the conference coard ceo challenge

research report

The Conference Board CEO Challenge™ 2011

FUELING BUSINESS GROWTH WITH INNOVATION AND TALENT DEVELOPMENT

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The Conference Board CEO Challenge™ 2011Fueling Business Growth with Innovation and Talent DevelopmentRESEARCH REPORT TCB-R-1474-11-RR

5 Preface

7 Challenges It’s All about Growth

8 Regional View Contrasting Cultures, Divergent Needs, Different Solutions

12 Industry View Growth, Talent, and Government Regulation Top the Charts

13 Company Size View Growth and Talent Are Chief Concerns for Companies of All Sizes

15 Strategies Innovation and Talent to the Rescue

16 Business Growth Strategic Links in the Global Growth Chain

21 Talent Developing Leaders, Improving Effectiveness

27 Cost Optimization Bigger Is Better, but Technology and People Count Too

32 Innovation Mashing Up Technology, Culture, and Talent to Find the Next Big Thing

37 Government Regulation Obstacle or Opportunity?

42 Strategies to Meet Unique Challenges

45 Survey sample

46 Acknowledgments

Preface

www.conferenceboard.org Research Report The conference board CEO Challenge 2011 5

Global events in the first part of 2011 demonstrate just how fragile and interdepen-dent—and ultimately resilient—the world’s economic system is. Meeting the business challenges selected by 704 CEOs in The Conference Board CEO Challenge 2011 Survey would require herculean effort, even in a world immune from shocks and surprises.

As this report goes to press in April 2011, the effects of the earthquake in Japan, the political distress in the energy-rich Middle East, labor unrest and wage pressures in Asia, and the ongoing sovereign-debt crisis in Europe all continue to underscore why crisis and risk management, flexibility, and agility need to be part of any corporation’s or government’s DNA. While it will take considerable time before the full impact of these events can be measured, the effort to meet the top five challenges chosen by CEOs in our survey (Business Growth, Talent, Cost Optimization, Innovation, and Government Regulation) just became more difficult.

Perhaps the only certainty in the coming years is that more shocks to the global eco-nomic system will occur. With the center of consumer and business gravity shifting from advanced to emerging markets—clearly an issue CEOs must deal with on a strategic level—short-term shocks demand immediate attention at an operational and tactical level. The “challenge of challenges” for CEOs, however, is to focus on meeting the long-term issues outlined in this report and putting their companies on a solidly sustainable path to growth.

If anything, the challenges cited by CEOs will grow more intense as the world and its surprising “black swans” highlight the volatility and unpredictability of today’s complex and interdependent business environment and the importance of being innovative to cope successfully.

A New Survey for 2011

This year’s survey is entirely new

and features a fully revised and con-

densed set of 10 overall challenges

(down from 84 in previous surveys)

and a more in-depth strategy

section. From November 2010 to

January 2011, CEOs were asked to

rank order the top three challenges

they anticipated their companies

will face in the coming year. The 704

responses were weighted according

to the country GDP of each respon-

dent. Regional, industry sector, and

revenue groups were also weighted

based on individual country GDP

shares. Each response was assigned

a weight according to its relative

ranking. A challenge ranked number

one, therefore, was assigned greater

importance than a challenge ranked

number three. The calculation of

the mean of the ranks resulted in

an overall score. (If a challenge was

not chosen, it was assigned a value

of zero.) To get deeper insights

into how CEOs plan to meet their

challenges, respondents were also

asked to rank order three critical

strategies for meeting their top

three challenges, which resulted in

an “importance-adjusted” score for

each strategy.

Due to this survey redesign, any

year-over-year comparisons (the

first CEO Challenge report was

published in 1999) in this report

are limited to broad trends rather

than specific challenges. Upcoming

releases of the CEO Challenge

Survey results will use the new

model, which will hopefully allow

for specific comparisons in future

reports.

Challenges


IT’S ALL ABOUT GROWTH

According to respondents to The Conference Board CEO Challenge 2011 Survey, com-panies are revving their engines for growth. CEOs from around the world cite Business Growth as the “most important” issue they face. However, while they may be in agree-ment on the importance of growth (no other challenge is ranked higher in the global results for industry and company size), the strategies CEOs cite as critical to meeting this challenge differ considerably by geography, by industry, and by company size, although slightly less so for the latter two.

Since 1999, the CEO Challenge Survey has asked CEOs, presidents, and chairmen across the globe to identify their most critical challenges. According to the 704 top executives who responded to the 2011 survey, it’s all about reorienting their organizations toward growth after years of hunkering down to combat the effects of the global recession and, in some cases, to fight for survival.

With growth clearly established as the critical challenge for CEOs, the next four most highly ranked challenges—Talent, Cost Optimization, Innovation, and Government Regulation—all have links to the growth chain. (For more information on the new sur-vey model, see “A New Survey for 2011” on page 5.) The first three of the four are clearly enablers of growth, both for the top and the bottom line, while Government Regulation, depending on the industry, the country, or even a CEO’s personal view about govern-ment’s role in the markets, can be seen as either an obstacle to growth or an opportunity for innovation and new product lines.

The three “most important” strategies that CEOs pick to deal with their top challenges reflect the growing complexity of the global business environment. They also highlight the need for the coordinated interaction of diverse parts within their organizations. Meeting these challenges will demand clear organizational alignment, teamwork, and, not least of all, strong, thoughtful, and visionary leadership.

N=704

Number of observations varies for

each challenge.

Each score represents the mean of

the ranks given the challenge. For

more information on how the scores

were created, see “A New Survey

for 2011” on page 5.

1 Business growth 1.65

2 Talent .74

3 Cost optimization .72

4 Innovation .70

5 Government regulation .59

6

Corporate brand and reputation .42

7 Customer relationships .40

8 Sustainability .37

9 International expansion .29

10 Investor relations .09

Business growth is the top-ranked challenge globally

scorerankimportance-adjusted top three strategies

Research Report The conference board CEO Challenge 2011 www.conferenceboard.org8

REGIONAL VIEWCONTRASTING CULTURES, DIVERGENT NEEDS, DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS

The top challenges selected by CEOs in Asia, Europe, and the United States clearly reflect the economic, business, and political realities of their specific business environ-ments. (There were respondents from outside of the three listed regions. Their responses are included in the global results, but the results for the “Rest of world” category are not discussed in the report.) There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with the regional impact of the forces driving global business today.

Only two challenges are ranked in the top five in all three regions: Business Growth and Innovation. Following the deep recession of 2008–2009 and the ongoing shifts of the sites of production from the Western world to emerging markets—especially those in Asia—it is no surprise that growing one’s business is considered the key to success. And since we have returned to an era of hyperglobal competition, where the market advantage derived from new products or technologies can be relatively short-lived, the selection of inno-vation as a shared critical concern is hardly surprising. When looking at the strategies to drive innovation selected by CEOs in each region, there is a clear recognition that a culture of innovation, which fosters entrepreneurship and risk taking and is realized by an incentivized talent pool, is required to produce the stream of new ideas needed for companies to remain competitive on the global stage.

Differences in regional rankings refl ect unique challenges

Global

N=704 Importance-adjusted top three challenges

Asia

N=174

Europe

N=169

United States

N=261

1 Business growth 2 1 1

2 Talent 1 7 T4

3 Cost optimization 6 2 T4

4 Innovation 3 3 3

5 Government regulation 7 5 2

6 Corporate brand and reputation 4 9 8

7 Customer relationships 8 4 7

8 Sustainability 5 8 9

9 International expansion 9 6 6

10 Investor relations 10 10 10

N=Number of overall respondents. Response rate varies for each challenge.

T=Tie


ASIATALENT IS THE TOP CHALLENGE; CORPORATE BRAND AND REPUTATION AND SUSTAINABILITY ARE ALSO CONCERNS

CEOs in Asia cite Talent—finding it, growing it, keeping it, and rewarding it—as the “most important” challenge they face, making Asia the only region where Business Growth is not the number one issue. A focus on aggressive growth targets, rapidly chang-ing business models, workforce demographics and preparedness issues, and the demand for language skills means there is constant pressure to keep the talent pipeline filled. This is consistent with earlier editions of the CEO Challenge Survey in which “finding qualified managerial talent” consistently ranked higher in Asia than in other regions.1

Both Corporate Brand and Reputation and Sustainability are two of the five top chal-lenges in Asia, the only region where these two issues receive such a high ranking. These challenges speak to recent high-profile incidents related to quality that have plagued the region, and China in particular (chemically tainted pet food and toothpaste, baby formula, toys infused with lead paint), as well as growing strains on resources, environ-mental quality, and the social fabric.

The region is home to some of the world’s fastest growing economies, but such rapid development has come at a high cost. Much of emerging Asia’s growth has been heavily dependent on carbon-intensive, polluting industries and labor-intensive manufacturing. Growing concerns about the region’s unbalanced growth model and its long-term impact on natural resources, public health, and social equity are forcing governments to take significant regulatory action toward implementing a more sustainable growth model that encourages markets to reward responsible business practices. Despite these pressures, CEOs in Asia rank Government Regulation seventh out of the 10 challenges.

