FastCompany/The CEO's Invaluable Time

The CEO's Invaluable Time

In such a period, it is necessary to be a 'sprint' runner, not a marathon runner. In an era where disruptive technologies are at play and critical decisions can become obsolete in just a few years, how leaders manage their time is crucial. In the past, leaders spent only about 5% of their time on the future, but today this percentage has risen to 70%.

Two years ago, Hamdi Ulukaya, the founder of Chobani, made a very bold decision and quickly implemented it. He replaced 9 out of the 10 top executives of his company in one day. During that period, 50% of the top 60 executives were replaced. Ulukaya explained the reasoning behind this decision, which was to create the future: "It’s necessary to dedicate time to reading the period well. If you throw a frog into hot water, it will jump out immediately. But if you put it into cold water and slowly heat it up, it will adapt to the heat but eventually die. Companies change over time, and we may not notice it. In such environments, some things can go wrong directly."

According to him, the main reason for this is that, over time, executives who have worked together for years no longer see the reality. The executive changes Ulukaya made at Chobani were due to this, and with these changes, Chobani, as he puts it, "became enormous in one year": "To manage the future, some fundamental changes must be made. It’s hard, but it’s inevitable. The second thing is, we need to see things clearly."

Ulukaya's approach to managing the future includes an essential aspect often overlooked by many leaders: "taking time." What was once right may no longer be relevant, and we must not miss the approaching change. In a rapidly changing business world driven by new business models and innovations, focusing on the future has become even more critical.

A McKinsey survey involving 1,000 business leaders revealed this truth. According to the leaders who participated, in the next five years, 50% of revenues will come from "products and services that do not exist today." In other words, companies focused only on the present will miss out on these new revenue sources in the future.

SPENDING TIME FOR THE FUTURE

Cenk Alper, CEO of Sabancı Holding, made an important observation during the Ayvalık Business Forum when discussing this topic: "If we don’t become game-changers of new technologies, we will become their implementers/customers. We’ll pay millions to the producers and make them rich. The goal is to focus on what we need to do to become game-changers. Turkey also needs to follow the incoming waves closely. In our strategy meetings, we focus not on how to bring what is happening in the world, but how to prioritize it."

Leaders participating in our survey agree that managing the future requires creation and design. For them, the key is thinking long-term and dedicating a significant portion of their time to it.

When it comes to how much time CEOs dedicate to thinking about the future, various studies have emerged. Different views and calculations exist regarding "allocated" and "necessary" time. For example, a study published in The Economistfound that global CEOs spend 60% of their time in meetings and only 4% on "thinking/designing the future."

DESIGNING THE FUTURE

Author Michael Simmons highlighted the rapid change we are experiencing: "A 44-year-old today will experience four times the change by the time they are 60 in 2040. What seems like a year of change today will happen every 3 months in that future. A 10-year-old today will experience the same rate of change in only 11 days when they turn 60."

Therefore, dedicating time to change and managing it properly is crucial. Various calculations also exist regarding the amount of time to spend. For example, management consultant Cathy McCullough believes that leaders should dedicate 40% of their time to the "future." In McKinsey's study, this ratio was 5% just two years ago.

Vodafone Turkey CEO Engin Aksoy shares a similar perspective: "I can say that I spend about one-third of my time designing the future. During this period, my focus is on perfecting customer experience and increasing resources to establish a sustainable growth model."

In the fast-changing technology sector, Burak Ertaş, CEO of Sahibinden.com, has a similar approach: "I dedicate 30-40% of my time to the future and business development."

IMPORTANT BUT NO TIME!

In McKinsey's survey of 10,000 global senior executives, 97% agreed that "strategic thinking is the most important leadership behavior." However, 97% of the same group admitted that they don't have enough time for it. Meanwhile, according to research by Radicati, they manage to respond to an average of 126 emails daily.

Mey|Diageo CEO Bahar Uçanlar shares the same sentiment as 97% of the respondents: "One of the key steps to success in business is to develop a strategic plan." She adds, "While we manage today as effectively as possible, we also meticulously plan for tomorrow and set our goals. To create, plan, and design the future, I use 30% of my time."

