Name: 2022 Disruption Index: CEOs say Covid is not a top 10 worry
Uploaded: 2021-12-30
Duration: 6 min 19 s
Description: AlixPartners CEO says labor, supply chain issues worry CEOs, not Covid.

AlixPartners CEO says labor, supply chain issues worry CEOs, not Covid.

2022 Disruption Index: CEOs say Covid is not a top 10 worry

Leadership

Simon, thank you so much for joining us to talk about Alex partners and your new 2022 disruption index. Tell us about your survey and why is it that you study disruption? Thanks Susie. Well in working with our clients every day. What we saw was that multiple disruptions were hitting our client's businesses. We decided to study it. What we found is that disruption truly is the new economic driver because whether it's environmental issues, digital issues, governance issues, these multiple disruptions are proving to be the biggest challenge for our clients. I understand that you surveyed something like 3000 executives for this latest index. What were the most important conclusions and findings from the survey? The two really profound insights were firstly over three quarters of these executives felt that their jobs are in jeopardy because of having to manage these multiple disruptions. And secondly, Covid didn't even rank in the top 10 of the disruptions they saw in their businesses. Well that's hard to believe. It's also encouraging is Covid and all these viruses and variants are now in the rear view mirror. It's less of a problem for companies. I think we've now just learned to live with it. It's an endemic rather than a pandemic. It doesn't mean that it's not there, it's just become an ambient issue. People are executives are very focused on their top 10 including these very real disruptions they have to get ahead of, otherwise they will be disrupted. The other concerns in your survey that stood out for me, labor shortages maybe a permanent problem supply chain problems are just beginning. What do you tell your clients what they should do and how to deal with these challenges. Both very real issues Susie. On the labor side there is a shortage is a war for talent out there. So what we say to our clients is it's not just about the financial package. You have to be able to express the purpose of your organization, your broader E. S. G. Agenda, particularly if you're trying to recruit new entrants to the workforce that care deeply about these things on supply chain. Of course, I mean it really is a challenging situation and and it's not a level playing field. If you're a large company like walmart, you can actually rent your own ships to move things around. If you're a smaller player, it's very tough. What people are doing is they're establishing local and regional supply chains to complement the global supply chains. So they're not a hostage as they were to global supply change during Covid. Let me follow up a little bit on the labor side of the equation because two thirds of the executives in your survey say they're concerned their employees will not have the critical necessary skills for operating the business in the future. Is the solution a matter of more training, more education or more money. What do you say to that? All of the above susie. So not just the individual state responsibility for the employer to make sure the training is available, make sure that people have essentially digital skills to bring forward in their roles, but also to look at how you can marry technology with human capital to create different ways of doing things. BMW have done this remarkably successfully, showed extraordinary productivity improvements by marrying the two. We think that technology can solve all of our problems. But your Ceos who were surveyed were saying they don't have a budget for things like automation or ai artificial intelligence. So what do companies do in that situation? It absolutely is an issue, but they have to prioritize it. And of course the solution of tomorrow isn't the same as the solution of yesterday. So actually costs can be saved in a labor force if you marry technology with human capital. And I think the efficiencies that come from that well, to some extent pay for the required investment, a lot of things to consider. And one of the other findings in your survey is that the majority of executives said that regardless of all the actions that they take, they still don't feel that they're making much of an impact. Why is that? And is there something that they could be doing differently? Well, I think truthfully, Ceos always worry about that and that's not a bad thing. Having said that the pace of change, the multiple disruptions, the fact that a rolling sea has turned into a choppy sea Have raised the anxiety which of course we see in the report. What can they do about it, quickly moved to action, make sure that they're doing it nearly right. But doing it now easier said than done Simon. I mean, you know being a ceo, it's not an easy job. The responsibilities have changed a lot as you well know over the last 5, 10 years, what does it take these days to be a successful Ceo? What is the key to being a successful leader? I mean these aren't all new of course, but having a strong sense of purpose exactly where the enterprise is going to be able to communicate that clearly. I often say that CEO should be their own chief communication officers speaking, not just shareholders and public debt providers, but customer groups, employee groups, a very strong sense of mission, making sure the purpose of the organization is clear why it is why this business matters, but also moving to action quickly surrounding themselves by good talent, making sure that it's not just financial packages that they used to bring people in, but there's a broader appeal to their purpose to their mission. All of these things are the essence of a good leader but moving to action quickly as a common denominator. Can you name one or two CEOs who have those characteristics and are doing it right and are perhaps role models for other Ceos to watch and learn from them right. Well, Larry culp is one of my favorites from G. He's just a really, really classy Ceo is on the front foot, with his strategy, on the front foot, with his communication. I think he is a terrific example on Sorenson was one of my favorites, sadly, he passed away last year, the chief executive of Marriott. He gave an absolute master class on how to communicate with employees through the pandemic. There'd be a couple of great examples.