For the CEO
The most confident seat, and the one that sets the plan.
The CFO sees roughly twice the exposure the CEO sees across functions.
Three numbers
of CEOs are very confident the company could handle a major disruption, the highest of the three seats
of CEOs review strategic risk at least monthly, against 63% of CFOs and 50% of CIOs
CEOs vs. CFOs who say the leadership team doesn't stay aligned in uncertain conditions
What the numbers say about the CEO. CEOs are the most confident seat, at 52% very confident against 30% of CIOs. They sit closest to exposure conversations, with 72% of CEOs saying they review strategic risk at least monthly. Yet they see the least exposure across the business, with CFOs reporting two to three times the risk CEOs do. Function by function, every part of the business looks ready from the top. But the question is whether those parts can connect when disruption hits.
Finance and IT are already on your side. The CFO sees roughly twice the exposure across every function. The CIO rates every function highest and the company as a whole lowest. Neither is contradicting the CEO. Each has unique visibility into a different aspect of the same challenge.
What that makes the CEO’s priority. Without the insight from leaders that ensures disruptions don’t knock plans off course, CEOs won’t be able to set the strategic vision and direction needed to continue moving the organization forward. Make sure the leaders who see exposure differently are building that same plan, together.
What this means
Ask for the whole-company number.
Every function rated itself ready. But what the CEO needs to know is whether the company can move and respond as a whole. Ask the CFO and CIO the same two questions the study asked, then compare their answers with your own.
Ask finance to walk the whole team through its downside cases.
The scenarios have already been modeled by finance. The gap is whether the rest of the business is planning for them too and understands how they can apply to their intiatives. Put the scenarios in front of every function’s leader and ask how their team would adapt. This turns a plan for finance into one that you can start building for the entire business.
Bring the CIO into the room.
Half of CIOs aren't involved when strategic risk is reviewed. But their unique perspective on how systems connect highlights a blind spot for potential risk as an organization looks to scale.
Two questions
1
NOW
Does our plan account for the unexpected—not just the risks we’ve already identified?
2
THE YEAR AHEAD
Growth builds confidence, but only shared, informed perspectives can build a plan. As the company’s grown, has the plan continued to grow with it?
The CEO could be right that each function is ready. However, the plan takes shape when those functions connect to create a bigger picture.