Just 30% of U.S. public companies are confident in their long-term strategy, while 64% of U.S. board members want to see more engagement in strategic planning, according to What Directors Think 2025, new data released by Diligent.
“Not only boards, but also management have focused their attention and time on essentially fighting fire. It was COVID, and then supply chain issues, geopolitical issues, climate-related issues. Strategic thinking is a muscle that needs to be constantly exercised. If you're so used to thinking in the short term, you actually start to neglect the long-term strategic issues… Let's rethink, confirm, and align around the company's vision. Then, what is our value proposition? What differentiates you in the marketplace? What is your strategy to achieve that vision? After that, start to think about strategic initiatives and prioritize them,” says board director Ana Dutra.
Key takeaways:
· Strategic planning is a top priority for U.S. public companies. But years of “firefighting“ crises mean strategic muscles are waning.
- Strategy oversight is the No. 1 challenge for directors (42%), moving ahead of issues such as cybersecurity and data privacy, which have long topped this list.
- 64% of directors want more time for strategic planning or dedicated strategic planning meetings.
- 55% of directors want to see fewer presentations and more discussion during board meetings.
- Only 30% rate their board's ability to understand long-term strategy as "excellent."
