investing in a classic car isn’t always feasible in comparison to other investments, like the stock market. With the latter, you can start as small as you like when it comes to your finances. But for the average UK driver, the upfront costs of a classic car might be out of reach. When you also then consider the added necessities, such as maintenance costs and classic car insurance, it can add up substantially over time. “These extra costs can become expensive, particularly when classic cars can be harder to repair or replace. This can also have a knock-on effect on the price you pay for car insurance, so it’s always worth shopping around to keep your costs down. If you’re thinking about investing in a classic car or you already own one, insurance for your classic car is a great way to protect your assets for the future.” Photo: Wikicommons - World Economic Forum

1 2 THE CEO INTERVIEW

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Mission “Serve the Community” Carolyn Chrisman Executive Director of K-REDI Tell us more about your role and what it involves. K-REDI’s mission is to serve as an economic competitor providing family supporting jobs to the Kirksville region. We do this through business retention and expansion as well as business attraction in education, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, and technology. The MREIC entity serves a 16-county region as a resource for tech entrepreneurs, emerging industries, and highgrowth jobs areas. Finally, our small business center counsels any entrepreneur from ideation stage to start-up to stage 2 clients. We assist with business counseling, executive coaching, financial planning and projections, marketing, and more! What is themost rewarding part about it? The roles of all these positions coalesce around building a thriving rural economy in our community and region and making sure our businesses and citizens have access to quality counseling and programs so they can operate and stay competitive. The aspects of my specific role are multi-faceted. Because our entities each have a different stakeholder and funding source, I manage multiple budgets, funding streams, fiscal years, and reporting deadlines to make it work. K-REDI is a locally funded public-private partnership which exists to help local companies and grow the local economy. All funding is from locally associated We speak with Carolyn Chrisman - the Executive Director of the Kirksville Regional Economic Development, Inc (K-REDI) and Missouri Rural Enterprise and Innovation Center (MREIC), as well as the Center Director for the Kirksville Small Business Development Center. THE CEO INTERVIEW Q Q

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public entities and partners. I meet quarterly with our industries to learn of their challenges and opportunities and then connect them with local and state resources and incentives to assist. The innovation center piece is funded from an appropriation from the General Assembly and works in conjunction with the Missouri Department of Economic Development and Missouri Technology Corporation to operate in their respective target areas and programming. Businesses have differing needs, but most all need access to capital. We connect entrepreneurs with state programs, and then we have been awarded a USDA Revolving Loan Fund grant for micro-lending projects. Finally, the small business development center subcontracts with the state’s SBA partner to offer counseling services, which is federally funded. Those services include business counseling, business plan and financial assistance, plus education and training. All of these entities collaborating, sharing staff and space, allows for a holistic all-inclusive approach to economic development. The reward comes in many forms, but it is the help our citizens get. When an entrepreneur comes in and gets help in starting a business, it is a win. When a local major employer is able to expand and increase wages, local citizens make more money. They in turn get to buy a house, a car, or expand their family. We believe a rising tide raises all ships. What have you been working on in recent months? Several current projects that we’ve recently worked on revolve around workforce needs in labor force participation, childcare, and housing. So, labor force participation. In every community in the US, businesses cannot find workers. In some areas, immigration is a legitimate means of gaining new employees. For some areas of the country, less so. But as I look at the labor force participation rate in my community, I see that over the past five years it has been shrinking. Even before COVID, it had been in decline and continues to fall. I estimate that if I can work to increase the labor force participation rate by 5%, it would add 450 workers to the job seeker field. That does not mean I recruit new people to town, I get the people who already live here to work. As I dig further into the data, which labor force participation counts those 16-65 years of age, I see it is not the teenagers or the elderly who are not the ones working. It is those ages 25-54 who are not working. My plan is to find out why. Why are so many of the citizens not working? What barriers are keeping them from work? This will take resources of time, money, and manpower to determine. But once it is understood, I am preparing to solve the problems. For example, if a large number of people state the issue/ barrier to employment is transportation—how does my community fix that? If the barrier is a lack of available and affordable childcare—how does my community address it. And so on. Another project is childcare. I began looking at the childcare situation in the summer of 2019 because many of my local companies came to me stating it was an issue that needed a community solution. A committee formed to learnmore about local options, and decided to conduct a survey of employees to determine needs. It was late fall 2019 at this point. I went on maternity leave in early December to have my fourth child, and thought—will get this survey out when I return. Of course, inMarch of 2020, the world shut down with COVID. The survey did not get distributed till August of 2020, because we knew COVID impacts would be shown more so than regular needs. Regardless, survey taken, action steps taken, and we still have a need in 2022. I am going to do a second round of the childcare survey in the next month, and then move forward on a community solution. But I have Q THE CEO INTERVIEW