Increased public exposure of corporate misconduct, including revelations made by China’s rapidly growing online community, nongovernmental organizations, and the media, are raising the profile of reputational issues on CEOs’ business agendas. In a recent survey by The Conference Board about sustainability and reputational issues in the region, more than 50 percent of Chinese companies said that environmental pol-lution and increasing income differentials will have a significant impact on their busi-nesses in the long term. The survey results also show that “reputation/public image” is one of the top three drivers for Chinese companies when they consider investment in corporate sustainability programs.2

1 CEOs in Asia ranked the “finding qualified managerial talent” challenge seventh in the 2009 survey and first in the 2007 survey. Source: CEO Challenge 2010: Top 10 Challenges, The Conference Board, Research Report 1461, 2010, p. 8; and Esther V. Rudis, CEO Challenge: Perspectives and Analysis: 2007 Edition, The Conference Board, Research Report 1418, 2008, p. 9.

2 The Conference Board China Corporate Sustainability Survey is scheduled for publication in spring 2011.

N=174


each challenge.






1 Talent 1.36


3 Innovation .73

4 Corporate brand and reputation .64






Asia CEOs rank talent theirmost critical challenge

6 Cost optimization .51



EUROPEPAYING FOR HIGH WAGES AND SLOW GROWTH

In Europe, the focus is on Business Growth and Cost Optimization. These choices reflect the region’s overall economic climate, which has been characterized by the uneven speed of recession recovery on a country-by-country basis; structural issues concerning mar-kets and labor; the expensive euro; national debt crises in Spain, Ireland, Portugal, and Greece; and the region’s relatively weak productivity growth.

While the region as a whole has emerged from the global recession relatively late, some countries—and especially Germany, which is reliant on exports to fuel growth—are seeing robust improvement. Concerns about downside risks, however, are still preva-lent in many parts of the region. Stubbornly slow growth in some internal markets, tax increases (which, in many cases, are being absorbed by companies rather than passed on to battered consumers), and concerns about the financial health of some of the region’s banks have caused many CEOs in Europe to keep a cautious eye on the bottom line. Their stance is similar to that of many U.S. CEOs before the U.S. rebound began.

Europe is also the only region to rank Customer Relationships a top five challenge, although the notion of listening to customers is also woven throughout the strategies selected by CEOs in the United States and Asia. In some European industries—tele-communications, banking, travel, and utilities—deregulation and increased choices for consumers have reinforced the need to enhance the loyalty and retention of existing customers. The explosion of technology and social media tools has also created a more knowledgeable and demanding consumer, which may have led respondents to put even more emphasis on maintaining positive relationships with customers.

As in the United States, where it is ranked second, Government Regulation is considered a major challenge in Europe, although it is ranked lower. This is probably a reflection of the region’s long experience with a relatively high degree of regulation.

Like their counterparts in the United States and Asia, CEOs in Europe also give a high rank to Innovation, which is the third “most important” challenge in the region.

N=169


each challenge.







2 Cost optimization 1.12

3 Innovation .66


7 Talent .30



Europe Cost optimization follows business growth as a top challenge






THE UNITED STATESGOVERNMENT REGULATION IS A CRITICAL CONCERN

The attention paid by CEOs in the United States to Government Regulation, which is their second-ranked challenge, is greater than the emphasis placed on the concern by executives in Asia (where it is ranked seventh) and Europe (where it is ranked fifth). The influence of the regulatory environment first appeared as a top 10 global challenge in 2009, when it zoomed from twenty-sixth place in the 2008 “crisis” edition of the survey to tenth.3

Although U.S. CEOs see legislation as a challenge, it is a challenge that has the potential to be viewed as an obstruction to growth or as an incentive to increased innovation and opportunity creation. While some CEOs undoubtedly take the latter view and look for ways to adjust their business models to profit from the new reality, there is evidence that many view it as a negative. In the October 2010 edition of a survey conducted three times a year by The Conference Board for The Business Council, a U.S.-based association of CEOs from some of the world’s largest business enterprises, members expressed a strong message of concern about increasing government regulation and intervention, especially, but not only, in the United States. When asked to rate a wide range of risks to the business climate, 88 percent of Business Council members cited greater U.S. government regulation as a “high” or “very high” risk, and 71 percent said that government regulation and poli-cies that create an uneven playing field were “high” or “very high” business climate risks in all countries. The emphasis on government regulatory risk was in contrast to other listed risks. For example, slightly more than half of respondents said that trade protection and slowing growth in advanced economies were “high” or “very high” risks, and only about 38 percent saw adverse public attitudes toward business as a major risk.4

3 CEO Challenge 2010: Top 10 Challenges, p. 5.

4 CEO Survey Results, The Business Council in collaboration with The Conference Board, October 2010.

N=261


each challenge.






T=Tie



3 Innovation .63

T4 Cost optimization .61



United States Government regulation is the second-ranked challenge


T4 Talent .61





INDUSTRY VIEWGROWTH, TALENT, AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION TOP THE CHARTS

CEOs in all three industry sectors—manufacturing, financial services, and non-financial services—cite Business Growth as their number one challenge. Talent, Cost Optimization, and Government Regulation all land in the top five, although the latter is of greatest concern, as would be expected, to the financial services sector.

CEOs in the manufacturing sector, which faces highly variable costs on inputs, rank Cost Optimization their second “most important” challenge, compared to their counter-parts in financial (fourth place) and nonfinancial services (fifth place). For their part, CEOs in the financial services sector rank Government Regulation their second most crit-ical challenge, and they are the only sector to rank Corporate Brand and Reputation a top five challenge. They are also the only group that does not rank Innovation among their top challenges, although financial services CEOs do rank introduce innovations and new value propositions their second “most important” strategy for pursing growth (page 19). This disconnect may be the result of CEOs in financial services holding a narrower view of innovation than their colleagues in other industries.

Cost optimization is critical to manufacturing, while one of the fi nancial sector’s top

concerns is government regulation

Global Importance-adjusted top three challenges

Manufacturing

N=265

Financial

services

N=104

Nonfinancial

services

N=330

1 Business growth 1 1 1

2 Talent 4 3 2

3 Cost optimization 2 5 4

4 Innovation 3 7 3

5 Government regulation 5 2 5

6 Corporate brand and reputation 6 4 8

7 Customer relationships 9 6 6

8 Sustainability 7 8 7

9 International expansion 8 9 9

10 Investor relations 10 10 10



COMPANY SIZE VIEWGROWTH AND TALENT ARE CHIEF CONCERNS FOR COMPANIES OF ALL SIZES

Whatever their revenues, CEOs participating in the survey rank Business Growth and Talent their top two challenges, which indicates that CEOs do see a strong talent pool as an enabler of growth. While the rank order of the remaining challenges varies according to size, Cost Optimization also makes the top five in each size category.

For the smallest companies (those with annual sales of less than $1 billion), Customer Relationships cracks the top five, but Government Regulation, a top five challenge in the other remaining three size categories (and number three after Business Growth and Talent for the largest firms) does not. Unlike respondents in the other size groups, execu-tives from the largest companies (those with annual sales of $15 billion or more) do not rank Innovation a top five challenge, even though their top strategy for pursuing growth is introduce innovations and new value propositions (page 20). As with the similar ratings for the financial services industries, CEOs of the largest companies may have a narrower definition of innovation and see it as more of a tool to fuel growth and less as an end in itself. CEOs from this largest group also rank Corporate Brand and Reputation their fourth “most important” challenge, which underscores the importance they place on their public face as a critical but fragile intangible asset that can account for a large por-tion of their market value.

Industries of all revenue sizes are focused on growth and talent

Global Importance-adjusted top three challenges

Less than

$1 billion

N=309

$1 billion to

under $5 billion

N=160

$5 billion to

under $15 billion

N=72

$15 billion

and above

N=82

1 Business growth 1 1 1 1

2 Talent 2 2 2 2

3 Cost optimization 4 3 3 5

4 Innovation 3 5 4 6

5 Government regulation 8 4 5 3

6 Corporate brand and reputation 6 8 9 4

7 Customer relationships 5 7 7 8

8 Sustainability 7 6 6 9

9 International expansion 9 9 8 7

10 Investor relations 10 10 10 NR


NR=Strategy was not ranked by any of the respondents.

Strategies


INNOVATION AND TALENT TO THE RESCUE

After ranking their top three challenges, CEOs ranked their top three strategies to meet these challenges. The specific strategies CEOs chose highlight the importance of talent management and innovation—not just in products and services but in processes, business models, and organizational design. The range of strategies selected also demonstrates a demand for a cross-functional, enterprise-wide approach; reliance on new technologies; and, in the case of Business Growth, Innovation, and Government Regulation, an open (and perhaps new for many organizations) approach to alliances and collaboration that may include nontraditional partners. To successfully respond to the CEO challenges, organiza-tions must both leverage their core fundamentals and try new approaches while maintain-ing alignment with their overall business strategy. All of this will place greater demands on corporate leadership teams for flawless and timely execution and a more flexible and less autocratic leadership style throughout their organizations.

Top fi ve strategies to meet the top fi ve challenges

Global Challenge #1

Business GrowthGlobal Challenge #2

TalentGlobal Challenge #3

Cost OptimizationGlobal Challenge #4

InnovationGlobal Challenge #5

Government Regulation

1 Develop or expand sustainable products/services portfolio

Improve leadership development programs, grow talent internally

Redesign business processes

Apply new technologies (product, process, information, etc.)

