- In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady shares highlights from a conversation with Michael Rogers.
- The big leadership story: Budget airline execs ask the Trump administration for help.
- The markets: Mixed globally after the S&P 500 hit another record high.
- Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.
Good morning. What does it mean to be agile during these volatile, fast-moving and often dangerous times? Fortune co-hosted a CEO dinner with BCG in Chicago on Thursday where we talked about opportunities in AI, along with the realities of driving change in a more complex threat environment. Here are some highlights from the group discussion and my on-the-record conversation with Admiral Michael Rogers, former head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, who’s now a senior advisor at Brunswick Group. As he put it: “We have to optimize ourselves to deal with a high level of uncertainty, a high level of complexity and a low tolerance for failure by the people that we work for.” Some advice:
Understand the administration’s agenda. “I encourage everybody to read the 29-page national security strategy this administration wrote,” Rogers said. “They have laid out exactly what they’re doing, and they’ll tell you exactly why. Trump doesn’t care about previous relationships or historic norms. He will tell you, ‘What I care about is what generates value for the citizens of our nation.’ …You cannot be distracted by the rhetoric. You’ve got to focus on what he’s trying to achieve.”
Understand how the war has changed. Brute military force was the U.S.’s strategy in the past. “Now, we have pivoted to the economic piece. That’s the idea of the blockade, of grabbing Iranian ships around the world…If I was a betting man, I’d say the Americans are going to blink first,” Rogers said. “Whenever this is over, we’re not going back to the way it was …and you can apply what happened in the Strait of Hormuz to the Strait of Malacca, the English Channel, the entrance to The Baltic and other choke points through which massive segments of the global economy pass.”
Understand how your strategy must change. “You’re seeing cyber attacks at a speed, scale, and dynamic rate of change you just have not seen before,” said Rogers. “You’ve got to spend more time focusing on resilience and less on this idea that it’s all about protection and stopping from getting them in.” Speed and trust were themes echoed by executives around the table. BCG partner Julia Dhar shared some key principles from the research underpinningHow Change Really Works,a new book she co-authored that comes out May 19. (Data on giving people agency especially resonated with me.) And when asked what keeps them up at night, two leaders said they are most worried about the world we are leaving for their children.
Other takeaways: A lot of the conversation focused on how CEOs are incorporating AI into their operations. At one firm, AI is freeing up staff to have 20% more hands-on time with customers. We talked about how leaders are using AI to boost safety, reduce burnout, and personalize education. And we explored how they’re dealing with broader societal issues of rising fuel costs, food insecurity and distrust. As one CEO said: “We’re making decisions at a faster pace to bring value to our customers … AI is a tool, but your people are going to drive your business.” Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at [email protected]
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