taken this issue to a regional level, and state level. I also expect legislation to come about in 2023 that will help Missouri with the childcare issue as well. Housing has also been shown as a workforce problem. There are varying ways to tackle this problem too. Some communities want to conduct a housing survey to fully understand what existing stock is available, and then they can incentivize or build where the gap exists. Others look at housing through a demand approach. Who needs housing in the community and what can they afford—build that. Finally, others want to look at the people. How many seniors live in single family homes with three or more bedrooms, that could downsize to an assisted living facility and then free up an existing home for a young family. In my community, the partners have taken two of those approaches. The city has conducted a housing study to understand what is available, mainly because it is a college town with lots of single-family homes broken up into multiple apartments. Additionally, there is some in-fill housing that could be developed. A local electric cooperative has brought in a group to look at housing from the demand side in order to understand what folks can afford who want to buy or build. The next steps is coming up with programs and visiting with developers. Then of course, the day-to-day work continues of working with existing businesses, overseeing manufacturing roundtables, assisting with the ELL classes, offering trainings, coordinating the human resource managers group, and more. What are your aspirations for the future? My aspirations for the future are to continue to learn, to serve my community, and make it a better place for my children and grandchildren. I am also passionate that everything rises or falls with leadership. I am focused on making myself a better leader, helping others to become leaders, and raising up future leaders in my community, region, and state. Q Carolyn Chrisman “ The reward comes inmany forms, but it is the help our citizens get. THE CEO INTERVIEW

18 The Future of Spinal Fusions is Right Here Joost de Bruijn CEO of Kuros Biosciences THE CEO INTERVIEW THE CEO INTERVIEW

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20 Please tell us your story. I’m the Chief Executive Officer of Kuros Biosciences AG (SIX: KURN) and I also hold the position of Professor of Biomaterials at Queen Mary University of London, UK (since 2004).Until recently, I was Professor of Regenerative Medicine and Entrepreneurship at Twente University, The Netherlands (from 2011 2019). I’m the founder and CEO of Xpand Biotechnology B.V. that was acquired by Kuros Biosciences AG early 2017 and prior to this was involved with Progentix Orthobiology BV (founder and CEO) that was acquired by NuVasive Inc., Scinus Cell Expansion BV (founder) and IsoTis Orthobiologics NV. I have more than 33 years of experience in academia and the life science industry and have brought several technologies to the clinic. I’ve authored close to 200 peer-reviewed publications and invented 35 patents and patent families. I’m a scientific editor of the world’s first open-access journal, European Cells and Materials, and reviewer for numerous international biomaterials, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine journals. I received my PhD Cum Laude from Leiden University in 1993. Can you please introduce us to Kuros Biosciences? Kuros Biosciences is a fast-growing leader in the development of spinal fusion biologics that ease the burden of back pain. With locations in the United States, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, Kuros is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The company’s first commercial product, MagnetOs, is a unique synthetic bone graft that has already been used successfully across three continents and in more than 10,000 spinal fusion surgeries. The next candidate in the Kuros pipeline is “Kuros Biosciences is a fastgrowing leader in the development of spinal fusion biologics that ease the burden of back pain.” THE CEO INTERVIEW

Fibrin-PTH – the first drug-biologic combination for interbody spinal fusions, currently undergoing a Phase 2 clinical trial in the US. How did the company come about? Kuros was formed in 2017, through the merger of Kuros Biosurgery AG and Xpand Biotechnology BV. Kuros Biosurgery was created as a spin-off from the prestigious ETH institute in Zurich, where Jeff Hubbell, a leading researcher in the field of biomaterials, and his team developed the proprietary TG hook peptide linker technology that underpins the current Fibrin PTH clinical development program. The roots of Xpand Biotechnology originated more than 30 years ago when I began developing calcium phosphate bone grafts. Since then, I’ve been responsible for the development of products sold by IsoTis, Integra Life Sciences, SeaSpine, NuVasive - and most recently by Kuros itself. MagnetOs is the latest in a long line of calciumphosphate bone grafts developed by the teamat Kuros – and features the unique NeedleGrip surface technology. Over a decade ago, our scientists discovered that calcium phosphates could form bone in soft tissues without added cells or growth factors. Using the latest research techniques, the team then made a vital discovery: that the proprietary submicron needle shaped features of the NeedleGrip surface could modulate immune cell polarisation in favour fof a pro healing response - thus unlocking previously untapped potential to stimulate stem cells and form bone through the graft. MagnetOs has been on the market in the EU since 2017 and in the US since 2018. Joost de Bruijn “Over a decade ago, our scientists discovered that calcium phosphates could form bone in soft tissues without added cells or growth factors. THE CEO INTERVIEW