Engage with competitors and/or critical stakeholders to influence regulatory agenda

2 Introduce innova-tions and new value propositions

Enhance effectiveness of the senior management team

Improve productivity of employees

Foster entrepreneurship, innovation, and appropriate risk taking

Increase lobbying activities to promote a level playing field

3 Enter or expand into emerging markets

Provide employee training and development

Achieve economies of scale through product/process standardization and harmonization

Engage in strategic alliances with customers, suppliers, and/or other business partners

Engage with the public to influence government

4 Increase value offer-ing by improving the price-quality ratio of products/services

Improve leadership succession planning

Achieve economies of scale through business growth

Find, engage, and incentivize relevant talent

Strengthen internal regulatory compliance processes

5 Seek external growth through mergers & acquisitions (tie)

Hire more talent in the open market

Invest in new technologies and automation

Change business model Engage in public/private partnerships

Enter or expand into new customer/client segments(tie)


BUSINESS GROWTHSTRATEGIC LINKS IN THE GLOBAL GROWTH CHAIN

While global rankings cite the development of sustainable products and services as the key strategy to fuel growth, U.S. CEOs are far less enthusiastic about this approach than their counterparts in Asia and Europe. Business leaders in all three regions have their eye on emerging markets and merger and acquisition targets, and all agree that these initiatives will require an innovative approach.

CEOs are looking to new ideas, new products, and new markets to drive growth. Their strategy set is a balanced mix that links internally focused actions (development of sustainable products, improved quality, and new value propositions for products and services) to external expansion (expansion into emerging markets, growth through mergers and acquisitions, and moving into new customer and client segments).

But a look beyond the global results reveals that the emphasis is not the same in all regions. Take the develop or expand sustainable products/services portfolio strategy, which emerges as the number one importance-adjusted strategy for driving Business Growth globally.

Global Europe United StatesAsiachallenge

rank 1 1 12

Global

N=463 Importance-adjusted top three strategies

Asia

N=92

Europe

N=116

United States

N=200

1Develop or expand sustainable products/services portfolio

1 T 2 7

2Introduce innovations and new value propositions

4 T 2 1

3 Enter or expand into emerging markets 5 1 3

4Increase value offering by improving the price-quality ratio of products/services

3 T4 6

T 5Seek external growth through mergers and acquisitions

2 7 4

T 5Enter or expand into new customer/client segments

7 6 2

7 Introduce new products/services 6 T4 5

8 Enter or expand into developed markets 12 8 8

9 Increase speed to market 8 9 T 9

10 Enter or expand into new industries 9 12 T 9

11Bring business decision making closer to local markets

10 11 11

12 Provide products/services for public sector 11 13 13

13 Provide products/services at lower price 13 10 12

N=Number of overall respondents. Response rate varies for each strategy.

T=Tie

Business Growth Strategies CEOs in Asia and Europe look to sustainable products to drive growth


While CEOs in Asia rank it their number one strategy and the strategy ties for second with introduce innovations and new value propositions in Europe, respondents in the United States rank it seventh of the 13 listed strategies. Are U.S. CEOs behind the curve when it comes to understanding the components of sustainability as a growth driver? Probably not. Sustainability is at the forefront in Asia, where unbridled growth has led to increased government concern that may force CEOs to address the issue, and in Europe, where CEOs are faced with government mandates for sustainable products and practices.5 Although many U.S. CEOs clearly recognize the need to address sustainabil-ity in some form, the real issue may be execution. CEOs in the region may not be certain how their organizations should address it or even how to define it. (For more back-ground on this problem, see “The Sustainability Challenge at the Board Level” on page 18.) Sustainability requires a mindset shift from short-term goals to long-term horizons, which in many cases may conflict with pay and performance criteria.

U.S. companies, which at least until recently have been less constrained by legislation concerning the environmental effects of their operations, may therefore also have been more pragmatic and less strategic about driving their businesses with sustainability. Once it is clear that sustainability contributes to the bottom line, it will be incorporated into business strategy.

Demands from customers, employees, governments, “activist” shareholders, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for sustainable practices and products are changing expectations and creating potential for new markets. Consumers around the world are developing “green” expectations for pollution-free manufacturing, resource-efficient products, recyclable packaging, organic food products, and paperless invoicing. As a result, savvy companies are seeking ways to turn sustainability into a market advantage and a growth driver. The clear challenge for business is how to implement sustainability-centric approaches that respond to customer demand and ecological and social account-abilities while delivering on the financial bottom line.

The development of sustainable products and services is also linked to the need to introduce innovations and new value propositions, which is the number two strategy glob-ally and number one in the United States. CEOs clearly understand that as competition grows and the speed of innovation erodes market advantage by commoditizing once-exclusive products and services, the value proposition presented to today’s informed customers is more critical to growth than ever. CEOs also recognize that being first to market with an innovative product or service may no longer be enough to ensure growth. In the results of the CEO Challenge 2009 Survey, “corporate reputation for quality products/services” was the sixth-ranked global concern.6 Quality still counts for execu-tives, and increase value offering by improving the price-quality ratio of products/services is the fourth-ranked global strategy to fuel growth. Indeed, the advantages of being a first mover can be huge, but they can also quickly dissipate as more functional, better-priced products or services are introduced. (U.S. CEOs rank the category sixth, but an argument can be made that the quality function in the very competitive U.S. market may already be more advanced and embedded throughout U.S. companies.)

5 For an example of European environmental regulations, see the Renewed EU Sustainable Development Strategy (ec.europe.eu/environment/eussd).

6 CEO Challenge 2010, p. 5.


If you want growth, then you must go where the growth is. Emerging and developing countries, which accounted for only 40 percent of global output in 2000, will account for 60 percent by 2020.

Enter or expand into emerging markets is the top-ranked of four “expansion” strategies for supporting growth. It is the third-ranked strategy globally, and top executives in Europe rank it number one. CEOs’ interest in this strategy is in many ways a no-brainer. If you want growth, then you must go to the emerging markets where the growth is and place less emphasis on the advanced economies that lag behind.

China and India are now the largest and most dynamic economies in productivity terms (measured as output per persons employed), registering 8.7 percent and 5.4 percent growth, respectively, in 2010. Brazil is another emerging economy that continued to strengthen its productivity performance (4 percent growth) in 2010, outperforming the Latin American region as a whole (3.2 percent growth).7 Indeed, the world economy has reached a tipping point when it comes to global growth. According to data from The Conference Board Global Economic Outlook, emerging and developing countries, which accounted for only 40 percent of global output in 2000, will account for 60 percent by 2020.8

7 For more information, see the “2011 Productivity Brief Key Findings,” which is available on The Conference Board Total Economy Database website (www.conferenceboard.org/data/economydatabase/).

8 These estimates from The Conference Board Global Economic Outlook 2011 are adjusted for differences in relative price levels between countries through the use of purchasing power parities, which take different price levels between countries into account. For more information on these adjustments, see “Global Economic Outlook 2011 — Key Results” on The Conference Board website (www.conference-board.org/data/globaloutlook_results.cfm).

The Sustainability Challenge at the Board Level

One explanation for why U.S. CEOs give develop or expand sustainable products/services portfolio a low mark as a growth strategy may be the lack of a structural

framework to enable proper director oversight of corporate sustainability. According

to a survey conducted by The Conference Board in 2009, many U.S. companies lack

access to independent sources of information, as well as the detailed procedures and

metrics needed to effectively integrate social objectives into daily business activi-

ties. However, a rapidly developing regulatory climate and the increased sensitivity of

enforcement authorities to the risk implications of environmental issues have opened

the door to shareholder activism in this field. As a result, directors are expected to

understand the rationale of requests for change and to adapt strategies and processes

to evolving market trends and emerging standards.

Source: Matteo Tonello, “Sustainability in the Boardroom,” The Conference Board, Director Notes 8, June 2010.


BUSINESS GROWTHBY INDUSTRY

Unlike their counterparts in the services industries, who are primarily focused on product development and new customer segments, CEOs in the manufacturing sector are targeting a mix of external and internal strategies to meet the growth challenge. Enter or expand into emerging markets is their top strategy, followed by develop or expand sustainable products/services portfolio—a strategy representatives from the services sectors also give a high rank, albeit without the same emphasis. CEOs from all three sectors are looking to introduce innovations and new value propositions as a strategy for growth.

Manufacturing Financial Services Nonfinancial Serviceschallenge

rank 111

Business Growth Strategies While manufacturers eye emerging markets for growth,

service providers look to innovation

Importance-adjusted top three strategies

Manufacturing

N=170

Financial

services

N=75

Nonfinancial

services

N=214

Enter or expand into emerging markets 1 7 7

Develop or expand sustainable products/services portfolio

2 4 3

Introduce innovations and new value propositions

3 2 1

Seek external growth through mergers and acquisitions

4 6 5

Introduce new products/services 5 5 6

Increase value offering by improving the price-quality ratio of products/services

6 1 4

Increase speed to market 7 9 10

Enter or expand into new customer/client segments

8 3 2

Enter or expand into developed markets 9 10 8

Enter or expand into new industries 10 11 11

Bring business decision making closer to local markets

11 8 9

Provide products/services at lower price 12 13 13

Provide products/services for public sector 13 12 12



BUSINESS GROWTHBY COMPANY SIZE

Companies in the two smallest size categories (those with annual sales less than $5 billion) also rank the sustainable development strategy their number one tactic to support growth, while larger companies rank it fifth. For the latter group, enter or expand into emerging markets is considered much more critical for growth. The strategy ranks first in the $5 billion to under $15 billion category and second for respondents from the $15 billion and above bracket, who rank introduce innovations and new value propositions number one. Only the smallest companies rank seek external growth through mergers and acquisitions in their top five strategies.

