Poll: CEOs turn focus to growth
By Nick Easen for CNN
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CEOs are looking to shift from cost cutting to investing in new growth.
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(CNN) -- Sensing an economic rebound, CEOs worldwide are moving their primary objective from cost cutting to revenue growth, according to a recent survey.
More than half expected to enter new economies in search of growth in the coming years. And Asia and China have been targeted as key markets for expansion.
Over the next five years, new product development was also seen as a means of achieving growth.
"In the words of one Asia-based CEO: 'The massive restructuring is behind us, costs are under control and assets are being utilized efficiently; growing the business is all that remains'," Grace Chopard of IBM Business Consulting said in a statement.
"CEOs are unanimous in their view that a new kind of leadership talent is now required, if organizations are to capture the turn in the economy."
IBM's Global CEO Study 2004, polled 456 top CEOs worldwide from the major global economies and industries.
In total 80 percent of those surveyed declared that their primary objective had shifted from cost cutting to revenue growth.
Customer demand
In order to achieve new growth, 90 percent of firms expected to transform their enterprise within the next five years to become more responsive -- especially to customer demand.
Only 13 percent of CEOs said they were "very responsive" to changing business conditions.
The study also found that more than 60 percent of bosses believed they needed to do a better job at understanding and capturing customer information in order to make quick decisions.
A similar proportion of CEOs also felt that a major barrier to any corporate change was due to limited skills, employee capability and leadership within the company.
