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If someone asked where the world spends its money, most people would point to healthcare, energy, or technology. Yet a closer look at the global economy reveals a striking reality. A remarkable share of the world’s resources is devoted not to creating value, but to protecting ourselves from one another. These investments are necessary in the world as it exists today. They protect lives, property, and institutions. But they also reveal something deeper about the human conditio

For most of the past century, organizations operated on a simple assumption: clarity flows downward. Leaders set direction, managers interpret it, and employees implement it. When people wanted to understand what mattered, they looked up the hierarchy. But a growing body of research indicates that this assumption no longer reflects how many workplaces actually operate. Increasingly, employees are not looking upward for clarity first. They are looking sideways, engaging with c

Just as the Wright brothers accepted gravity as a constant of physics, leaders might benefit from recognizing peer influence as a constant of human systems. Peer influence is not a force to eliminate. Nor is it one that leaders can control entirely. It is a force that can be understood, shaped, and harnessed. The leader’s role, then, is not simply to direct performance from above. It is to cultivate the conditions where colleagues elevate one another. That is when teams move

In executive conversations about artificial intelligence, the language often turns quickly to efficiency. Leaders talk about automation, cost savings, speed, and scale. The subtext is rarely subtle. If AI can do the work faster and cheaper, why not reduce headcount and improve margins? There is nothing inherently wrong with pursuing productivity. In fact, productivity growth has long been the engine of rising living standards. But when we frame AI primarily as a replacement s

We watched skiers hurtle down icy slopes at speeds that leave no margin for error. We saw figure skaters deliver routines in which a fraction of a rotation could determine the podium. We witnessed bobsled teams win or lose by hundredths of a second. In every instance, the spotlight was intense, and the margins were razor thin. Yet, the athletes who succeeded didn’t seem overwhelmed by the moment. They appeared rooted in something deeper. They met the moment by leaning into th

For decades, the Person of the Year award went to presidents, prime ministers, CEOs, and cultural icons—individuals whose decisions clearly shaped global events. In 2006, TIME recognized that power was spreading out. Digital platforms gave us the ability to share our ideas beyond our immediate circles. We could share them with the world and, as a result, change the world. That shift carries direct implications for CEOs today. Click here for the complete article: https://ceowo

In 2026, the CEO’s role has evolved in a way few leadership job descriptions capture. Beyond strategy, capital allocation, and risk oversight, chief executives will be increasingly called upon to serve as trust brokers within their organizations. The  2026 Edelman Trust Barometer , titled Trust Amid Insularity, makes clear why. Trust is not collapsing, it’s concentrating. People are placing more faith in those closest to them while growing more reluctant to trust those who th

As artificial intelligence accelerates across the business landscape, many leaders feel pressure to take a side. Either embrace AI as a substitute for human work or defend people against automation. That framing is understandable, but it is also deeply flawed. The Edelman Trust Barometer, from the  Edelman Trust Institute , reveals a troubling global pattern. People are retreating into smaller circles of trust. A clear majority reports feeling hesitant or unwilling to trust p

For decades, leadership and talent assessments have helped organizations better understand the people inside them. Personality instruments, engagement surveys, 360-degree feedback, and capability models have all played an important role in improving self-awareness, guiding development, and informing succession decisions. These tools are not flawed. They are simply designed to answer the question: Who are our people? Today, however, a growing number of CEOs are recognizing the

Most leaders don’t ignore problems. They delay them. They don’t do this because they lack intelligence or care. They do so because urgency rarely announces itself. When revenue holds steady, customers stay quiet, and teams continue to deliver, leaders convince themselves that action can wait. Until it can’t. I recently spoke with a colleague about how many clients today only act when the house is on fire. By the time leaders respond, culture has already eroded. Trust is compr

Trust is no longer flowing the way leaders expect. The data behind this shift is clearly reflected in the Edelman Trust Barometer, a global study of public trust in institutions (government, business, media, non-governmental organizations) conducted across 28 countries since 2001. The findings of its 2026 installment, announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, show that trust in traditional authorities continues to erode. Yet amid this decline, one source of t

Two Resources Leaders Must Harness to Thrive in 2026: Peers and AI - Leadership in 2026 focuses more on creating environments - spaces where peers can learn, challenge, and support each other, and where AI complements rather than replaces human skills. Join us here for the complete article: https://ceoworld.biz/2026/01/19/two-resources-leaders-must-harness-to-thrive-in-2026-peers-and-ai/ . For the Peernovation Deep Dive, join DwAIne & JAIne here: https://static.wixstatic.com

Organizations don’t suffer from a lack of initiatives. They suffer from an excess of them.  New programs aimed at boosting engagement, collaboration, learning, accountability, or performance are introduced all too often. Many are well-meaning and thoughtfully planned. However, over time, most fade away. They add another layer to an already busy environment, becoming just one more task people are asked to manage alongside their core responsibilities. The most durable systems a

As organizations move into 2026, leaders are navigating a complex reality. Expectations for performance continue to rise, yet engagement remains stubbornly low across many industries. According to Gallup, only about 23 percent of employees globally report being engaged at work. At the same time, stress and anxiety remain common, with a majority of employees saying they experience stress on a daily basis. What many organizations overlook is that performance is not driven solel

Harvard Buisness School Professor and best-selling author Amy Edmondson 's research on psychological safety has given leaders a powerful lens for understanding team performance. Edmondson’s well-known 2×2, which shows psychological safety and accountability not as opposing forces, but as necessary partners, clearly illustrates where high performance lives: the Learning Zone. She characterizes it as the optimal environment where teams have both high psychological safety and hi

What began as an exploration of CEO peer advisory groups soon revealed a broader truth: whether in a forum or a company, exceptional performance is a collective achievement. Peter Senge stated his favorite definition of leadership as “the capacity of a human community to shape its future.” It’s a definition rooted not in control, but in creating the conditions for people to thrive together. That view aligns remarkably well with Robert Greenleaf’s seminal 1970 essay, The Serva

There’s something universally energizing about attending an impressive workshop or team-building session. The room feels alive. People lean forward, contribute more openly, and scribble notes purposefully. Ideas burst like fireworks, friendships ignite, and trust deepens. For a moment, everyone sees what could be. Three weeks later, the notebooks gathering dust are the only remaining proof that anything happened. The team remembers their experience fondly, maybe even with a b

We celebrate collaboration in theory. We put it on posters, print it in value statements, applaud it in leadership speeches, and promise it in strategic plans. Yet the lived experience is often quite different. Even in organizations filled with smart, well-intentioned people, collaboration too often gives way to competing priorities, individual agendas, or “the way we’ve always done it.” This raises a fundamental question: If we know collaboration leads to better problem-solv

In the race to lead companies, build teams, and outperform competitors, we spend extraordinary time optimizing processes, tightening systems, and measuring output. It’s no surprise, then, that creative pursuits (writing, painting, designing, podcasting, even something as simple as sketching on a whiteboard) are often placed in a category we mentally label ‘optional’. Something for “when things slow down.” But after reading  Your Brain On Art: How Art Transforms Us , the...

In a world where leaders are pressed for time, overloaded with information, and often isolated at the top, the CEO Forum remains one of the few places where they can think clearly, speak honestly, and grow intentionally. The world’s highest-performing CEO Forums don’t succeed by accident. They thrive because their members operate from a deeply shared set of values. These values are not just theoretical ideals; they are observable behaviors practiced consistently over time. Cl