Why Do CEOs Call Other CEOs?

When chief executives need to make sense of what lies ahead, many turn to other CEOs more readily than to their own directors or chair. That does not necessarily indicate a failing board. It raises a more revealing question: if relevant experience is already present around the board table, why does the CEO seek it elsewhere? The answer may lie less in what directors know than in trust, timing and whether their knowledge can enter the conversation before a strategic direction has hardened.

The CEO Can Champion the Next Business. Can the Organization Build It?

A 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.

Governance and Boards, Organizational ReadinessLouAnn ConnerAugust 12, 2026scaling companies, Corporate GovernanceComment

Beyond CEO Alpha When does Leadership Performance Become Organizational Capability?

McKinsey’s research makes a compelling case that CEO performance is a significant driver of private equity returns, a value it calls “CEO alpha.” But strong CEO performance raises a second question for PE partners and portfolio company leaders: is the CEO building capabilities the company itself owns, or do results still disproportionately depend on that leader’s judgment, attention, and intervention? Beyond CEO Alpha explores the difference between value created by an exceptional leader and organizational capability that can endure through accelerated growth, an add-on acquisition, a leadership transition, or exit.

When Speed Outpaces Strategy: The Real Lesson of 2026's Tariff Whiplash

Risk and Resilience, Organizational ReadinessLouAnn ConnerJuly 9, 2026Strategy & ExecutionComment

Governance Drift: The Risks Boards Don't See Until They Become Outcomes

A frozen lake can appear solid right up until the moment it breaks.

Organizations are often no different. Most governance failures don't begin with a crisis. They begin with subtle shifts that remain hidden while performance is still strong.

The strongest boards don't wait for red flags. They look for early signs of governance drift before drift becomes governance debt and debt becomes consequence.

Because organizations rarely break all at once. They drift there first.

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