What matters most? Six priorities for CEOs in turbulent times

Executive Overview

McKinsey’s article argues that CEOs operating in turbulent times need a dual mindset: tighten the belt and put on the hard hat, but do not abandon the jet pack. In other words, leaders must strengthen resilience while still pursuing bold growth opportunities. The authors frame the CEO’s role as both strategist and integrator: someone who must decide what matters now, what can wait, and how to mobilize the enterprise around the few priorities that create both defense and advantage.

The article identifies six CEO priorities for a volatile environment: resilience, courage, new-business building, technology, net zero, and employee reengagement. The overarching message is that purely defensive leadership is not enough; companies should protect the downside while positioning themselves to outperform as conditions shift.

Major Takeaways for Business Leaders

1. Build resilience as an enterprise capability

McKinsey describes resilience as a vital corporate “muscle” in a world of ongoing volatility and disruption. The article highlights six dimensions of resilience: finance, operations, technology, organization, business model, and reputation. For CEOs, the central question is straightforward: How resilient is your company?

2. Lead with courage, not only caution

The authors warn that when economic indicators flash red, it can be tempting to delay initiatives, reduce ambition, and pull back from growth. McKinsey argues that the best leaders are “ambidextrous”: disciplined about managing risk while still pursuing upside opportunities.

3. Make new-business building a strategic priority

McKinsey notes that more than half of top executives consider business building a top-three priority. The article emphasizes that successful CEOs set a high ambition for new ventures and protect them from “business as usual” pressures that can slow innovation.

4. Put technology at the heart of the business

Technology is presented not as a support function, but as a core source of business transformation. McKinsey connects digital transformation, software-led business models, and emerging technology trends to the CEO’s responsibility to identify where technology can create competitive advantage.

5. Reframe net zero as a competitiveness issue

The article acknowledges that inflation, war in Europe, energy insecurity, and recession concerns complicated the net-zero agenda. However, McKinsey argues that sustainability, affordability, competitiveness, and national security are increasingly connected, making net zero a strategic CEO issue rather than a standalone ESG commitment.

6. Reengage employees around meaning, flexibility, and purpose

McKinsey argues that the relationship between companies and employees has become too transactional. CEOs need a renewed engagement model that addresses hybrid work, the future of the office, employee meaning, collaboration, and retention.

Talking Points for Executive Teams

CEOs should avoid treating turbulence as a reason to pause. The better response is to strengthen the company’s foundation while selectively accelerating into areas of future growth.

Resilience should be measured across the whole enterprise, not just the balance sheet. Financial strength matters, but so do operational flexibility, technology readiness, organizational agility, reputation, and business model adaptability.

Courage does not mean reckless investment. It means making deliberate, forward-looking choices when competitors may be frozen by uncertainty.

New-business building requires protection from legacy processes. If the company wants breakthrough growth, it must give new ventures the assets, autonomy, talent, and governance required to scale.

Technology strategy belongs on the CEO agenda. Digital transformation, software capabilities, automation, data, and emerging technology trends increasingly shape competitive position.

Employee engagement is now a strategic differentiator. Hybrid work policies alone are not enough; people need connection, purpose, growth, and a workplace experience worth participating in.

Reflection Questions for Leaders

1. Where are we most vulnerable across finance, operations, technology, organization, business model, and reputation?
2. Are we overcorrecting toward defense at the expense of long-term growth?
3. Which bold moves would we regret not making three to five years from now?
4. What new businesses or growth platforms should we be building while competitors are distracted?
5. Is technology embedded in our strategy, or is it still treated mainly as an enablement function?
6. How are we connecting sustainability, resilience, affordability, and competitiveness in our strategy?
7. What would make employees more emotionally committed to the organization, not just contractually attached?

Potential Action Items

Conduct a CEO-led resilience review across the six dimensions McKinsey highlights: finance, operations, technology, organization, business model, and reputation.

Identify two or three strategic growth bets that should continue despite uncertainty.

Create a protected structure for new-business building, with separate governance, funding, talent, and performance metrics.

Reassess the company’s technology agenda to determine which digital, software, automation, or data capabilities are truly strategic.

Integrate net-zero commitments into business strategy by linking sustainability goals to cost, growth, security, and competitiveness.

Refresh the employee value proposition around flexibility, meaning, leadership development, collaboration, and workplace experience.

Recommended Similar Articles

Something’s coming: How US companies can build resilience, survive a downturn, and thrive in the next cycle
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A devilish duality: How CEOs can square resilience with net-zero promises
Useful for executives trying to balance near-term economic pressure with long-term climate commitments.

What matters most? Five priorities for CEOs in the next normal
A helpful companion piece for comparing CEO priorities from the earlier postpandemic period with the six priorities identified in this article.