As Uçanlar points out, meticulous planning is critical. McKinsey's study emphasizes that large companies need to reorganize and review their strategies every 2-3 years, which can take up to 18 months. The study concludes that in a world where technology changes everything, a "wait and see" approach is no longer a valid option.

IC Holding CEO Can Çaka agrees with the "most important job" definition: "A CEO should spend more time designing the future and preparing a team for future management roles. However, daily tasks and short-term goals reduce the time we should spend on long-term strategies."

DESIGNING THE AGENDA

Leaders participating in PwC Global’s CEO research agree that if they could redesign their calendars, they would dedicate more time to managing the future. They believe the ideal ratio between the future and today should be 57% to 43%, but in reality, daily tasks take up 57%.

According to a 2020 study by Russel Reynolds, only 5% of CEOs devote "good enough" time to prepare for the future, and 47% say they dedicate "very little" time.

TOGG CEO Gürcan Karakaş draws attention to the increasing pace of information renewal: "Information is being updated so quickly that it’s becoming harder to keep up. The adaptation period for information is no longer 4-5 years. Everything is renewed in at most 2 years. Just like software, we need to check for updates every morning."

In competitive sectors, such as Ülker’s, CEO Mete Buyurgan points out: "I believe 50% is the ideal ratio for planning and designing the future, while focusing on daily operations can be a huge trap for a leader. However, I always closely monitor the actions of long-term strategies."

DEPENDING ON SIZE

According to KPMG's 2019 research, companies with leaders who think long-term grew by 130% between 2003-2017, while those focused on shorter terms grew by only 77%. This reveals a significant difference between the two types of leaders.

However, experts argue that the time spent thinking about the future should vary according to the company's size. For example, in startup companies, the founder/CEO should allocate 60-70% of their time to the present and growth. In developing companies, 55% should be allocated to the present, and larger companies should allocate 60% to the future.

Among leaders of large companies in our survey, the percentage varies between 30-70%. For example, İntema CEO Sibel Batur Üğdül focuses 60-70% of her time on the future, while Akçansa CEO Vecih Yılmaz allocates about one-third of his time to future-oriented topics while managing current risks and volatility.

Matlı Group Vice President Önder Matlı also points out that it’s hard to give a specific time range: "But I can say that I dedicate more time every passing day."

TURKISH CEO’S TIME

Harvard Business School Professor Francesca Gino states, "We are increasingly seeing big decisions being reversed because the pace of change has reached unprecedented levels." She argues that the rise of disruptive technologies is changing everything and shortening the lifespan of many things. In such a period, important decisions can become obsolete quickly, and to stay aligned with the environment, one must be fast and ready to reverse the plan when necessary.

In this environment, as described by Turnaround author and United Airlines President Oscar Munoz, rather than a marathon, we need to be sprint runners: "We must be faster and tougher."

In the competitive Turkish business world, some CEOs manage their time as "sprint" runners. In a survey conducted with CEO Council members, the time allocated to the future varies between 30% and 70%, with an average of 40%. CEOs who allocate 60-70% of their time to the future are mostly those who have recently taken office. For example, Gökşin Durusoy, CEO of Akkök Holding, dedicates 70% of his time to "creating and designing the future." Hasan Pehlivan, who recently became the president of Eczacıbaşı Building Group, also says, "Especially in the current period, I dedicate a lot of time outside my routine to the future."

Important but No Time!

In a study conducted by McKinsey with 10,000 global senior executives, 97% agreed that "strategic thinking is the most important leadership behavior." However, the same group admitted that they do not have enough time to devote to this. On the other hand, according to research by Radicati, they manage to find time to respond to an average of 126 emails per day.

Mey|Diageo CEO Bahar Uçanlar shares a similar viewpoint, saying, "One of the key steps to achieving success in the business world is developing a planned strategy." She continues: "We also manage today most effectively while carefully planning for tomorrow and setting our goals. To achieve these goals, we create a roadmap with concrete and measurable steps. I dedicate 30% of my time to plan, create, and design the future."