THE DISRUPTORS

Using Elon Musk as a textbook, we discuss why celebrity CEOs exhibit terrible governance policies. The CULT of the CEO The Inherent Relationship Between Poor Governance and the ‘Celebrity CEO’ 24

25 Photo: Wikicommons - Duncan Hull

successfully purchased 9% of Twitter’s shares. After being offered a seat on the board of directors, which Musk has since denied, Twitter initiates a response to attempt to discourage a hostile takeover. After a lawsuit, a counter-lawsuit, and a trial, Musk takes on the CEO position on October 28, 2022. He then fired the entire board of directors, making himself the sole member, and let go half of Twitter’s payroll, including many who fight misinformation and hateful content. This hostile takeover also led to advertisers pulling out due to the uncertainty of Twitter’s future. In mid-November, the world was informed of Twitter’s new ‘blue tick’ policy which ultimately allowed users to pay for official status. This decision led to be detrimental for some – including pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly who was impersonated, tweeting that their insulin would hereby be free. Investors were outraged at this decision, which ultimately lead to a momentary yet dramatic fall in their stock price. After the evident failure of the ‘blue tick’, Twitter’s software engineers became increasingly vocal about their opinions of the company which led to Musk firing one after a public argument on Twitter and terminating the contracts of twenty others. Musk also announced that remote working was no longer offered at Twitter and made a mass-email announcement to the current workforce that employees needed to increase their workload The key to corporate success is good corporate governance. Any CEO worth their salt is a humble leader with eager, engaged, and educated critics at board level to keep decisions in check. Inversely, ego, inexperience and unwavering control are red flags. Despite warning signs and countless examples of failing businesses due to poor governance, recent media headlines have been saturated with celebrity CEO downfalls relating to poor governance. Most notably, Elon Musk. Musk has been a keymedia subject over the past months with his disastrous takeover of Twitter. With the initial acquisition concluding on October 28, 2022, by December 19, 2022, Musk had promised to resign once an acceptable replacement had been found. Within this short time, Twitter acquired numerous lawsuits, lost advertisers, investors, and employees, and in the end, even fended off rumours of potential bankruptcy. The cause of this detrimental turn of events can be sourced to a man with a large ego who has an unhealthy obsession with his social media fame. These negative traits have created a textbook example of how celebrity CEOs make poor decisions in corporate governance, which inevitably lead to failure. The Twitter Fiasco On April 5, 2022, Elon Musk discloses to the media he has 26 THE DISRUPTORS “Musk is a clear example of the worstcase scenario for governance.”

significantly, and fully commit to the new ‘Twitter 2.0’, or risk receiving three months of severance. The Aftermath Since Musk bought Twitter, there have not been many positive impacts to report. According to Media Matters, half of the top advertisers boycotted the social site, which was responsible for paying Twitter $2 billion since 2020. This hit led Musk to admit that bankruptcy wasn’t out of the question in November last year. In addition to this, numerous lawsuits have been filed from over 100 employees. Cases ranged from severance pay disputes to multiple areas of discrimination. Downsizingplansalso faced legal problems in Europe – with UK unions receiving significant complaints, responses from tough employment laws in Ireland and the EU, as well as concerns that Europe’s new Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts would not be adhered to. As the story continued, Musk suffered the greatest loss of personal wealth in history with a $182 billion drop. With the Twitter scandal polluting the news, it is not a surprise that Musk’s other ventures were hit too, as Tesla shareholders accused Musk had abandoning them after a $700 billion drop in Tesla’s value on the stock market. It’s déjà vu for Musk Although we mostly see Twitter in the news, this disregard for governance is not an isolated event for Musk. Recently, he faced a lawsuit from shareholders over a 2018 tweet that stated a major investor was found for Tesla - but one never came. In addition, there have been complaints of Musk breaking labour laws from SpaceX employees, and Neuralink, another Muskowned enterprise, faced a federal probe after employee backlash of animal testing programmes. Lessons Learned Musk is a clear example of the worstcase scenario for governance. From him, business leaders can learn several lessons about its importance. His supporters will argue that his success as a businessman allowed him to get to this position in the first place. This is true and cannot be denied. However, this skill is evidently starting to wane – due to, in my opinion, his obsession with the spotlight. Leaders of any kind need mentors and critical voices around them to ensure good governance of a company. These board members will aid in preventing poor management decisions, unnecessary legal battles, and needless reputational damage to the company. When in these leadership positions, whether executive level or board level, it is imperative that education and engagement is made a priority. Musk followed these principles of good governance, we may have seen a very different outcome for himself and Twitter. DavidW. Duffy is the CEO and co-founder of the Corporate Governance Institute. 27 THE DISRUPTORS