Less than $1 billion

$5 billion to under $15 billion

$15 billionand above


challenge

rank 1 1 1 1

Business Growth Strategies Smaller companies are interested in sustainable products/services;

larger companies indicate plans to expand into emerging markets


Less than

$1 billion

N=216

$1 billion to

under $5 billion

N=99

$5 billion to

under $15 billion

N=55

$15 billion

and above

N=58

Develop or expand sustainable products/services portfolio 1 1 5 5

Introduce innovations and new value propositions

2 3 3 1

Enter or expand into new customer/client segments

3 9 4 3

Introduce new products/services 4 7 2 T 11

Seek external growth through mergers and acquisitions

5 6 6 6

Increase value offering by improving the price-quality ratio of products/services

6 2 7 4

Enter or expand into emerging markets 7 5 1 2

Increase speed to market 8 10 8 8

Enter or expand into developed markets 9 8 11 7

Bring business decision making closer to local markets

10 11 9 9

Enter or expand into new industries 11 4 10 T 11

Provide products/services for public sector 12 13 NR 10

Provide products/services at lower price 13 12 12 13



T=Tie


TALENTDEVELOPING LEADERS, IMPROVING EFFECTIVENESS

CEOs are focused on developing leaders and maximizing the effectiveness of their management teams. On a regional basis, however, clear differences in strategy reflectthe varying realities of talent markets around the world.

CEOs responding to the survey give high priority to improve leadership development programs, grow talent internally, which is the first-ranked strategy globally and in the United States. For CEOs in Europe, the strategy ties for first place with promote and reward entrepreneurship and risk taking, and CEOs in Asia rank it second. The stress put on this strategy and the second-ranked enhance effectiveness of the senior management team reveals that CEOs are looking beyond identifying talent and are now considering


rank 2 7 T41

Talent Strategies Leadership development is a top talent strategy in all regions

Global


Asia

N=104

Europe

N=34

United States

N=85

1Improve leadership development programs, grow talent internally

2 T1 1

2Enhance effectiveness of the senior management team

1 10 4

3 Provide employee training and development 3 7 3

4 Improve leadership succession planning 4 11 6

5 Hire more talent in the open market 11 4 2

6Promote and reward entrepreneurship and risk taking

9 T1 7

7 Raise employee engagement 5 13 5

8 Increase diversity and cross-cultural competencies 8 3 8

9Flatten organization, empower leadership from the bottom up

T6 5 11

10 Redesign financial rewards and incentives T6 6 9

11 Manage multigenerational workforce 12 9 10

12Invest in education system to improve workforce readiness

10 8 13

13Invest in automation and technology to reduce exposure to the scarcity of talent

13 12 12

14Redesign benefits (e.g., health care and retirement)

14 NR NR



T=Tie


how they can more strategically apply their talent management processes. As markets expand and customer bases change, so do the skills needed by employees, and this requirement is reflected in provide employee training and development, the third-ranked strategy globally for addressing issues of talent management.

The task of improving an organization’s leadership development programs, however, rests squarely on the shoulders of its CEO. Too often, according to leadership develop-ment practitioners, leadership development is viewed by the C-suite as an event rather than a long-term strategic program that requires serious commitment and accountability at the top.9 This responsibility cannot be delegated.

CEOs in Asia rank hire more talent in the open market eleventh, while their counterparts in the United States and Europe rank it much higher. This probably refl ects the realities of the Asian job market, where qualifi ed and experienced talent is generally considered scarce and expensive.

While there is general agreement on the top strategy across all geographies, the regional breakdown of the other strategies for the Talent challenge reveals less consensus on other tactics. In Asia, where Talent is the number one challenge, CEOs appear to be inwardly focused on maximizing the impact and improving the skills and development of the staff they already have. CEOs in Asia rate the hire more talent in the open market strategy elev-enth out of 14, while their counterparts in the United States (second) and Europe (fourth) rank it much higher. This result may reflect the realities of the Asian job market, where qualified and experienced talent is generally considered scarce and expensive. Classic retention strategies are often less than fully effective in a white-hot talent market where highly qualified employees have considerable leverage.

CEOs in the United States and Asia are also looking to raise employee engagement as a talent management tool. It came in as the fifth “most important” strategy in those two regions (it is ranked thirteenth in Europe and seventh globally).

In Europe, CEOs’ Talent efforts appear to reflect their top strategies for Business Growth—expand into emerging markets and introduce innovations and new value proposition. CEOs in the region are the only ones to rank increase diversity and cross-cultural competencies, promote and reward entrepreneurship and risk taking, and flatten organization, empower leader-ship from the bottom up in their top five talent strategies. The notion that global business is a complex, demanding, and borderless expanse of diverse markets, customers, and employees is clearly not lost on European CEOs. Many of their organizations are already struggling to integrate diverse labor forces and seize the opportunities that Europe’s highly diverse and fragmented markets present.

9 Go Where There Be Dragons: Leadership Essentials for 2020 and Beyond, The Conference Board, Council Perspectives 23, October 2010. This report reflects the wisdom of more than 100 executives from seven of The Conference Board Councils in Europe, the United States, and Asia who were asked define the global forces that are influencing the structure of leadership and the essential skills and behaviors that will define an effective twenty-first-century leader.


The fifth-rank position of flatten organization, empower leadership from the bottom up for executives in Europe indicates a perceived link between their talent strategies and innovation. Some organizations in Europe and North America are already experimenting with this inverted leadership model—leading from the bottom—as a way to harness knowledge and develop innovative ideas from their workers on the frontlines. This approach can result ina whole new pool of empowered talent ready to lead new initiatives and foster innovation.

This flattening of hierarchical structures also appeals to the new generations in the workforce. After all, Gen X and Gen Y leaders are used to operating in networks, and networks challenge hierarchies and traditional corporate structures. Of course, inverted leadership may not be suited to all industries or cultures. In Asia, for example, tradi-tional Confucian, Buddhist, and Islamic values may well mean that leadership models that rely on benign authority and clear hierarchy are more effective.

While there is no clear consensus on the top-ranked strategies for meeting the Talent challenge, there is some consensus on the lowest. CEOs in Asia are the only respondents to rank redesign benefits (e.g., health care and retirement) as a strategy, and they rank it last. A similar pattern can be seen in the cuts for industry (page 25) and company size (page 26) strategies. Given the headlines in developed countries regarding health care costs, delayed retirement, competitive labor pools, and changing demographics, this consistently low ranking is surprising.

Several factors may be at work:

• There is a great deal of uncertainty about how health care reform (in whatever repealed or amended form it eventually takes) will affect benefits for current and prospective employees, particularly those in the United States. Any plans made now would most certainly need to be reevaluated as the legislation moves through the courts and other legislation takes effect.

• Many companies have already spent the last few years looking at ways to trim costs and have, in many cases, already shifted to a model that shares costs with employees.

• In many emerging markets, talent is not expected to remain at a single company for long, and companies may be shifting from long-term retirement benefits to short-term compensation strategies to hire more talent in the open market, a strategy consistently ranked higher.

Workforce preparedness is, evidently, not high on the minds of CEOs, even though it does represent a long-term challenge to national competitiveness. Invest in education system to improve workforce readiness ranks twelfth out of the 14 globally, thirteenth in the United States, tenth in Asia, and eighth in Europe.


Why Asia Is Different — Open Source Leadership Development

Rapidly changing business models, workforce demo-

graphics and preparedness, language skills, the battle

between national cultures and corporate cultures, and

a focus on aggressive growth targets means there is

constant pressure on talent management and leadership

development professionals to meet what many on the

receiving end view as near-impossible targets for basic

recruitment and retention. In Asia, accelerated growth

also means there is tremendous demand for accelerated

leadership development programs — sometimes cutting

what would normally be a three- or five-year develop-

ment track down to one to three years — that corporate

headquarters may still consider too slow.

Questions of leadership potential and how a company

deals with it can be far more complicated in Asia. Growth

projections and plans are often disconnected from the

reality of the talent pipeline in Asia. Moreover, compa-

nies that have found success in the fast development

of potential leaders many times end up being a “net

exporter” of rising talent, often to their competitors. In

a hot labor market, retention efforts often do little to

prevent good people, even those who may be years away

from reaching their leadership potential, from revolving

out the door.

In such an era, “open source” leadership development is

the more pragmatic reality for many companies. In this

model, companies train people, they leave, and the com-

pany keeps in touch in the hopes that some will come

back after receiving further leadership development

elsewhere. Or, like their competitors, companies hire

trained or partially trained high potentials on the open,

and sometimes very inflated, market and try to merge the

basic leadership training given elsewhere with specific

company cultural traits and competencies.

When it comes to multinationals based outside of Asia,

there can be a fundamental lack of understanding in

corporate headquarters about the complexities and

subtleties of individual country markets, demographics,

and cultures. Companies have only recently begun to

understand that what may work in Vietnam, where the

average local managing director may be in his or her early

30s, loses relevance in Malaysia, where a person in the

same position will likely be in his or her 40s. The notion of

an “Asian strategy” needs to give way to a “China strat-

egy” or even a “Singapore strategy.”

English proficiency is also a major issue, especially in

China. For a high potential to keep moving forward, an

international assignment is critical but impossible without

foreign language proficiency. Intra-Asian assignments,

such as placing a Chinese manager in Vietnam, are also

difficult to fill. Even in-country rotational assignments are

a challenge according to many companies. People just do

not want to move from Beijing to Shanghai or vice versa.

Standard big company practices for expatriation and

rotational assignments may not address these particu-

lar issues. Remuneration strategy in Asia was identified

as an area requiring much more attention. (In the CEO

Challenge Survey, executives in Asia rank redesign finan-cial rewards and incentives sixth, while respondents in the

United States rank the strategy ninth.)

