Think

• STRATEGICALLY: Global CEOs must think strategically to keep their organizations on track to achieve their strategic objectives.

• GLOBALLY: Because of globalization, modern communication, and online commerce, every organization – regardless of its size, industry, or geographic footprint - faces competition and disruption as well as opportunity in the global marketplace. Consequently, CEOs cannot afford to think locally or regionally. They must think globally.

• SYSTEMICALLY: Challenges and opportunities are never the result of a single causal force. Global CEOs must develop “systems thinking” to accurately diagnose situations and devise solutions.

Make Decisions and Solve Problems within Complex Systems

Much of the time of global CEOs is spent solving problems and making big decisions within the context of an increasingly complex and global ecosystem where cause and effect are not known in advance and only emerge after the fact. GCA will teach you how to do that effectively.

• DIAGNOSING: A main reason for failure results from the wrong diagnosis of problems, challenges, and issues which results in the escalation of a bad situation and eventually leads to disaster. Global CEOs are masters at properly interpreting their reality.

• FRAMING and REFRAMING: Successful CEOs can skillfully frame and reframe the problems, challenges, and opportunities that they face to see them from multiple perspectives, gaining greater insight and uncovering more innovative solutions that lead to better decisions.

• ASKING QUESTIONS: Global CEOs master the art of asking smart questions to challenge their own assumptions as well as accumulate relevant, meaningful, and comprehensive insights and data regarding the dynamic reality that they face.

• PROBING: In addition to using their skills in diagnosing, framing, and asking smart questions, successful CEOs learn to operate within complex systems by probing the system through multiple, simultaneous, and small safe-to-fail experiments. 

• SCALING: Successful experiments are scaled up while others are scaled back or discontinued.

Design Strategies for Growth 

Global CEOs are primarily responsible for generating sustainable growth. That requires a framework for designing a healthy growth strategy and effective leadership to realize that strategy.

• STRATEGY: Strategy is the process of realizing what matters most to your organization. You will experience, learn, and apply a seven-step model for designing and executing Purpose-Driven Growth.

• LEADERSHIP: The best strategy has little chance of success without effective leadership to launch new initiatives and mobilize people and resources. An effective CEO also understands that a successful strategy depends not only on good planning and technical capabilities, but also on the care and passion of the people involved in the design and execution of the strategy. That requires leadership that can adapt to emerging challenges and balance the human element alongside the rational elements of strategy.

Deal with Adversaries, Power, and Politics

Resistance to change is inevitable. 

• ADVERSARIES: Global CEOs understand the human forces behind this resistance, the roles that their adversaries may play, and the various strategies and techniques one can use to preempt attempts at undermining one’s leadership initiatives.

• POWER: While we commonly view power as a negative, Global CEOs understand that power is not necessarily a zero-sum game, and it can be used for good. They are aware of and comfortable with how they relate to power, assert power, and negotiate with power.

• POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE: Leaders in private and public sector organizations need new skills to operate effectively in a world of public-private cooperation and private sector competition. In addition to IQ, EQ, and AQ (Adaptive Intelligence), Global CEOs are mastering the emerging skills of Political Intelligence, or PQ, to succeed in an environment in which governments, businesses, and the wider society are sharing power to shape the future in a global world.

Communicate

Whether it’s to inform, influence, or persuade; whether it’s one-on-one, with a small group, or in front of a large audience; whether the stakes are high or not; whether it’s in stable times or crises; communication is a core skill for the Global CEO. Participants will be called up to develop and practice their communication skills regularly throughout the program. 

Deal with Crises and Disruptions

Because of the increasing complexity and accelerating change in the world, organizations face almost constant disruption. 

• REINVENTION: Global CEOs recognize that dealing with disruption and reinvention is no longer a one-off project. It’s a way of life. To survive and even thrive in this world of rapid change, disruption, and crises, organizations must master the skills of reinvention: anticipating, designing, and implementing change as well as creating a reinventive culture with the necessary systems and resources.

Build Personal, Professional, and Organizational Resilience

It is hard to be a CEO. It is even harder to succeed as a global CEO who can advance in a global field. You will face disruptions and setbacks along the way. 

• RESILIENCE: The ability to prepare for, respond to, and adapt to the inevitable changes, challenges, and disruptions that we encounter in life has become a critical skill in today’s world.