As Uçanlar points out, meticulous planning is crucial. McKinsey’s research shows that especially large companies need to reorganize and review their strategies every 2-3 years, which is not easy and can take an average of 18 months. The research also notes that "waiting and seeing" is no longer a viable option as technology changes everything.

IC Holding CEO Can Çaka agrees with the definition of "the most important task." He says, "A CEO should dedicate more time to designing the future and nurturing the team that will take on management roles in the future. However, daily tasks and short-term goals reduce the time we should allocate to long-term goals."

Designing the Agenda

Leaders participating in PwC Global's CEO research, when evaluating their current situation, say, "If we could redesign our calendars, we would allocate more time to managing the future." They add: "The ideal balance between the future and today should be 57% to 43%. However, in reality, daily tasks take up 57% of our time."

In a 2020 study by Russel Reynolds, only 5% of CEOs dedicated sufficient time to preparing for the "future," while 47% admitted to spending very little time on it.

TOGG CEO Gürcan Karakaş highlights the increasing pace of information updates, saying, "Information is being renewed so quickly that it's becoming increasingly difficult to keep up." He continues: "The adaptation time for knowledge is no longer 4-5 years as it used to be. Everything is renewed in 2 years at most. It’s like software updates—every morning we check if there’s a new update. I’ve been doing this for 6-7 years now, and 99% of our work revolves around innovation and technology. The expertise of someone claiming to be an expert lasts no more than a year."

Mete Buyurgan, CEO of Ülker, supports the idea of allocating "50%" of time for future planning and design, emphasizing that focusing mainly on daily operations is a major trap for leaders. "However, I never give up on closely following the actions of long-term strategies," he adds.

Varies According to Size

According to a 2019 KPMG study, companies with leaders who think long-term grew by 130% between 2003 and 2017, while those focusing on shorter timeframes grew by only 77%. This shows the significant difference between the two types of leaders.

Experts believe the time dedicated to thinking about the future should not be the same for all company sizes. For example, in Rhythm Systems' research, CEOs should dedicate about 40% of their time to the future. However, Coaching International takes a different approach, stating that a CEO's time usage should vary depending on the company’s stage and size. In startup-level companies, the founder/CEO should dedicate 60-70% of their time to the present and growth, while in developing companies, 55% should go to the present, and in large companies, 60% should be dedicated to the future.

In our survey, among leaders of large companies, the percentages of time dedicated to the future range from 30% to 70%. For instance, Sibel Batur Üğdül, CEO of İntema, emphasizes "60-70%" for future-related work, while Vecih Yılmaz, CEO of Akçansa, says, "Managing current risks and volatility takes up a significant portion of my time, but I dedicate about one-third of it to future-related matters." Önder Matlı, Vice President of Matlı Group, adds, "It's hard to give a clear time frame, but I can say that I am dedicating more and more time as each day passes."

Turkish CEOs' Time

Prof. Francesca Gino from Harvard Business School notes, "We’re increasingly seeing major decisions being reversed because the pace of change is unprecedented." She adds that the rise of disruptive technologies is changing everything and shortening the lifespan of many things. In such an environment, important decisions quickly become invalid. "To stay aligned with the environment in this period, you must act quickly and foresee changes, adjusting plans accordingly," she says.

In this environment, Oscar Munoz, author of Turnaround and President of United Airlines, suggests that CEOs should be "sprint runners" instead of marathon runners: "We need to be faster, harder."

In the competitive Turkish business world, some CEOs manage their time as "sprint runners." In a survey we conducted with CEO Council members, the time dedicated to the future ranged from 30% to 70%, with an average of 40%. CEOs who allocated 60-70% of their time to the future are often those newly appointed. For example, Gökşin Durusoy, CEO of Akkök Holding, dedicates 70% of his time to "creating and designing the future." Hasan Pehlivan, who recently became the President of Eczacıbaşı Building Group, says, "Especially in the current period, I dedicate quite a bit of time to the future, apart from my regular routine."