Corporate leaders shifting their focus to executing strategies

By Seiichi Tamura and Shusaku Nomoto

Roland Berger announces findings of its inaugural survey of CxOs and Corporate Planning leaders’ perspectives

Roland Berger’s survey reveals that corporate leaders in Japan see challenges in executing, and more importantly, completing their strategies.

A leading European strategic consultancy conducted its inaugural survey among CxOs and Corporate Planning leaders of public companies in Japan to better understand their perspectives on issues in leading their organizations as well as factors affecting those issues. The survey results also show that more than 90% of respondents see their workforce as an underlying drag when executing M&As, transforming their organizations or managing day-to-day operations.

Four highlights of the survey findings include:

1. Focus has shifted from developing visions and strategies to implementing them
2. More than 90% of senior leaders see challenges in the area of talent; nurturing both managers and the general workforce is a concern
3. Lagging talent development directly hinders post-merger profitability
4. Slow business transformation is also attributed to people; it is not a matter of strategy but an issue of who is capable of executing the initiative

1. Focus has shifted from developing visions and strategies to implementing them

2. More than 90% of senior leaders see challenges in the area of talent; nurturing both managers and the general workforce is a concern

3. Lagging talent development directly hinders post-merger profitability

4. Slow business transformation is also attributed to people; it is not a matter of strategy but an issue of who is capable of executing the initiative

Seiichi Tamura, Senior Partner at Roland Berger and the head of the business transformation team, commented on the survey results:

“Leaders become competent in transforming organizations and businesses only by going through drastic experiences, be it a business turnaround or a global business launch. In reality, however, future leader candidates are often offered senior positions in stable businesses, which may have been important and considered as core to the company for a long time. As a result, while they can be great in running business as usual, they may lack experience in leading transformation at a time of crisis. One of the most important roles of today’s corporate leaders is to raise future leaders who are committed to exploring ways to reach their chosen goals. ”

Shusaku Nomoto, Principle at Roland Berger who is leading the business transformation team, said:

“While talent development can be seen as achievements in the annual performance review for those who launch the initiative, actual deliverables may be hard to verify. This is why, as suggested in our survey results, many of today’s corporate leaders find strategy execution and talent development challenging. To tackle this issue, companies need to regularly revisit all ongoing initiatives without any bias and remodel them as needed. This sets your company apart from others and helps you be ready for any transformation.”

Overview of the survey

• Survey conducted in January 2025
• Surveyed by Roland Berger
• Surveyed via Online
• Survey samples include both men and women ranging in age from 20s to 70s across the country, who are either CxOs or Corporate Planning leaders in public companies (CEO/other management member/senior executive or Head of Corporate Planning/equivalent position)
• Valid responses received by 200 participants

Leveraging its expertise in management consulting, Roland Berger will continue to help Japanese companies maximize their lasting values. Please contact our consultants for further details of the survey.