Part of the problem has been that companies have gone

too far in centralizing their leadership development pro-

grams, giving them far too much of a Western orientation

instead of developing them with input on the local level.

What often works is to import the model at the principle

level and then localize it to fit the country culture.

Source: Adapted from Go Where There Be Dragons: Leadership Essentials for 2020 and Beyond, The Conference Board, Council Perspectives 23, 2010.


TALENTBY INDUSTRY

CEOs across all industries cite improve leadership development programs, grow talent internally; enhance effectiveness of the senior management team; and provide employee training and development as powerful strategies to address the Talent challenge. Only manufacturing CEOs cite hire more talent in the open market as one of their top three strategies, a hint perhaps that the sector is beginning to ramp up again as the global eco-nomic recovery picks up steam. Conversely, CEOs in both the financial and nonfinancial sectors rank promote and reward entrepreneurship and risk taking third, while manufac-turing executives rank it eighth.


rank 234

Talent Strategies All sectors give leadership development and enhancing senior management effectiveness high ranks


Manufacturing

N=103

Financial

services

N=34

Nonfinancial

services

N=117

Improve leadership development programs, grow talent internally

1 1 2

Enhance effectiveness of the senior management team

2 2 1

Hire more talent in the open market 3 7 T9

Provide employee training and development 4 4 4

Improve leadership succession planning 5 6 7

Raise employee engagement 6 5 6

Flatten organization, empower leadership from the bottom up

7 13 T9

Promote and reward entrepreneurship and risk taking

8 3 3

Increase diversity and cross-cultural competencies

9 10 5

Redesign financial rewards and incentives 10 9 8

Manage multigenerational workforce 11 8 11

Invest in education system to improve workforce readiness

12 11 12

Invest in automation and technology to reduce exposure to the scarcity of talent

13 12 13

Redesign benefits (e.g., health care and retirement)

14 14 14


T=Tie


TALENTBY COMPANY SIZE

Clearly, Talent, which is the second-ranked challenge for all size categories, is an impor-tant driver of the business growth desired by all companies. Following that, the strate-gies for addressing talent challenges are consistently focused inward.

The two smaller company categories—those with revenues less than $5 billion—rank enhance effectiveness of senior management team and improve leadership development programs, grow talent internally their top two strategies. Companies with revenues between $5 billion and under $15 billion rank enhance effectiveness of senior management team third and raise employee engagement second. With the advent of human capital analytics and the rigor brought by employee engagement’s link to business performance, it’s no wonder that companies of this size are focused on raising their levels of engagement. They may also be making a stronger push for engagement because they find that they cannot compete for talent in the open market with larger companies that have deeper pockets.

Finally, although the largest companies rank leadership development programs first, they are the only group to rank provide employee training and development their second “most important” strategy. Perhaps the layoffs during the global economic crisis have resulted in a heightened awareness of skill gaps that large employers need to fill if employees are to deliver the business growth that is desired.





challenge

rank 2 2 2 2

Talent Strategies Leadership development is the top challenge for three out of the four revenue groups


Less than

$1 billion

N=111

$1 billion to

under $5 billion

N=47

$5 billion to

under $15 billion

N=28

$15 billion

and above

N=32

Enhance effectiveness of the senior management team 1 2 3 8

Improve leadership development programs, grow talent internally 2 1 1 1

Promote and reward entrepreneurship and risk taking 3 5 6 10

Provide employee training and development 4 4 8 2

Hire more talent in the open market 5 9 7 5

Improve leadership succession planning 6 8 5 7

Raise employee engagement 7 7 2 4

Flatten organization, empower leadership from the bottom up 8 6 11 14

Invest in education system to improve workforce readiness 9 12 9 12

Redesign financial rewards and incentives 10 3 10 9

Manage multigenerational workforce 11 11 12 6

Increase diversity and cross-cultural competencies 12 10 4 3

Invest in automation and technology to reduce exposure to the scarcity of talent

13 13 13 11

Redesign benefits (e.g., health care and retirement) 14 NR NR 13




COST OPTIMIZATIONBIGGER IS BETTER, BUT TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE COUNT TOO

CEOs see process improvements as a critical driver for optimizing costs. The need to increase employee productivity is another key contributing factor, especially in Asia.

Despite emerging signs of a global economic recovery, CEO responses reveal an under-standing that the pursuit of Cost Optimization is essential to Business Growth and sustainable success. The top global strategies to meet the Cost Optimization challenge all relate to matters of process, whether this means attempts to achieve economies of scale through product/process standardization and harmonization (the third-ranked strategy)


rank 3 2 T46

Cost Optimization Strategies CEOs in all regions seek improvements in processes and productivity

Global


Asia

N=50

Europe

N=82

United States

N=88

1 Redesign business processes 4 1 1

2 Improve productivity of employees 1 4 2

3Achieve economies of scale through product/process standardization and harmonization

3 2 5

4Achieve economies of scale through business growth

2 5 4

5 Invest in new technologies and automation 5 3 3

6Secure lower-cost sources for materials and other input resources

7 6 7

7Achieve synergies through mergers and acquisition

6 9 6

8Reduce management layers, flatten organization

8 8 8

9 Outsource operations 9 12 10

10 Reduce compensation costs NR 7 T12

11 Reduce workforce 13 10 11

12(Re-)/Locate company operations in low-cost countries/regions (offshoring)

12 11 9

13Elevate authority for expenditures to higher management levels

10 NR 14

14 Reduce marketing and promotion costs 11 13 T12

NRReduce investments in research and development

NR NR NR

NR Reduce investments in new technologies NR NR NR



T=Tie


and business growth (the fourth-ranked strategy) or efforts to improve productivity of employees (the second-ranked strategy). Redesign business processes, the first-ranked strategy globally and in the United States and Europe, is an imperative in a world of rapid change and hypercompetition. Better processes eliminate waste—the ineffective and inefficient use of any resource, physical or human—save money, and improve the bottom line. New approaches and measurements of systems and systematic process man-agement are all critical to success. Random management practices, one-off programs, or an inability to align processes with overall business strategy can lead to failure—and higher costs. Cost savings through process improvements are usually much easier to realize than through the reduction of margins on materials and services or wage cutting in a low-wage, post-recession environment.

Improve productivity of employees is the number one strategy for Cost Optimization for CEOs in Asia, the only region to rank Talent as a top challenge. Productivity levels in Asian firms are still well below those of their Western counterparts, especially when the low productivity performance of local suppliers in the value chain is taken into account. Although not ranked as high as in Asia, CEOs in both the United States (where it is the second-ranked strategy) and Europe (where it is ranked fourth) express their support for this approach.

CEOs show little enthusiasm for outsource operations as a strategy for Cost Optimization. They rank it ninth globally and in Asia, tenth in the United States, and twelfth in Europe. A research report by The Conference Board and Duke University found that many companies have lowered their estimations of average achieved cost savings from outsourcing operations. Companies new to offshoring may not anticipate some hidden costs, including sending executives to visit potential providers, training boundary span-ners, and establishing a focal organization offshore (national or regional) to coordinate a complex network of dispersed units and functions, not to mention local recruitment, staff retention, and government and vendor relations.10

None of the CEOs give a rank to strategies related to reductions in investment in new technology and research and development. There is only muted support for reductions in workforce and compensation costs, although CEOs in Europe rank the latter strategy much higher (seventh) than their counterparts in the United States, where it ties for twelfth. None of the CEOs in Asia rank reduce compensation costs as a strategy. These responses may indicate a feeling that reduction strategies, while effective and necessary in a recession, clash with the broader objective of Business Growth.

10 Arie Y. Lewin, Nidthida Perm-Ajcharlyawong, and Jeff Russell, Taking Offshoring to the Next Level: The 2009 Offshoring Research Network Corporate Client Survey Report, The Conference Board, Research Report 1473, 2011, p. 7.


The Global Productivity Race and Cost Optimization

Productivity is the only sustainable driver for long-term growth and competitiveness.

Today, labor productivity levels, which vary widely across the globe, can determine the

competitive challenges that businesses face. For example, the average level of labor

productivity (measured as output per employed person) in East Asia and the Pacific

in 2010 was only 21 percent of the level in the United States, but there were wild

differences in levels in the region. Levels ranged from 3 percent of the U.S. level in

Cambodia to 94 percent in Hong Kong, with China (16 percent) and Japan (69 percent)

falling in between. The less-productive Asian economies are now starting to catch up,

however, to both their more productive peers in the region and the United States. But

if Asian productivity growth rates are double to triple those in the United States, costs

also continue to rise rapidly. Wages in Asian firms are rising very rapidly, hence the

selection of improve productivity of employees as the number one strategy for Asian

CEOs when it comes to cost optimization.

In Europe, productivity levels are on average 81 percent of the U.S. level. As average

wage levels are still much higher in Europe, due to higher personal taxes and social

security payments, than in the United States, it is not surprising that European firms

rank reduce compensation costs much higher than CEOs in the other two regions as

a strategy for Cost Optimization. In European manufacturing firms, wage growth

has significantly moderated as the pressure of a relatively strong euro has forced

firms to make wages a top priority. The alternative or parallel strategy to cost control

is innovation, which not only leads to the production of new products and services,

but can also be a source of cost control in itself through the optimization of business

processes.

Source: Productivity 2011, The Conference Board, 2011 (forthcoming).


COST OPTIMIZATIONBY INDUSTRY

CEOs across industries are looking to a combination of technology, talent, and process improvement to optimize costs. As might be expected, CEOs in the manufacturing sec-tor cite secure lower-cost sources for materials and other input resources as one of their top strategies to meet the Cost Optimization challenge. In a manner similar to the global rankings, reduce investments in research and development and reduce investments in new technologies are not ranked at all.


rank 452

Cost Optimization Strategies Sectors are focused on processes and productivity...


