CEOs know that execution and organizational alignment matter. Yet the latest CEO Confidence Index shows growth, profitability and efficiency commanding attention while talent, organizational capability and resilience rank much lower. That tension does not prove leaders have overlooked the enablers of growth. It reveals something more consequential: a CEO confidence survey cannot determine whether confidence at the top is shared by the people expected to deliver the plan. This article examines that evidence gap—and the question boards should ask before growth and AI ambitions outrun the organization beneath them.
Read MoreAI risk may already be on your board’s agenda. But can directors see where it is actually entering the business—through vendor software, employee use, consequential decisions, or even the analysis reaching the board itself? This article uses an illustrative BoardPulse assessment to show how an adequate overall result can conceal a load-bearing weakness, where CEOs and directors may be working from different pictures, and how the findings can be translated into practical next steps before adoption outpaces oversight.
Read MoreA CEO can champion a promising new business, but sponsorship alone does not make venture building an organizational capability. McKinsey’s latest research identifies the leadership, capital, culture, and governance new ventures require. This article takes the question one step further: can those conditions survive competing priorities, financial pressure, or a change in leadership? For executives and CVC leaders, the answer may determine whether a venture scales or remains dependent on whoever is protecting it.
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