Peter Drucker’s famous quote about culture eating strategy for breakfast is certainly resonating with CEOs in 2026.  

 

At our recent annual Retreat for CEOs, we asked leaders what core challenge their organisation was facing at present, expecting that world events or the turbulent economy would top the bill.

Unexpectedly, mindset and culture were cited as the most prevalent challenge by CEOs, polling higher than financial and economic pressure, shareholders, geopolitics and regulation. It’s clear that global leaders operating in today’s difficult landscape are focused not just on what need to be done, but how they should be going about it. 

 

At the Retreat, CEOs from across our international membership Community came together to discuss, debate and support each other on a number of key issues. Under the subtitle of A Time to Innovate, leaders shared their ideas and experiences on technology innovation, economic trends, levers for growth, how AI is impacting business models, risk and reputation, Board effectiveness and much more. On the latter topic, 34 percent of attendees at the Retreat told us Boards could improve by having a better understanding of the business, closely followed by being less risk averse (28 percent).  

 

The importance of a strong culture to unlock the potential of ambitious transformation programmes driven by new technology will be tested this year. Here are a few of the findings from other polls and research we took at the CEO Retreat: 

 

 

Interesting, building alignment on the senior leadership team was where CEOs said they most need to improve as leaders. Creating the right culture and alignment at the top, which includes a healthy amount of challenge and rigorous debate, can ricochet throughout the business creating the right environment for successful change and transformation.  

 

Criticaleye supports CEOs, Board members and senior executives leading in today’s fast-paced and challenging environment. With leaders under pressure and facing more obstacles than ever, executives need quick and accessible reference points to make the right decisions.  

Check out one of our recent podcasts where CEO Mike Maudsley from enfinium spoke to us about what CEOs need to do to stay ahead of the curve, be self aware and develop themselves as leaders:   

 

 

 

Our global leadership Community provides a confidential and trusted space, offering diverse views which leaders can draw from when making decisions for themselves and their organisations. 

 

Get in touch to speak to one of our team about how we support individuals operating at the highest level of organisations.