Over the last month, I have been talking to CEOs about how they are dealing with some of the “hot-button issues” that media reports businesses are facing in 2024.

The “Top 10” issues appear to be (in no particular order):

• AI Strategy
• Developing soft skills (i.e. emotional intelligence)
• Increased investment in training
• Reducing environmental footprint
• Customized customer solutions
• Data as an asset
• Maximizing customer interactions
• Continuation of “Remote” and/or “Hybrid” work trend
• Diversity and inclusion
• Resilience toward upsets like economy, pandemic, supply chain disruption, etc.

Every morning, at least five of these are in the headlines of the business publications I subscribe to, and they also pop up in general media, online ads, and more. Anecdotally, the CEOs I have talked to, and our current clients agree that these issues are impacting them more each day.

What was “important” is now “critical” and the impact is no longer theoretical, it is financial.

Strategic Agility

Talking points are not enough anymore. Customers, employees, and investors want to see action on issues they care about. Action that delivers results on social issues, innovation, and the bottom line.

To successfully address this wide scope of matters shaping the business climate, business cannot operate the way it has been. These impact everything from supply chain and pricing to product and service delivery, value propositions, staffing and benefits, and even exit strategies.

There are businesses that will come out on top of this. And those will be the businesses that are strategically agile. They may:

• Re-evaluate their hiring process to embrace remote and hybrid work.
• Update their value proposition to include sustainability and DEI.
• Fine-tune pricing structures to reflect current realities.
• Reimagine customer interactions to both customize solutions and increase customer satisfaction.
• Embrace AI while upskilling executive emotional intelligence.
• Explore data as a revenue source.

What does strategic agility look like for you? Are you ready?

(At Oyster Insight, this is our bread and butter. Contact us today.)