It has often been noted that the role of a CEO – as rewarding and challenging as it is – can be a solitary one. As part of our leadership, we are called upon to make many tough decisions as we strive to do the best for our company and its constituents and forge a strategy for a sustainable future. It’s therefore always interesting to take a dip into PwC’s Annual Global CEO survey, now in its 18th year, to get some insight into what’s currently front of mind for other CEOs.

Here are my highlights from this year’s findings:

• – 78% of US CEOs are concerned about the rapid change of technology (as it pertains to their organization’s growth prospects).

The keywords for me here are “rapid change.” It’s not about being change averse, but about being able to harness the opportunities that developments in technology can bring, without losing market share and without investing in tech solutions that may be short lived. Since I started this agency 21 years ago, the marketing communications industry has been revolutionized by technology. As such, I’ve long been accustomed to using another insight from the research: “rethink the business you’re in.” It may be that the adoption of new technology opens up new markets and closes others; it could potentially change the way you are perceived by your customers. An agile mindset and strategy is key.

• – 56% of CEOs think cross-sector competition is on the rise.

Wholly related to the rapid change of technology is the concern that cross-sector competition is on the rise. As we noted in a company blog post recently, the healthcare industry has been particularly exposed to non-traditional healthcare companies entering the market – not least Verily, Google’s life sciences company and Salesforce Health Cloud. While these companies pose a threat in terms of taking valuable talent away, they also pose an opportunity: Salesforce Health Cloud was developed in partnership with leading health and medical device companies including Accenture and Deloitte.

• – 81% of CEOs say mobile is strategically important for their organization.

At ARTEMIA, we’ve been beating the mobile drum for a long time – and with good reason! Those smartphones we all carry around in our pockets are now integral to our business lives. 25% of SMBs say they use their mobile devices at least once per hour for business purposes, and a whopping 55% of all LinkedIn traffic comes from mobile. And it’s time to think of mobile beyond having a responsive-designed website. Apps are a central part of the mobile experience and can be critical in giving your company the competitive edge.

If you’d like to discuss how ARTEMIA can work with you to provide the strategic insights you need for 2016 and beyond, as ever, please get in touch.