Manufacturing

N=114

Financial

services

N=32

Nonfinancial

services

N=108


1 4 4

Improve productivity of employees 2 3 2

Redesign business processes 3 5 1

Invest in new technologies and automation 4 1 5

Secure lower-cost sources for materials and other input resources

5 7 7


6 2 3

Achieve synergies through mergers and acquisition

7 6 6

Reduce management layers, flatten organization 8 10 T9

(Re-)/Locate company operations in low-cost countries/regions (offshoring)

9 11 14

Outsource operations 10 NR T9

Reduce workforce 11 NR T11

Reduce compensation costs 12 8 T11

Reduce marketing and promotion costs 13 NR 13

Reduce investments in research and development

NR NR NR

Reduce investments in new technologies NR NR NR

Elevate authority for expenditures to higher management levels

NR 9 8



T=Tie


COST OPTIMIZATIONBY COMPANY SIZE

There is general agreement among companies of all sizes on the top strategies neededto achieve Cost Optimization, but there is considerable variation in the rank order.For example, CEOs from all categories give redesign business processes a high rank as a strategy to optimize costs, although the largest companies rank it slightly lower than the others. The largest companies rank achieve economies of scale through business growth and achieve economies of scale through product/process standardization and harmonization their number one and number three strategies, respectively. Meanwhile, the smallest companies cite improve productivity of employees as their top strategy.





challenge

rank 4 3 3 5

Cost Optimization Strategies …As are companies of all sizes


Less than

$1 billion

N=112

$1 billion to

under $5 billion

N=62

$5 billion to

under $15 billion

N=28

$15 billion

and above

N=25

Improve productivity of employees 1 3 3 5

Redesign business processes 2 1 2 4


3 2 1 3

Invest in new technologies and automation 4 6 5 2


5 5 4 1

Reduce management layers, flatten organization

6 9 T 12 8

Achieve synergies through mergers and acquisition

T7 4 9 7

Secure lower-cost sources for materials and other input resources

T7 7 6 6

Reduce workforce 9 12 11 10

Outsource operations 10 10 8 T11

(Re-)/Locate company operations in low-cost countries/regions (offshoring)

T11 11 T 12 9

Reduce marketing and promotion costs T11 13 10 NR

Reduce compensation costs 13 8 NR T11

Reduce investments in research and development

NR NR NR NR

Reduce investments in new technologies NR NR NR NR

Elevate authority for expenditures to higher management levels

NR NR 7 13



T=Tie


INNOVATIONMASHING UP TECHNOLOGY, CULTURE, AND TALENT TO FIND THE NEXT BIG THING

CEOs recognize that technology, while a critical part of innovation, is no magic bullet. Success requires a culture of innovation that values talent and rewards risk taking, win or lose. And it helps to look outside the corporate walls by engaging in alliances with customers and suppliers for the next big idea.

CEOs understand that they need more than technology to cope with the increasingly sophisticated and ever-changing demands of customers and to keep pace with a fast-moving global business environment. Their responses, however, indicate they think it is a pretty good place to start.


rank 4 3 33

Innovation Strategies CEOs see a mix of technology and talent as crucial for meeting the innovation challenge

Global


Asia

N=65

Europe

N=60

United States

N=86

1Apply new technologies (product, process, information, etc.)

1 1 2

2Foster entrepreneurship, innovation, and appropriate risk taking

2 3 1

3Engage in strategic alliances with customers, suppliers, and/or other business partners

6 2 3

4 Find, engage, and incentivize relevant talent 5 5 4

5 Change business model 3 6 5

6 Invest more in research and development 4 4 7

7 Leverage business intelligence 9 9 6

8 Pursue “open innovation” concepts 7 12 9

9 Capitalize on new sustainability expectations 8 8 8

10 Support standardization of technologies 11 10 T10

11Increase use of third-party providers to conduct research and development

NR 7 12

12 Seek government support and funding 10 11 13

13Introduce products and services enabled by social media

NR 13 T10



T=Tie


When it comes to meeting the Innovation challenge, CEOs in Asia and Europe rank apply new technologies (product, process, information, etc.) first, while respondents in the United States rank it second. But rankings of other strategies indicate that organizations are casting a wider net to pursue innovation and are considering strategies that rely on human capital and organizational design. In Europe and the United States, this big-tent approach includes a willingness to engage in strategic alliances with customers, suppliers, and/or other business partners to find the best ideas and solutions more quickly.11 Only CEOs in Asia fail to rank this strategy as one of their five main approaches to Innovation.

It is a business leader’s role to identify and overcome the basic barriers to innovation, and CEO responses to the survey indicate recognition of this task. Foster entrepreneur-ship, innovation, and appropriate risk taking is the second-ranked strategy globally, and all of the regions rank it in their top three. But many of the problems companies face in building a culture of innovation are actually employee engagement issues, which explains the high ranking for the find, engage, and incentivize relevant talent strategy, which is the fourth-ranked global strategy and cracks the top five in each region.

Although it is important to have the best talent in house, what if additional viewpoints are needed? As their organizations throttle back funding for fundamental research, CEOs recognize the importance of tapping into the knowledge of outside partners—customers, suppliers, and other business partners—to achieve mutual goals. Few business leaders in any region, however, appear ready to pursue “open innovation” concepts, which receives a ranking of eight globally. CEOs in Europe rank this strategy lower (twelfth out of 13) than their counterparts in Asia (seventh) and the United States (ninth).

Unlike a light bulb, or perhaps more appropriately an Apple iPad®, innovation cannot be turned on and off. To be successful, it must be pursued consistently and constantly in a culture that not only rewards innovation, but also allows failure. This in itself is a challenge in a world where companies, pressured for short-term results at the expense of long-term vision, have tended to value efficiency over innovation and risk taking. By its very nature, innovation must involve failure. While there may be a large number of promising ideas in the works, few, if any, are true game changers that will transform a market or a company. Funding innovation through investment in a firm’s intangible assets (including human capital), organizational assets, intellectual property, and brand building requires a certain willingness by CEOs to place a bet that an organization will succeed and investments in the company will lead to competitive advantage and growth. CEOs in Asia and Europe rank invest more in research and development in their top five, while U.S. CEOs rank it seventh.

But there is a logical explanation for this result. Clearly, U.S. CEOs know that innova-tion is crucial to growth. In fact, it is increasingly important because the contributions of the traditional inputs to production—physical capital and labor—have plateaued. Improvements in physical capital will no longer produce significant gains in output and/or productivity, while the major gains once realized from increases in the quan-tity and/or skill level of the workforce appear to be leveling out. Thus, companies may increasingly find that the “value add” not does not originate in the traditional inputs of labor and capital, but in the intangible inputs that most enhance them.12

11 For a more in-depth look at the role intangible assets play in fostering innovation, see Janet X. Hao, Kirsten Jäger, Ben Cheng, and Charles R. Hulten, “Innovation and Intangible Assets: Gaining the Competitive Edge in Economic Recovery,” The Conference Board, Executive Action 341, 2011.

12 Innovation and U.S. Competitiveness: Reevaluating the Contributors to Growth, The Conference Board, Research Report 1441, May 2009.


Companies have always depended on their proprietary knowledge (“knowledge stocks”) for value and success, and they have protected them with a vengeance. In a changing world these knowledge stocks can depreciate at a rapid rate—think about diminished product lifecycles, for example. Today, the argument goes, “knowledge flows,” based on widespread interaction across networks outside the corporate walls, will and should replace knowledge stocks as the spurs to innovation and increased efficiency.13

Generally, when Western companies talk about innovation, they focus on technology and products. But the real innovation that is going to count is rethinking how companies interact and build relationships outside the corporate walls. No matter how many smart people an organization has, there are always people who may know a bit more on the outside. If you are not connected to them, then you and your organization may be at a disadvantage.

Knowledge flows and open collaboration challenge traditional notions about how and who organizations trust. They also raise intriguing questions. How do you balance what knowledge needs to be secured behind corporate walls versus what needs to be shared? How do you move in networks in a culture of competition or one where legal issues and property protection are paramount?

In an era of change, rapidly evolving technology, aggressive competition, shifting regula-tory standards, and quicksilver consumer demands, no company can rest on its laurels and expect its current business model, its way of doing business, to last indefinitely. Change business model is the fifth-ranked strategy globally, which may be an indication that CEO respondents find that long-term success and even short-term survival depend on constant adjustments.

Many successful business models developed late in the twentieth century are already obsolete. One only has to look at the recent bankruptcy filing of the U.S.-based book-store chain Borders (slow to the e-book reader market) or the Blockbuster video chain, a traditional video rental business saddled with high overhead and challenged by Netflix, with its new and infinitely more convenient model of delivering content through the mail or, more recently, the internet.

13 Source: John Hagel III, cofounder, Deloitte Center for the Edge, “How Is the World Evolving and What Are the Implications for Talent Management as We Look to 2015?” Presentation to The Conference Board Council of Talent Management Executives, New York, October 2010.


