2013 Chief Strategy Officer Survey Results Are In!

Part 1/4: What is Your Strategic Growth Outlook?

The Innovation Enterprise, an independent B2B multichannel media brand focused in the information needs of Senior Executives, and The Growth Strategy Co., the leading provider of growth-focused research, consulting and cloud-based software solutions, conducted a joint survey of the attendees at the Chief Strategy Officer Summit. The objective of the survey was to establish the current state and future projections related to the practice of strategy and innovation. The joint effort reinforces the commitment of both companies to equip executives with the tools and insights needed to increase the value and integration of strategy, innovation and growth-focused disciplines into the broader corporate framework.

The 2013 Chief Strategy Officer Survey will be presented in a four-part series:
Part 1:  Strategic Growth Outlook
Part 2:  Strategic Growth Organizations
Part 3:  Strategic Growth Responsibilities
Part 4:  Strategic Growth Accountability

In addition to the four-part series, a full interactive dashboard presenting survey analysis, key insights and best practice recommendations will be available on The Growth Strategy Co. website beginning March 2013.

Preface

The 2013 Chief Strategy Officer Survey was initiated in response to the changing business landscape. For many companies, the recent economic crisis has become a major inflection point that has exposed deep, underlying structural barriers to business growth. In this environment, new regulatory regimes have emerged and customer behavior has changed to further alter how companies view the future. All the while, fundamentally different views about how strategic business growth (or the lack thereof) will actually happen have been at the center of a new and unusually divisive political, economic and social dialogue. Contributing to the dialogue, economists and the media have seemingly concluded that slow economic growth, inflated unemployment, constrained credit and volatile markets will define the future “norm” for companies.

As the survey results indicate, there is a universal sense that these structural changes have thwarted any notions that business as usual or the status quo of “a rising tide lifts all boats” will return. In this new normal environment of economic displacement, uncertainty, structural change and complexity, one thing is clear: business growth cannot be left to chance – business growth must become a deliberate, strategic and dynamic process.

Key Findings:  Part 1 Strategic Growth Outlook

In Part 1, Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Innovation Officers, Chief Marketing Officers, and other growth-focused leaders were asked a series of questions about their future growth outlook.  From the results, several key findings emerged:

• Changing Customer Behavior.  Changes in customer behavior were one of the greatest growth challenges in 2012 and is anticipated to be even a greater challenge to business growth in 2013.
• Volatility and Uncertainty.  External factors such as volatile financial markets and uncertain political projections are seen as key challenges and barriers to strategic business growth in 2013.
• Shifting Priorities. Corporate growth priorities show a dramatic shift from strategies to renew existing offering in an existing market in 2012 towards strategies that introduce completely new offerings in both existing and new markets in 2013.

To learn more, join us at the
Chief Strategy Officer Summit
San Francisco, CA
May 23-24, 2013

image credits: growthstrategy.com

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Wayne Simmons is an accomplished executive, innovator, value creator, and entrepreneur and co-author of GrowthThinking: Building the New Growth Enterprise. As CEO and Co-Founder of The Growth Strategy Company, Wayne leads the vision, strategy and growth of the company. He has worked for global advisory firms Ernst & Young, Deloitte Consulting, and has been a trusted advisor to C-level executives at Fortune 500 corporations, venture capital firms, and small and midsized companies. Wayne was trained in airborne reconnaissance for US Army Intelligence; and is an alumnus and Fellow of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Keary Crawford is a results-driven executive leader with extensive experience in operations, M&A and finance for start-up, entrepreneurial and middle-market companies. As co-founder and COO of The Growth Strategy Company, she manages the strategic growth and vision, and day-to-day operations; and is co-author of GrowthThinking: Building the New Growth Enterprise. Keary was trained in Behavioral and Social Sciences and is a Fellow and alumna of the Executive Development Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.