LEADERSHIP LESSSONS

SarahWalker-Smith CEO of legal and professional services group Ampa 2022 was a unique year for business inmanyways, with continuing uncertainty that makes 2023 difficult to predict. However, with factors suchas rising energy costs and the cost-of-living crisis looking as if they are here to stay, it is important to consider a wide range of elements within the business landscape as we head further into the year. CEO Predictions for 2023 30

31 Photo: Wikicommons - Brooks Kraft

What effect will the cost-ofliving crisis have on consumer confidence and spending? This is an incredibly polarised topic that needs to be looked at demographically, as it is true that sadly those with less disposable income will be those most affected in terms of consumer confidence and spending. Overall inflation hit 10.5% in December 2022, with inflation for food items reportedly rising to 16.9% in the same month. These rises, combined with soaring energy bills, will absorb a higher per cent of people’s income and it is likely that budget retail brands will be hit the hardest as a result, as those on lower incomes begin to tighten their belts and reduce their optional spending. With this in mind, as well as the worrying lack of business confidence, the recession may hit harder and last longer than hoped, putting jobs at risk. Will Big Tech recover from the mass sackings to build back its workforce? Whilst it is easy to make moral judgements when it comes to Big Tech and hope that platform users will vote on these issues with their feet, it is hard to ignore that user 32 LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP “ Urgent regulation is needed in this area to drive responsible leadership and management and ensure that disproportionate power and influence doesn’t sit with a few extremely wealthy unelected individuals. ON BIG TECH

habits are usually far too ingrained. There is a tremendous fear of missing out that may stop consumers from leaving. Urgent regulation is needed in this area to drive responsible leadership and management and ensure that disproportionate power and influence doesn’t sit with a few extremely wealthy unelected individuals. However, with consumers seeming set in their social media habits, Big Tech is not likely to be too adversely affected as we head further into 2023, as there is a distinct lack of alternative mainstream ethical platforms for users to turn to. Will the government be able to deliver on the promises from the Autumn Budget? Most of the promises made in the statement won’t come into force until after the next general election, making it difficult to predict which ones will be kept. With the proposed tax increases in April the closest in terms of coming to fruition, many of the promises still feel far off in the future, particularly as the government has not yet announced a roadmap to confirm how they will all be delivered. This has led to a missed opportunity to incentivise businesses to continue to invest in not only manufacturing and research and development, but also in the UK service sector, which will be vital throughout the coming recession to create and protect jobs. This roadmap is absolutely crucial, as is actively working with businesses to cut red tape and allow them to move towards the government’s long-term vision with as little hindrance as possible. What is next for 2023? When the future seems uncertain, we can learn a lot from our past. For example, we can compare what is happening now to the downturn after the two world wars and the crisis that happened in the 1970s. Both were supply-side economic issues that led to a period of civil unrest and strike action, as well as the potential rationing of key resources such as energy. Since the pandemic, predictions have been made that many businesses would fail over the winters. That could be the case this year as many won’t be able to continue trading due to weak balance sheets and a lack of working capital. With the effects of Brexit and the pandemic still reverberating as the cost of doing business crisis begins to bite, the risk and return no longer add up for many, and if the option is viable, business owners may choose to cease trading. While the short-term prognosis does not look good, past years show that recovery can and will happen, and that with a concerted effort a new era of growth and economic prosperity can be achieved. However, both businesses and the government must not simply wait for this to happen, instead, proactive planning and strong collaboration will be key to ensuring that the recession is kept as shallow as possible, and the benefits of the new era are seen quickly. 33 LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP

