1
1
56 percent of CEOs were confident in their companies ’ prospects for 12-month revenue growth . PwC believes this could have been a passing mood that was not rooted fully in reality , but instead in wishful thinking .
CEOs ’ confidence in their own company ’ s growth prospects declined dramatically
QUESTION : How confident are you about your company ’ s prospects for growth in : a : The next 12 months ? b : The next 3 years ?
56 %
42 %
64 %
2022 2023
( Showing only ‘ very confident ’ and ‘ extremely confident ’ responses )
53 % were an exception . More than half of U . S . CEOs expect decreased attrition over the next 12 months .
If the war for talent remains fierce , keeping workers happy and engaged will be a mission-critical priority . Flexibility , fair pay , fulfilling work and the opportunity to be one ’ s authentic best self at work are critical determinants of employee decisions about whether to stay or go . As leaders push their company forward through a barrage of uncertainty , their workforce is the armor plating that allows them to do so with as much boldness , confidence and passion as possible . PwC argues that the solution to the daily challenges facing leaders in the here and now lies in properly valuing the abilities of their workforce , reinforcing the sobering fact that companies without an employee-centered orientation will quickly find themselves “ up a creek without a paddle .”
NEXT 12 MONTHS
NEXT 3 YEARS SOURCE : PwC ’ s 26th Annual Global CEO Survey . ceosurvey . com . © 2023 PwC . All rights reserved .
What was 56 percent in 2022 shrank to 42 percent in 2023 , with nearly three-quarters of CEOs projecting a decline in global economic growth over the next 12 months . Causes of such a decline come as no surprise . Europe ’ s largest land war since World War II , surging energy and commodity prices and accelerating general wage and price inflation are cited as the driving factors behind this pessimism .
To mitigate such a drastic year-over-year drop in confidence , PwC suggests taking measures to remove bias in the boardroom by assigning a devil ’ s advocate role to challenge ideas and encourage fellow leaders to look into the future for potential causes of failure . Still , the future is an uncertainty that can never be projected perfectly . As such , PwC says the surest path forward is paved by the nimble hands and feet of your workforce . CEOs in PwC ’ s study reported cutting costs and spurring revenue growth , but not at the expense of their workforce . The avoidance of layoffs is due in part to recent experiences with employee attrition , which surged over the past year . For the most part , survey respondents appear to believe those elevated churn rates will continue or even rise . However , CEOs in the United States
The Future
Nearly 40 percent of CEOs surveyed in PwC ’ s study don ’ t think their companies will be economically viable a decade from now if they continue on their current path . This statistic highlights the reality of the world we operate in today , where new innovations and technologies surface every year that drastically change the landscape of the future .
Survey data illustrated an interesting point regarding the question of viability into the future . Geographical location and geopolitics play a major role in the optimism or pessimism of leaders around the world . For example , Japan and China are the most pessimistic among countries with CEOs who don ’ t believe their current business model will be
Changing customer demand / preferences
Changes in regulation
Labor / skills shortages
CEOs see multiple challenges to profitability in their industry
Technology disruptors ( e . g ., advanced tech , AI , metaverse , blockchain )
Supply chain disruption
Transition to new energy sources
New entrants to my industry from adjacent industries
29 %
37 %
43 %
49 %
QUESTION : To what extent do you believe the following will impact ( i . e ., either increase or decrease ) profitibility in your industry over the next 10 years ?
( Showing only ‘ to a large extent ’ and ‘ to a very large extent ’ responses )
SOURCE : PwC ’ s 26th Annual Global CEO Survey . ceosurvey . com . © 2023 PwC . All rights reserved .
53 %
52 %
56 %
APRIL 2023 n PULSE 47