CEO study says change becoming unmanageable

The IBM Global CEO Study, the largest study of chief executives ever conducted, has revealed a dramatic increase in the number of global business leaders who see important change ahead, and also highlights how the ability to absorb and manage change is widening the gap between winners and losers in the global economy. European CEOs especially are gearing up to address the new demands.

CEOs reported a surprising level of optimism about change as an opportunity to build new competitive advantage. Overall, 83% of surveyed CEOs expect substantial change in the future, an increase of 28% in just two years. However, CEOs report their ability to effectively manage change is increasing at a far slower pace.

Collectively, CEOs set their organization’s ability to manage change 22 percentage points lower than their expectations for the level of change they will have to manage - - a ‘change gap’ that is widening.