Jeremy Kourdi The leadership challenges that arrived with 2022 were profound, highlighting several trends and bringing with it several vital lessons. From eyewatering inflation and interest rates to intense recruitment and supply chain problems, disasters induced by climate change, political instability, economic recession and war, there’s no denying that 2022 has been a year like no other. Taken together with the transformational experience of COVID, these issues have started searing themselves into the psyche, mindset and behaviour of customers, employees, stakeholders and societies morewidely –withmajor implications for organisations and leaders. Above all, it is clear that the COVID pandemic marked the end of a period of relative stability in business, economics, social and world affairs. The shocks that arrived with the 21st century (such as 9/11 and the financial crisis) can now be seen as events of traumatising volatility against a background of largely stable, predictable progress and order. This is now shifting into a future with sustained instability and unpredictability. With this in mind, there are several lessons for leaders that stand out from 2022 and that will remain relevant for at least the next decade. What Can Leaders Learn from the Challenges of 2022? 34 LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP

Speed matters, but so do direction and distance When sudden and far-reaching change arrives, we need to shift gears fast. But when we live in a time of permanent, disjointed change that is both unfamiliar and far-reaching, our ability to constantly sprint erodes. This has several implications. First, leaders need to distinguish between temporary and permanent change. Temporary change may need us to hunker down or flex for a period, whereas permanent change often requires a different, longer-term response. Second, while we need to adapt only to those events that require action – and here speed is often essential – we also need to understand who we are (our values), where we are heading (our vision), why that matters (our purpose) and how we will get there (our strategy). The problem is that these guiding issues are sometimes forgotten or worse, they become butchered in our panicky rush for agility and speed. Remember the essentials Things are increasingly unpredictable and volatile, and much is changing – but not everything. Customers are still vital; people work much better when they are supported, challenged, cared for and listened to; businesses need to be accepted by the communities they serve; 35 LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP

boldness, innovation and risk enable us to make progress; the quest for improvement must be constant; courage and trust are vital and universal; being inclusive makes many vital things (from teamwork and innovation to decision making) much better, as well as simply being the right thing to do; cash is good, debt is bad. None of these should be a surprise. Despite many truths being apparent since at least the time of Shakespeare they are sometimes neglected, a casualty of our mistaken belief that because so much has changed, everything has changed. Understanding and kindness are here to stay People want to be heard and valued, they expect human virtues of openness, decency and inclusion, and they respond to leaders who understand the drivers of trust. These qualities include fairness, dependability, respect, openness, courage, unselfishness, competence, supportiveness, empathy, and compassion. Communication, connection and empathy are vital. In unpredictable times with people feeling bewildered at best and often fearful, leaders need to communicate, connect and engage with people, meeting them where they are. More than that, genuinely connecting with communities is essential for the long-term health of the business. Personal leadership qualities matter. Leaders need to be selfaware, emotionally intelligent and open, authentic and decent, as well as capable, courageous and effective. They need to listen and ask, not simply tell; and they need to coach, guide and shape as well as learn. In these situations, the solutions are to recognise the importance of psychology in the way we lead and embrace a deeper level of understanding. Also vital is the ability to provide a guiding vision and purpose, not just a deadline or financial target. Tell people where we are going together, why, and how. Finally, Peter Drucker’s comment that “culture eats strategy for breakfast” is still true. Elon Musk’s command that Twitter employees commit to a “hard-core culture… working long hours at high intensity… [where] only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade” is a colossal mistake. It is unlikely to engage people, alienating customers as well as employees. It also ignores the truth people and talent cannot be commanded, they need to be developed, respected, nurtured, and sustained. And it neglects a simple truth: people want and value modern leadership. 36 LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP

Communication, connection and empathy are vital. In unpredictable times with people feeling bewildered at best and often fearful, leaders need to communicate, connect and engage with people, meeting themwhere they are. “ “ Jeremy Kourdi is an executive coach and director of leadership consultancy Kourdi Associates. Formerly VP of The Economist Group, he is an expert in leadership, business development & coaching and has written 29 business books. 37 LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP

