CEOs need to stick with vision for growth

CEOs need to stick with vision for growth

Tags: CEOs | Chief executives | David Frigstad | Frost and Sullivan | growth

Written by Fong Min Hun
Wednesday, 14 October 2009 11:11

KUALA LUMPUR: Chief executives may be saying the right things during this crisis, but their actions may not necessarily reflect what they are saying, David Frigstad, the chairman of Frost and Sullivan, said yesterday.

“Now more than ever, investments in company’s growth strategy and execution capabilities can set businesses apart from their competitors,” he said.

He was speaking to the media at the Growth, Innovation and Leadership Congress 2009 held here to discuss how CEOs can sustain growth in the current operating environment.

Frigstad said growth opportunities were emerging, but CEOs needed to position their companies to best exploit them. This meant sticking with a growth vision while taking advantage of opportunities that arise, he added.

This meant picking up depressed assets, hiring talent that may be out on the streets, and sticking to a vision. While many CEOs say they do that, Frigstad said their actions belie what they say.

“When we surveyed CEOs, 80%-90% say they don’t change their long-term growth strategies,” he said. “You look at what they’ve actually done and it’s just the opposite.”

Frigstad added that there were also contrasting views between how CEOs thought of themselves and how their staff thought of them. Frost and Sullivan’s survey showed that CEOs appraisals of themselves and their leadership qualities generally differed quite vastly from their staff’s appraisal of them.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, October 14, 2009.