Kevin Sneader, global managing partner for McKinsey & Company, provides perspective on how CEOs think:
What's on the mind of 21st century CEO leaders?
First question, what's my mission and how do I explain it to the world? Secondly, to whom are we accountable, shareholders are stakeholders? Thirdly, what's the right time horizon in which to think about the investments we make and the returns we earn? Fourthly, who benefits? How do we think about the way in which benefits get shared, whether it's compensation or the broader dividends that our company generates? Fifthly, how do I think about the workforce, the way in which the workforce is being changed through technology and the implications for the benefits and employment that workers enjoy? Six, how do I think about inclusion?
Is this just something on the edge or core to business? Sustainability, has it stayed calm or is it so something we can worry about for tomorrow's generation? Geopolitics, how do they influence where we manufacture and our supply chain? And lastly, in a world that's ever more divided, what does that mean as a business leader? Do I have a responsibility to do something about it? Or just look after the shareholders who have long been the guardians of my company?