5 Things Leaders Can’t Ignore in 2023 38 LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP

Dr AndrewWhite Director of the Advanced Management and Leadership Programme at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School Has there ever been a time before now where CEOs have faced so many challenges? While delivering profitable growth remains the key element of leading an organisation, it’s also no longer enough on its own. The world is changing, and throwing up ever more disruption, and leaders can’t get away with sitting in their little boxes. Customers, employees and shareholders are calling out leaders and organisations to serve something greater than themselves. With this inmind as we look ahead to theNewYear, here are five things I believe leaders cannot ignore in 2023. 39 LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP 1. Transformation is the new normal The world seems to be changing quicker than it ever has done before. In the past decade, we have seen rapid - and positive - attitude shifts on issues like sustainability and diversity, while the speed of technological advances has been unprecedented. All the while, disruptive events have become ever-present. In 2022, we saw spiralling inflation rates exacerbated even further by Russia’s war on Ukraine, which drove up energy costs across Europe to previously unimaginable levels. All this after two years of COVID lockdowns. For leaders, it has meant organisational transformations have become imperative in order to meet these challenges. I recently led major Saïd Business School research with EY which showed 85% of respondents had been involved in two or more major transformations in the past five years. It shows that in such a fastchanging environment, transformations can no longer be seen as episodic one-off events. Leaders now need to focus on the constant evolution of their organisations in order to survive.

40 LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP 2. Moving from rhetoric to impact on climate Too many businesses are continuing to trip up on the climate issue. In October, we saw HSBC called out by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority for its misleading net zero adverts. Earlier in the year, a major study also found that major oil and gas companies are increasingly using terms like “low-carbon” and “transition” as part of their environmental pledges, but are failing to back them up with concrete action. Given the scale of the climate crisis, we need more than just good intentions, and big businesses are rightly being slammed down if their rhetoric isn’t matched by real-world impact. The good news is that there is also huge amounts of innovation going on, particularly among the smaller companies. I look at companies like PaveGen (full disclosure: I’m an investor) which generates clean electricity through people’s footsteps in places like shopping malls. This creativity is a perfect example of the leadership we need going forward, and how “doing the right thing” can be matched with a business’s strategic direction. 3. What’s the purpose of face-toface working? We’re now three years on from the onset of the pandemic, but many leaders are still wrestling with hybrid working - and need to settle once and for all into a new normal. It has been proved organisations can operate without being present in an office. Therefore, they need to be clear about the reasons staff work face-to-face. What purpose is it serving? This may include inducting new employees, team building or completion of complicated tasks which can be a far smoother process in person than on Teams or Zoom. All are perfectly reasonable - as this has an intentional motivation. 4. Social Media More than ever before, leaders can’t ignore social media. ElonMusk has only been at Twitter for three months but his disruption of the platform has already demonstrated the profound impact it can have on businesses. Just look at Eli Lilly, the pharma giant which saw billions wiped off its value after Musk’s “Twitter Blue” scheme enabled a fake “verified” account under Lilly’s name to announce free insulin for all. With the ongoing debate around online safety, we have also seen scores of companies pull advertising from social media companies. One, Lush, even quit the major platforms last year. Amid this disruption, there’s a key question for leaders to ask: “What is the role of social media in our business?” “It has been proved organisations can operate without being present in an office.”

41 LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP 5. The power of listening When I have conversations with CEOs as part of my ongoing research on 21st-century leadership, I am seeing a new wave with one thing in common: the best leaders are now listening more than they speak. If we think about how the corner office traditionally communicated with employees, it was usually oneway and static. That feels outdated - especially after COVID. One CEO I spoke to developed their own personal check-in procedures with staff during the pandemic, because with home working, there was no other way of gauging how they were doing. The ability to listen became a muscle leaders needed to exercise regularly, and that remains the case post-lockdowns. I always say that at the most basic human level, everyone appreciates the feeling of being heard by another person. It can help anger, anxiety and sadness subside, and fundamentally change our behaviour. From an organisational level, leaders can engage the heart of their people by listening, so they don’t just see their work as a means to an end, for example with their next promotion or annual bonus. In uncertain times, that can only help how an organisation operates. Dr Andrew White is the director of the Advanced Management and Leadership Programme at the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School. He is also an accredited business coach and host of the Leadership 2050 podcast, on which he has interviewed the likes of Unilever CEO Alan Jope and Mercedes F1 team CEO TotoWolff. You can subscribe to his LinkedIn newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/ leadership2050-6793126251432304640/ “Given the scale of the climate crisis, we need more than just good intentions, and big businesses are rightly being slammed down if their rhetoric isn’t matched by real world impact.”