INNOVATIONBY INDUSTRY

Across all industries, CEOs indicate that meeting the Innovation challenge will require a mix of technology, talent, innovation, and alliance building. CEOs in the manufacturing sector rank apply new technologies (product, process, information, etc) higher than their counterparts in the service industries, who give foster entrepreneurship, innovation, and appropriate risk taking the highest rank. Both service sectors also rank change business model third, while manufacturing CEOs rank the strategy sixth.


rank 373

Innovation Strategies All industries are focused on technology and taking risks


Manufacturing

N=103

Financial

services

N=17

Nonfinancial

services

N=119


1 5 2


2 1 1


3 4 5

Invest more in research and development 4 12 8

Find, engage, and incentivize relevant talent 5 2 4

Change business model 6 3 3

Leverage business intelligence 7 T7 6

Capitalize on new sustainability expectations 8 T7 9

Pursue “open innovation” concepts 9 NR 7

Increase use of third-party providers to conduct research and development

10 T10 13

Seek government support and funding T11 T10 T11

Support standardization of technologies T11 11 10

Introduce products and services enabled by social media

13 6 T11



T=Tie


INNOVATIONBY COMPANY SIZE

CEOs of the smallest companies, who rank Innovation their third challenge—the high-est of any size category—are looking to the apply new technologies strategy to drive the improvement of products and processes in their organizations, a strategy consistent with their reliance on new (and sustainable) products and services to drive Business Growth (see page 20). The smallest companies are also considering change business model as part of their innovation strategy, (ranking it third), which speaks to the flexibility and adapt-ability advantage that smaller companies enjoy over larger ones.

As for CEOs from the largest companies, they rank foster entrepreneurship, innovation, and appropriate risk taking first, but they also rank find, engage, and incentivize relevant talent their second “most important” strategy for this challenge, while the company size group directly below ($5 billion to under $15 billion) ranks it ninth.





challenge

rank 3 5 4 6

Innovation Strategies Once again, new technologies and innovation/entrepreneurship are top ranked


Less than

$1 bllion

N=116

$1 billion to

under $5 billion

N=48

$5 billion to

under $15 billion

N=24

$15 billion

and above

N=24


1 2 1 4


2 1 3 1

Change business model 3 7 6 5


4 3 5 3

Invest more in research and development 5 5 2 7

Find, engage, and incentivize relevant talent 6 4 9 2

Leverage business intelligence 7 9 7 8

Capitalize on new sustainability expectations 8 8 8 10

Pursue “open innovation” concepts 9 6 4 6

Increase use of third-party providers to conduct research and development

10 T 12 11 9

Support standardization of technologies 11 11 10 11

Introduce products and services enabled by social media

12 10 NR NR

Seek government support and funding 13 T 12 NR NR



T=Tie


GOVERNMENT REGULATIONOBSTACLE OR OPPORTUNITY?

While it is expected that the emerging regulatory climate will shape future practices, alter playing fields, and place new demands on business leaders to influence policy through a variety of channels, it appears that it may take some getting used to by CEOs in the United States who rank Government Regulation their second “most important” challenge.

When it comes to government oversight and regulation, the pendulum is always in motion. The deregulation of the 1980s has given way to a new era of legislation that is partly driven by a series of critical lapses and scandals in the business world—Enron, Parmalat, the Siemens bribery incident, the BP oil disaster, and the U.S. housing crisis, which was spurred by quasi-government institutions like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The combination of these corporate blunders with the impact of the global financial meltdown has deepened public mistrust of institutions and the governmental regula-tors entrusted to protect them. The regulation fires, especially in the United States, are being stoked by public perception of a causal relationship between deregulation, market failures, and income inequality, as well as what many see as the longer-term impact of deregulation and growing inequality within countries and between nations.

Government Regulation Strategies CEOs in all regions understand they need to engage other players to infl uence the regulatory agenda

Global


Asia

N=29

Europe

N=39

United States

N=116

1Engage with competitors and/or critical stakeholders to influence regulatory agenda

2 2 1

2Increase lobbying activities to promote a level playing field

1 1 2

3Engage with the public to influence government

3 4 3

4Strengthen internal regulatory compliance processes

5 3 4

5 Engage in public/private partnerships 4 6 6

6 Encourage more industry self-regulation 7 5 5

7 Strengthen international tax planning 6 7 8

8Relocate to countries with fewer tax restrictions and less government oversight

8 8 7

NRConsider delisting from certain stock exchanges

NR NR 9




rank 5 5 27


Government Regulation is ranked fifth among the challenges by CEOs on a global basis, but CEOs in the United States rank it second. They appear to be less “regulation toler-ant” than their counterparts in Asia, where executives rank the challenge seventh, and Europe, where respondents rank it fifth. The top-ranked strategies for U.S. CEOs deal with the issue through a combination of external outreach (engage with competitors and/or critical stakeholders to influence regulatory agenda and engage with the public to influence government), direct participation in the legislative process (increase lobbying activities to promote a level playing field), and preemptive action to shore up their own houses (strengthen internal regulatory compliance processes and encourage more industry self-regulation). CEOs in Europe rank the same strategies in their top five, albeit with different rankings, and CEOs in Asia rank four out of the five as their top strategies.

U.S. CEOs, who have grown used to a less-regulated climate (especially compared to that of Europe), consider themselves to be transitioning to a more highly regulated envi-ronment at a time of fragile economic recovery. For some CEOs in the United States, this is more than a challenge to existing habits; it is a potential threat to market position in the next growth phase. The high ranking for develop or expand sustainable products/services portfolio—the number one global strategy to meet the Business Growth chal-lenge—is another indication that Government Regulation is likely to become even more critical to business growth. Why? Because sustainable products and services are a new way of doing things, and these new offerings will be subject to the public forums where the rules are crafted.

For some, Government Regulation will create roadblocks, obstacles, and additional costs; for others, especially those ready to transform their products and processes, it will create opportunities. For example, recently enacted regulations and reforms in the U.S. health care industry have already inspired companies to seek out and implement cost-effective solutions. In the recent past, there have been a number of cases where government-set targets (e.g., the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards or laws related to industrial carbon emissions) have forced companies to create new offerings to remain competitive.

How effective these strategies will be in driving individual corporate growth over the long term may well depend on the motivation behind them and the time horizons of individual CEOs. The tradeoff is between short-term cost containment and long-term innovation and opportunity. If you view regulation as a temporary issue, a passing fad, then using resources to fight new legislation may well help the short-term bottom line by containing costs associated with changes to the law. If you take the opposite view—that regulation is structural and will have a long-term and permanent impact on the playing field that will fundamentally alter your operating environment—then it makes sense to both try and influence the future business landscape and gear up to take advantage of the new opportunities.

CEOs who take an upside-risk approach to increased regulation may also find that they are better able to handle associated downside risks. The emerging regulatory infrastruc-ture, in whatever form it takes, will shape future practices and place new demands on leaders. CEOs need to be able to work collaboratively to move the levers of governance and become more comfortable with outside scrutiny, including the oversight of their own trade and industry organizations, which are likely to require more uniform standards of practice, reporting, and self-policing to ward off external regulation. The costs of non-compliance, especially for corporate and personal reputation, will be high.


While Government Regulation is not as great a challenge for CEOs in Asia, who rank it seven out of 10, there are signs it may soon become one. In response to the rapid and unbalanced growth that affects the environment (e.g., increased pollution) and social equity, the Chinese government has enacted a slew of national programs, policies, and regulations, which include aggressive targets to reduce energy intensity, significant invest-ments in renewable energies, environmental protection, and social security reforms. Many of these policies need to be executed at the corporate level. Executives of publicly listed companies—or companies that aspire to be listed—are increasingly under pres-sure to incorporate environmental, social, and governance issues into their companies’ annual performance assessments. Across Asia, stock exchanges have begun to issue guidelines aimed to set minimum thresholds for corporate social responsibility best practices and voluntary reporting standards for publicly listed companies.

The Leadership Challenge: How to Win (Government) Friends and Influence People

Given the expectation that both government regulation and oversight from other

stakeholders will increase, leaders need to think carefully about their channels of

influence: Who are the key decision makers and who is influencing them? Who are the

individuals that make up that small circle that has the ear of policymakers? What infor-

mation do they need, and how do you present information that makes them change

their mind or alters perceptions? Business leaders should:

• Establish relationship-building skills and become influencers, not dictators.

• Be skilled at shaping policy and get involved early in the cycle. Reacting to policy

will mean it’s probably too late to change it.

• Avoid any initiatives that may be seen as self-serving and understand that taking

the broader view gives them more credibility with all stakeholders.

• Be globally adaptable. Leaders need to understand that influencing skills that work

in one part of the world won’t necessarily work in others.

Source: Adapted from Go Where There Be Dragons: Leadership Essentials for 2020 and Beyond, The Conference Board, Council Perspective 23, 2010, p. 12.


