Customer-Company gap global phenomenon.

Only  big names such as IBM are able to seduce by around 1.500 CEO's from big companies on a global level for a face-to-face interview. The advantage of this CEO profile is that not only do they have a pretty good view on their business but they also have a vision of what the future will bring. (Although this isn't a guarantee that will react accordingly.)

The results of the 2010 IBM Global CEO Study, called 'Capitalizing on Complexity' are just out and some graphs caught my attention. (I must admit that some kind of pitying feeling comes over me when I start reading this kind of reports, put I acknowledge that the times, they are changing.)

The first one is about the top priorities for companies for the next 5 years.

Number 1 priority by far is 'GETTING CLOSER TO THE CUSTOMER'. - 88%

88% of the global CEO's state that this will be their priority for the near future. As marketer and as consumer I hope they will keep that promise. I hope they will come out of their offices, get away from behind their one-way screens in research labs and start collecting true and usefull insights that are based on true (unmet) needs and aspirations. For the record, of those companies that stand out, the percentage of CEO's that esteem this as their top priority increases to 95%.

Their second priority is 'PEOPLE SKILLS'. - 81%

I rejoice at the finding that companies, after years of getting more efficient and more lean, have discovered the importance of not only their own people but also of the skills these people have. Not only because of the obvious conclusion that people without skills are a pain the ass of any company, but because skilled people are the kind of people that have more chances to get involved, to get the recognition the need and thus the kind of people that can find motivation from within theirselves, what they are doing and how they are doing it.

Third most important priority is 'INSIGHT AND INTELLIGENCE'. - 76%

Closely related to the two other priorities, 3/4 global CEO's implicitely admit that their insights and intelligence show a certain lag in solidity or at least isn't up-to-date. Companies, big and small, have difficulties keeping up the pace with the consumer's social evolution (although we and they are all consumers). Segmentations dilute, behavior becomes unpredictable and irrationality destabilizes most of the existing models. Time to regain true insights and build intelligence that can lead to clear, succesfull and applicable strategies.

All this makes me very optimistic for the future. From our own experience as consultants at Ziff-Jones, we also came to the conclusion that contrary to general expectations that smaller companies are more flexible, more outward oriented and closer to the consumer's reality, it are the big companies that are the first not only to draw lessons from the changes we live on a worldwide scale but also to draw the right conclusions. 

The biggest challenge for all of us will be to act and react accordingly and to keep an open mind that is ready to capture true changes without prejudice and without 'we know it all' arrogance. Anyway, IBM's report title 'Capitalizing on Complexity' couldn't be more right today! Apple loses this one...

If you're interested in the full IBM report, you can find it here.