SarahWalker-Smith CEO of legal and professional services group Ampa 42 CEOs with Visibility Across All Operations Will Sail to Success in 2023 Choppy Waters Ahead:

Next-generation integrated business planning that empowers leaders and their teams by providing real-time data to improve decision-making is essential to triumph this year and beyond. 43 Les Brookes & Gavin Fallon Partner at Oliver Wight EAME & General Manager – UK at Board Next-generation integrated business planning that empowers leaders and their teams by providing real-time data to improve decision-making is essential to triumph this year and beyond. If chief executives are like ship captains, the extremely choppy waters expected in 2023 could fling the most poorly prepared leaders overboard without a lifejacket. Worse, everhigher waves of volatility might sink their organisations. After all, those at the helm face the high probability of a global economic downturn and numerous additional disruptions, some more foreseeable than others. The most successful CEOs in the year ahead will have the greatest visibility of information or, put another way, the fewest blind spots. They will be agile enough to react and steer around near-distance obstacles and chart a different course if potential trouble is spied on the horizon. On topof the volatility causedby thepandemic fallout, CEOs had to contend with the Ukraine war, surging inflation, supply-chain issues, and political uncertainty. In 2023, few leaders can confidently – or accurately – predict future challenges and opportunities without investment in operational and foresight technology. Indeed, the more comprehensive the overview of past and present data, the more informed and improved the decision-making. And by analysing more and better quality historical and current data, a captain can sail away from upcoming challenges and towards opportunities. Moreover, embracing an innovative integrated business planning model, which gathers and shares data, and breaks down silos while aligning functions using advanced technology, will empower business leaders and their teams. “Yes, the coronavirus c isis necessitated speeding up digital transformation journeys, but keeping up momentum is crucial. The unrelenting pace of change now requires continuous business evolution to co vert data to valuable information for decision-making.”

It is here where integrated business planning, or IBP, is increasingly essential. In a volatile world, where change is the only constant, organisations that use an IBP process gain the agility to process data quickly, make smarter decisions, and better navigate future disruption. IBP is a contemporary model that Oliver Wight, a leading management consultant and business transformation specialist, has been promoting for years. Its time has truly arrived in 2023, because it enables greater planning accuracy and corporate performance by aligning strategic planning, finance, human resources, supply chain, sales, and marketing functions. Implementing a strategic plan has to be a holistic process to ensure the sustainable running of a business united towards growth. There is a balance to strike: if a CEO only focuses on the short-term execution of the capability of the business, then they are unlikely to deliver the longer-term strategy. Conversely, they may fail to execute the plan if the sole focus is on the longer-term strategy. Steering away from spreadsheet hell For businesses – and industries – to survive and thrive in tomorrow’s increasingly volatile world, they need to plan much further ahead and invest in enhancing processes, technology and people today. By gaining and using insights from data-hungry artificial intelligence solutions, better decisions will be made, greater flexibility will be achievable, blind spots will be uncovered, and the leadership group can plan for most scenarios. For CEOs to steer with confidence, more than ever, leaders need to have a role in a Progressive CEOs that focus on visibility through quality data and entrust their people with the technology and processes to adapt to change quickly, and adopt a longerterm mindset, are most likely to navigate turbulence best. As Edward Gibbons, an 18th-century English historian, wrote: “The wind and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator.” Continuous business evolution required Yes, the coronavirus crisis necessitated speeding up digital transformation journeys, but keeping up momentum is crucial. The unrelenting pace of change now requires continuous business evolution to convert data to valuable information for decisionmaking. Now three years after the pandemic hit, CEOs should have learnt lessons. Hopefully, leaders and their organisationswill be better prepared for crises. Or is it more that they have been in survival mode and unwilling or unable to think too far ahead? Clearly, technology is a great enabler. But, unfortunately, it’s an all-too-common mistake to believe business transformation is founded on investing in and implementing tech alone. That technology is a tool that should work in harmony with people and processes is a vital point that seems to elude some leaders. Consider how airlines and airports, for instance, displayed woeful preparation when governments lifted coronavirus restrictions. Poor anticipation of likely – notwithstanding unpredictable – issues, often due to a lack of data-driven foresight and because of a short-term approach to business, damages reputations as well as bottom lines. 44 LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP

