of CEOs spend their time fire-fighting short-term crises
THE PRESSURE INDEX
The contemporary CEO is operating under historic levels of strain, with executive anxiety now outpacing even the heights of the Covid pandemic. According to the Brunswick Leadership Stress Index, compiled with Harvard Business School, today’ s volatility feels entirely decentralised for CEOs, who face a constant barrage of algorithmic AI disruption, activist shareholders and polarised societal expectations.
Compounding this is immediacy. CEOs lose over half their time firefighting short-term crises, leaving zero bandwidth for long-term strategic planning. The antidote isn’ t individual mindfulness, but structural governance shifts. Boards must offload the cognitive weight, migrating data processing onto intelligent systems to let leaders think and breathe.
50 % +
of CEOs spend their time fire-fighting short-term crises
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