The survey – issued by The Conference Board in CEO Challenge 2008-Financial Crisis Edition – features an analysis of the matched sample of responses of 190 CEOs, chairmen, and company presidents who participated in The Conference Board CEO Challenge 2008 survey fielded in July and August, and then took the time to fill out the survey a second time in October, following the recent economic downfall emanating from Wall Street.

When asked to rate their greatest concerns from among 94 different challenges, the matched sample of chief executives participating in this year’s survey chose excellence of execution as their top challenge for the second year in a row. But 46.7 percent of survey participants – up from roughly half that (24.5 percent) in the summer – were most concerned about speed, flexibility and adaptability to change.

Global economic performance (44.6 percent) and financial risk including liquidity, volatility and credit risk (43.8 percent) were the fourth and fifth most pressing concerns, but were not in the Top 10 list of concerns in the summer survey. Business confidence also jumps into the Top 10, moving up 25 ranks from 34th out of 94 challenges to 9th. Those rating business confidence as being one of their “greatest concerns” rose four-fold from 9.1 percent in July/August to 36.3 percent in October.

“The CEO mindset is focused and the atmosphere is intense,” says Jonathan Spector, Chief Executive Officer of The Conference Board. “Clearly, weakening economic conditions are a growing concern to CEOs worldwide, as they plan their business strategies and financial targets for the coming year.”

There were no people management issues in the Top 10 in the latest survey, and, among them, only efficiency and health-care costs gained in relative importance from July/August.

Says Spector: “Business leaders across the globe are focusing more urgently on execution and immediate bottom-line issues, and leaving the people management systems built up during the tight labor market of the past five years to operate how they are intended.”

Consistent execution of strategy by top management ranked second in the latter study (with 47.0 percent of CEOs assigning it the highest challenge rating), followed by speed, flexibility, adaptability to change (46.6 percent), and global economic performance (44.6 percent).

Worries over the global economic environment are rising among CEOs in Europe and Asia. Fifty-one percent (51.7 percent) of CEOs in Asia (up from 20.7 percent in the summer) cite global economic performance as being among their “greatest concerns,” while 60 percent of CEOs in Europe, the top ranking (up from 24.4 percent), cite global economic performance as being of “greatest concern.”

In the U.S., concern about the global economy rose from 7 percent to 21 percent – the 16th most pressing issue – in the latest survey.

Respondents to The Conference Board CEO Challenge Survey are asked to rate the magnitude that each challenge poses over the next 6-12 months on a scale of 0 (not applicable) to 5 (my greatest concern).

The Conference Salary Budget Increase Survey

The drawn-out financial crisis and forecast of continuing negative economic growth in 2009 are also impacting compensation decisions in real-time, according to another survey re-fielded by The Conference Board.

In June 2008, The Conference Board released the results from its annual Salary Budget Increase survey. By the second week of October, multiple requests asking for a special mid-year survey prompted a re-fielding of this survey as well. One-quarter (24.8  percent) of the 327 respondents report that their 2009 salary increase budget has changed since it was first approved. And many among those responding to both the original survey in April/May and re-fielded October survey are making notable downward adjustments. For example, the median salary budget increase for executive merit pay dropped from 3.70 percent to 3.50 percent over the six-month April/May to October time period.

Sources:
CEO Challenge 2008: Top 10 Challenges—Financial Crisis Edition
Research Report #1440-08 RR, The Conference Board

Special Salary Budget Increase Survey Results: Respondents' Edition November 2008, The Conference Board.