On Opportunities and Risks

• Three out of four (76 percent) view their management team as having more impact on revenue growth than three years ago; two-thirds say new technology and new product development.
• The management team scores similarly high (75 percent) compared to three years ago on questions about internal factors leading to profitability, although operational efficiency scored on top, at 80 percent.
• 95 percent say the U.S. economy is an important external growth factor, followed by the global economy (92 percent).
• Regulation placed third among external concerns, with 91 percent saying it will have an impact on growth.
• Most expect budget increases in health care (70 percent), energy (64 percent) and technology (61 percent).
• 75 percent say the return on technology investments just met or fell short of their expectations.
• 31 percent say customers are easier to retain; just 23 percent say customer retention is harder.

On Governance

• 30 percent say the single most positive outcome of governance rule changes is more engaged board members; 27 percent cite improved investor confidence.
• Nearly all CEOs (97 percent) say compliance costs have increased; 48 percent of U.S. CEOs and 23 percent of non- U.S. leaders cite increases of 100 percent or more.
• Nearly four in ten (39 percent) say extra compliance costs have resulted in delays and/or cancellation of efforts to grow their business.

On The CEO Role

• Compared with three years ago, 99 percent say their jobs put them at greater personal legal risk; 96 percent report their jobs are more time consuming.
• When asked to identify the element of performance most crucial to long-term success as a CEO, 58 percent cite sustainable growth.
• Nearly nine out of 10 respondents say they spend more time on regulatory issues. More than one-quarter spend less time on day-to-day management and customer relations.

On Investors

• CEOs indicate that short-term measures of a company’s health are greater measures of performance, with 58 percent citing EPS growth and cash flow from operations as more important.
• Compared with three years ago, it is easier to attract investors, according to 56 percent of respondents; 40 percent also think it is easier to retain them.

On Human Capital

• Compared with three years ago, it is easier to attract employees (44 percent). CEOs are split on whether it is easier or more difficult to retain them.
• To retain employees, CEOs are leaning more toward employee education (51 percent), cash bonuses (53 percent), stock incentives (53 percent) and flexible schedules (44 percent); 27 percent say employee discounts were less effective.
• To control health-care costs, more than seven out of 10 CEOs cite increasing employee deductibles (74 percent), increasing employee premiums (72 percent) and setting up employeepaid flexible spending accounts (72 percent).

On Reputation Management

• 16 percent of CEOs believe they could be doing more to protect their company’s reputation.
• The most common ways to monitor company reputation are informal discussions with relevant parties (87 percent), discussions with or surveys of employees (84 percent) and reviews of published rankings (83 percent).

On Globalization

• Two-thirds (65 percent) cite the U.S. as the country where they plan to focus more through 2007; China was second (45 percent).
• 78 percent say they will focus more on NAFTA through next year; 62 percent say BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China).
• 57 percent describe emerging markets as an opportunity; CEOs of companies with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion are even more positive, with 66 percent viewing emerging markets as an opportunity.
• Of the 41 percent who have moved operations offshore, 77 percent describe their experiences as very or somewhat successful. Only 4 percent say they failed to achieve their goals.