What Keeps CEOs Up At Night - Part II

According to the Annual Conference Board report, "CEO Challenge 2006: Top 10 Challenges," CEOs worldwide expressed a number of top concerns.

In the U.S., the top four challenges are:

1. Sustained and steady top-line growth (40%)
2. Consistent execution of strategy by top management (38%)
3. Customer loyalty/retention (37%)
4. Profit growth (27%)

Among the survey’s other key findings:

• While product innovation is sixth in the Top 10 rankings of CEOs in both Europe and the U.S., it is only 25th among CEOs in Asia.
• Sustained and steady top-line growth and consistent execution of strategy by top management were the top concerns of CEOs across all sizes of business.
• Among the higher ranked challenges of CEOs of companies with more than $5 billion in worldwide sales are stimulating innovation and creativity, enabling entrepreneurship, and speed, flexibility, adaptability to change.

BOTTOMLINE: Consistent execution of strategy - was among the top concerns of CEOs - across all geographies, across all sizes of businesses. Coincidence? Think again....!