planning process that integrates across multi-site, multi-division businesses. Old ways of working and operating mean that organisations usually struggle to capture vital internal data, and therefore can’t transform it into actionable data. For larger enterprises, it’s an exceptionally complex problem, with so many parts of the system making databases hard to access and connect with others. At the same time, CEOs and departmental leaders are drowning in data. To try and make sense of it all, executive teams tend to fall into spreadsheet hell. As a result, too much of an organisation’s energy is often expended on creating views of the operational process so that opportunities are squandered and threats are missed. Now, CEOs with progressive mindsets can replace the fog of frustration caused by a lack of quality and timely datawith enlightenment and alter tack to achieve optimal outcomes in any situation. Using IBP, CEOs armed with data from across the business can run and reconfigure operations. This change in approach must come from the leadership, though. An evolved business model with rolling horizons can convert crises into opportunities. If business leaders understand what they need to do according to what has been modelled into the technology, they can realign the organisation. Transforming how organisations are run Further, a competitive advantage is gained by those businesses that analyse and share more data – alongside a trusted partner, to increase scale and speed – and train teams to make the best use of the information at their fingertips. This collaborative and unified approach to data management means organisations will better cope when buffeted by volatility in near and distant timescales. And, scanning further ahead on the business transformation journey, a hierarchyflattening, self-service capability, where skilled individuals have the tools and talent to alter course at pace if required and shape strategy, is attainable through investment in IBP. The real value is generated by bringing together data from all functions so that there is executive and operational alignment. With that visibility, minor – or significant – adjustments can be overlaid and implemented more efficiently. Ultimately, the agility required to stay afloat and improve the business process is attainable with the right holistic planning process. However, the flexible, forward-thinking and silo-breaking approach only works if people, processes and technology are integrated seamlessly. Thanks to technological advancements and a strategic alliance announced in September 2022 with Board International, the nextgeneration IBP product is on the horizon. The partnership is leveraging Board’s Intelligent Planning capabilities in conjunction with OliverWight’s IBP model to deliver a unified, integrated solution. Having listened to clients’ pain points, we have been working together to build a first-of-its-kind system that can achieve an IBP process, right the way from strategy to execution. CEOs seeking to boost operational visibility to steer away from trouble and towards optimal outcomes in 2023 and beyond are advised to keep an eye out for developments in the coming months. Learn More here: https://bit.ly/OliverWight_Board 45 LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP

VISION & STRATEGY

The Ultimate Morning Zen Ritual to Follow for AConfident & Calm Start 48 Do you know what the old Japanese warriors and baseball players have in common? Before they go out to battle/competition, they have their own rituals. Now, if we as CEOs and decisionmakers see every day of our lives as a battle, a competition, or a journey that we should feel like winning then why don’t we prepare for it with a nice ritual?

49 For many years, we have heard about the importance of morning routines and the benefits of having great habits before our day’s responsibilities start. In fact, great leaders recommend books like 5 am Club, and Miracle Morning where all of them have something in common, exalt the power of incorporating great habits during the mornings. Now, if we know about it, why don’t we jump into the adventure of trying it? So, in the next lines, Adrian Gonzalez shares the ultimate Morning Zen habits to follow for a confident & calm start, in order to have the best morning routine before your day begins. For example, let’s say that you have days that you are so immersed in your business, meetings, or responsibilities, that you will seek to have, “Balance” before your day start. In other words, you choose to incorporate the habit of setting a time of “calm” before the storm. One way of achieving this is through Collected Conscious Breathing, which is a way to close your eyes, disconnect from the world, and start a conscious breathing process, first by focusing on your breath and then trying not to think about anything, by creating the gymnastic of being present and calming your brain from all those thoughts that bombard us. This helps us to clean the path before submerging in the next step, by focusing on our breathing and calming down. Second, once you are completely calm and conscious, then you can start thinking of a solution to a pending issue that is pounding in your head, with the advantage that now you are cool, calm, and collected, and the thought will come from a neutral and natural state to solve that problem, and not from an emotional state, which is how we make most of our decisions. This similar state can be compared with runners or people that practice jogging. Their bodies get into the famous state called “the zone” also known as “the flow state”, making their brain cool and calm while running, but then a thought, idea, or a possible solution to a problem pops into their head, and they start recreating mentally the steps to resolve a specific issue that has been pending to take action. This is because these states of mind make the body release stress and produce endorphins with all their benefits. And the best part is that in the end, you will have the benefits of a sense of clarity and proactiveness. Nonetheless, you can exchange CCB with guided meditation, yoga breathing, praying, or any state that gives you calmness, so you can reset your mind, before the 60,000 thoughts or more, that we have during the day. Once you are calm then you can pump yourself by working on your confidence. A good technique is to work on your 5 pillars during your morning: VISION & STRATEGY “And the best part is that in the end, you will have the benefits of a sense of clarity and proactiveness.”

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