Dennis Nally, Chairman, PricewaterhouseCoopers International
Collaborating for shared success
Silas Yang, Chairman, PwC Asia
Building trusted relationships
Ian Powell, Senior Partner, PwC UK
Focusing for competitive success
Norbert Winkeljohann, Senior Partner, PwC Germany
Addressing the talent challenge
Changes in demographics and the nature of work have made it harder than ever to find and keep the right people - and business leaders are balancing this imperative with cost containment. How are businesses addressing this talent challenge? They’re thinking more strategically about getting the talent pipeline right, focusing more on getting the right information about their workforce and investing more in their people. They’re also doing more to empower staff and improve organisational agility. And importantly, companies are rebuilding trust with society – starting from within, with their employees.
From risk resilience to resilient growth
Resilient organisations recognise that how they respond to uncertainty is as important as how they control it. In an environment where change is constant and where businesses must take greater risks to achieve the same rewards as in the past, the challenge is to become much more agile and adaptable – and indeed, to turn uncertainty into an opportunity. To do this, leading companies are improving their responsiveness through organisational design and management, and looking beyond the enterprise to improve systemic resilience.
Collaborating for shared success
In a super-connected world, the speed and scale of disruptive change is happening at an unprecedented level. More collaboration between more stakeholders can help not only to weather tough times, but to find opportunity and thrive in uncertainty. Trust is essential for creating and strengthening the relationships that build stronger institutions, businesses and societies.
Building trusted relationships
At a time of a profound collapse of trust and confidence in business, PwC established the Building Public Trust Awards in the UK. In our view, too little attention was being paid to the role of transparency in good business reporting and governance. Although there's been progress in corporate reporting, trust in business has continued to erode. Leaders recognise that trusted relationships underpin their organisations’ ‘licence to operate’. And the explicit promotion of ethical behaviours has become a key priority. The challenge for CEOs is to lead by example – living the value and behaviours of their organisation and engaging with stakeholders in a way that’s not just transparent but genuine.
Focusing for competitive success
In order to grow in an environment of constant disruption, businesses are adapting their approach to becoming more competitive. They’re being more selective in how and where they grow – while at the same time assessing a wider range of growth markets. They’re getting closer to their markets, developing local capabilities and a deeper understanding of local stakeholders. Businesses are also improving their operational effectiveness – balancing cost cutting and value creation. And companies are turning more to partnerships to achieve these goals.