GOVERNMENT REGULATIONBY INDUSTRY

Concerns about Government Regulation and the negative fallout from the recent financial crisis are clearly reflected in the strategy choices of CEOs in the financial services industry. They rank strengthen internal regulatory compliance processes their top strategy and encourage more industry self-regulation their fourth. All three sectors rank engage with competitors and/or critical stakeholders to influence regulatory agenda either their number one or their number two strategy. All three sectors also rank increase lobbying activities to promote a level playing field as one of their top three strategies.


rank 525

Government Regulation Strategies CEOs in fi nancial services rank stronger internal compliance their top strategy


Manufacturing

N=82

Financial

services

N=40

Nonfinancial

services

N=35


1 2 2


2 3 1

Engage with the public to influence government 3 5 3


4 1 5

Encourage more industry self-regulation 5 4 6

Engage in public/private partnerships 6 6 4

Strengthen international tax planning 7 7 8

Relocate to countries with fewer tax restrictions and less government oversight

8 NR 7

Consider delisting from certain stock exchanges NR NR 9




GOVERNMENT REGULATIONBY COMPANY SIZE

Companies, regardless of their size, are focusing on external engagement strategies to build influence. Both the largest and the smallest companies see engaging with competitors and/or critical stakeholders to influence the regulatory agenda as their top strategy to meet this challenge. CEOs from companies of all sizes also rank engage with the public to influence government as one of their top five strategies. Increase lobbying activities to promote a level playing field also receives high ranks, although CEOs from the smallest companies place less emphasis on this strategy. The $1 billion to under $5 billion group ranks encourage more industry self-regulation slightly higher (fifth) than the other size categories.





challenge

rank 8 4 5 3

Government Regulation Strategies The smallest companies are more disposed to public/private

partnerships than larger companies


Less than

$1 billion

N=68

$1 billion to

under $5 billion

N=61

$5 billion to

under $15 billion

N=24

$15 billion

and above

N=44


1 2 4 1

Engage in public/private partnerships 2 6 7 5


3 1 1 2


4 4 2 3

Engage with the public to influence government

5 3 3 4

Encourage more industry self-regulation 6 5 6 6

Relocate to countries with fewer tax restrictions and less government oversight

7 7 8 7

Strengthen international tax planning 8 8 5 8

Consider delisting from certain stock exchanges

NR 9 NR NR




STRATEGIES TO MEET UNIQUE CHALLENGES

While there is considerable overlap between the top five challenges globally and the top five challenges for both the regional groups and industry sectors, there are a few chal-lenges that are unique to regional or sector top fives. This section looks at the strategies CEOs in these areas select to meet their unique challenges.

EUROPECUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

The higher ranking CEOs in Europe give to Customer Relationships may be related to a desire to reintroduce their companies to consumers. Chief executives in the region rank redesign marketing and communication strategy third, while CEOs in the United States rank it seventh and leaders in Asia rank it twelfth.

Europe United StatesGlobalchallenge

rank 4 77 Asia8

Customer Relationships Strategies CEOs in Europe are looking to

redefi ne their marketing strategies

Europe

N=59

Sharpen understanding of customers’/clients’ needs 1

Improve price/quality of products/services 2

Redesign marketing and communication strategy 3

Strengthen service delivery 4

Increase value of products/services 5

Engage personally with key customers/clients 6

Broaden range of products/services 7

Increase transparency of customer management processes 8

Increase user-friendliness of products/services 9

Increase speed to market 10

Use social media and new communication technologies 11

Promote sustainable products/services 12



Asia Europe United StatesGlobalchallenge

rank 4 9 86

Corporate Brand and Reputation Strategies CEOs in Asia rank a redefi ned

corporate brand as their top brand strategy

Asia

N=48

Redefine corporate brand positioning 1

Increase investment in corporate brand communication 2

Build corporate brand awareness and understanding across different cultures

3

Communicate corporate values to customers and key shareholders

4

Ensure transparency and oversight of risk management by the board of directors

5

Promote and reward ethical behavior 6

Change business practices to reflect corporate values 7

Ensure compliance with corporate brand identity and values among strategic business partners

8

Update crisis management guidelines, training, and procedures 9

Strenghten compliance with regulatory requirements 10


ASIACORPORATE BRAND AND REPUTATION

CEOs in Asia are the only regional group to rank Corporate Brand and Reputation as one of top five challenges. Much of the region, particularly China, has seen virtually unbridled economic growth, often through less than environmentally and socially friendly means. Migration to cities by workers seeking to escape unemployment and an agrarian way of life poses potential threats to the social order in many countries. Quality scandals have tainted the region’s attempt to shift to higher-end exports. Companies in the region understand that shaking off the perception that Asia is a region that produces shoddy goods at cheap prices is an important step toward improving competitive performance on the world stage.

When it comes to Corporate Brand and Reputation, CEOs in the region are acutely aware of the need to rebuild and enhance their company brands. They rank redefine corporate brand positioning the “most important” strategy to meet this challenge, and rank build corporate brand awareness and understanding across different cultures and ensure transpar-ency and oversight of risk management by the board of directors in their top five. After all, perceived product and service quality are dimensions of overall consumer confidence and elements that influence purchase patterns and loyalty in the long term.


FINANCIAL SERVICESCORPORATE BRAND AND REPUTATION

Corporate Brand and Reputation is a true differentiator for the financial services indus-try as it tries to rebuild trust following the recent recession, partially triggered by what the public perceives as less than ethical practices in the industry. CEOs in the financial services sector indicate that they plan to communicate corporate values to customers and key shareholders to meet this challenge. Two of the other strategies in the five top-ranked strategies for this challenge—ensure compliance with corporate brand identity and values amongst strategic business partners and change business practices to reflect corporate val-ues—offer additional indications that chief executives in this sector recognize that things may have gotten somewhat off track.


rank 864

Corporate Brand and Reputation Strategies Financial services CEOs are putting

their brand emphasis on communication

Financial

services

N=23

Communicate corporate values to customers and key shareholders 1

Redefine corporate brand positioning 2

Ensure compliance with corporate brand identity and values among strategic business partners

3

Change business practices to reflect corporate values 4

Increase investment in corporate brand communication 5

Ensure transparency and oversight of risk management by the board of directors

6

Promote and reward ethical behavior 7

Strenghten compliance with regulatory requirements 8

Build corporate brand awareness and understanding across different cultures

9

Update crisis management guidelines, training, and procedures 10



Survey sample

Industry

Total Asia Europe United States Rest of world*

Nonfinancial services 47% 44% 42% 52% 47%

Manufacturing 38 41 40 38 29

Financial services 15 15 18 10 24

Revenue

Asia Europe United States Rest of world*

$15 billion and above 9% 20% 15% 13%

$5 billion to under $15 billion 15 10 12 12

$1 billion to under $5 billion 26 27 26 26

Less than $1 billion 50 43 47 49

Region

United States

37%

Asia25

Europe24

Rest of world*

14

* Responses from this category are included in the global results, but no separate analysis of these responses is included in this report.

AcknowledgmentsThe Conference Board would like to thank Klaus Kleinfeld, president and CEO of Alcoa Inc.; Hans Wijers, CEO of AkzoNobel; and Mukesh D. Ambani, chairman and manag-ing director of Reliance Industries Limited, for endorsing the 2011 survey. The Conference Board also thanks Fortune Magazine China (China), Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (Hong Kong), Chartered Management Institute (United Kingdom), the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland, and Rzeczpospolita (Poland) for their help with obtaining survey responses.

Project TeamThe following team of knowledge experts from The Conference Board contributed to this report’s content:

Rebecca Ray Vice President and Managing Director, Human Capital

Rainer Schultheis Vice President and Managing Director, Europe

Andrew Tank Executive Director, Corporate Services, Europe & Middle East

Matteo Tonello Research Director, Corporate Leadership

David Vidal Director, Corporate Citizenship andSustainability Center

Bart van Ark Principal Researcher, Senior Vice President, and Chief Economist

Christopher Woock Researcher, Human Capital

Michal Zdziarski Principal Researcher, Central Europe

This report was compiled and written by Charles Mitchell, executive director: knowledge content & quality and pub-lisher of The Conference Board Review magazine, who also participated in the analysis of the report data. Additional input for analysis was provided by:

Marcel Bucsescu Relationship Manager, Centers

Paul DeNicola Director, Governance Center

Lynn Franco Director, Consumer Research Center

R. William Ide Chairman, The Conference Board Governance Center Advisory Board

Anke Schrader Researcher, China Center for Economics & Business

June Shelp Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and Centers

Publication TeamWennie Lee Project Manager

Charles Mitchell Author

Timothy Dennison Editor

Judit Torok Data Analysis

Peter Drubin Graphic Design

Pam Seenaraine Production Editor

Additional Resources from The Conference Board

Publications

RESEARCH REPORTS

Handbook on Corporate Political Activity: Emerging Corporate Governance IssuesResearch Report 1472, 2010

Growing Talent for SuccessionResearch Report 1470, 2010

Is Age Really Just a Number? Investigating Approaches to Employee EngagementResearch Report 1465, 2010

Strategic Workforce Planning in Global OrganizationsResearch Report 1457, 2010

EXECUTIVE ACTIONS

Innovation and Intangible Assets: Gaining the Competitive Edge in Economic RecoveryExecutive Action 341, 2011

Escaping the Sovereign-Debt Crisis: Productivity-Driven Growth and Moderate Spending May Offer a Way OutExecutive Action 339, 2010

Under Pressure: The Widening Wage Gap between China’s Haves andHave-NotsExecutive Action 337, 2010

Risk Oversight Practices: Insights from Corporate DirectorsDirector Notes 14, 2010

COUNCIL PERSPECTIVES

Time to Step Up: Challenges and Opportunities Facing Talent ManagementCouncil Perspectives 26, 2010

Go Where There Be Dragons: Leadership Essentials for 2020 and BeyondCouncil Perspectives 23, 2010

Mind the Gap: Overcoming Organizational Barriers to Develop Inclusive LeadersCouncil Perspectives 22, 2010

Diversity and Inclusion: Global Challenges and OpportunitiesCouncil Perspectives 14, 2010

COUNCILS

For a complete listing of councils, visit The Conference Board website: www.conferenceboard.org

© 2011 by The Conference Board, Inc. All rights reserved. ISBN No. 0-8237-1008-4. The Conference Board and the torch logo are registered trademarks of The Conference Board, Inc.

The Conference Board CEO Challenge™ 2011Fueling Business Growth with Innovation and Talent Development

RESEARCH REPORT TCB-R-1474-11-RR

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