Since 2004 IBM has been tracking through surveys the top (external) factors that contribute to a company’s management challenges. (You can download the survey here: http://www.ibm.com/services/us/ceo/ceostudy2010/)

Consistently on top was “Market Factors” but significantly, its importance in the ranking has been waning.  In 2004, for example, it was ranked number #1 with 84% of respondents.  In 2010, still ranked #1, it only got 56% of the responses.  Perspectives change.  And so do threats and opportunities.

Technological factors, on the other hand, went from sixth place in 2004 with 33% of the votes, to second place in 2010 with 39%.   And, the previous two years of the survey 2006 and 2008, Technology factors were ranked third.

What does this all mean to you?

From vision to strategy and from plan to action, nothing has had a more profoundly disruptive effect than technology.  Even the most talented executive teams have found this to be a difficult, occluded, and complex exercise.  Somehow, the jagged intersection between business and technology needs to be made clear.

That is exactly what we will be doing at CEO-to-CEO.  This is a place where you will get answers to today’s business challenges, which are inextricably tied to Information and Interactive Technologies.

What do you, a C-level executive, need to know to run your business?  What is important?  What is “noise?”  How can you tell the difference?  What’s new and exciting, and what’s a fad to ignore?  What can give you the edge, and what can push you over it?

Here, at CEO-to-CEO we will deliver practical knowledge in a way that’s approachable, provocative, and pragmatic.

The goal, in short, is to make sure you have all it takes to succeed.

So, fasten your seatbelts, move your trays to the upright and locked position, and get ready to see the business landscape from a whole new altitude and with a whole new attitude!

Welcome aboard!