CEOs across North America are confident they have solid growth prospects over the next three years, but despite this long term outlook, the KPMG U.S. CEO Outlook 2018 report features results from an in-depth survey of 400 U.S. CEOs determined that:

  • Seventy-seven percent are “very confident” in the growth prospects for their companies over the next three years, up from 46 percent a year ago.
  • Despite the high confidence, moderate growth is predicted. Fifty-one percent expect top-line revenue growth to be less than 2 percent over the next three years with 49 percent expecting growth in the 2 to 5 percent range.
  • Thirty-six percent have a “high M&A appetite” and are likely to undertake acquisitions which will have a significant impact on their organization, with cost reduction and business model transformation the main drivers

“Riding the tailwinds of tax reform and regulatory relief, U.S. CEOs are primed to aggressively pursue growth through M&A activity, overseas expansion, and investments in innovation and collaboration,” said KPMG U.S. Chairman and CEO, Lynne Doughtie. “They are highly confident in their business prospects and their ability to both disrupt the sectors in which they operate and handle risks head-on.”

On the innovation front, one of the most important growth strategies CEOs are turning towards is Artificial Intelligence to accelerate their innovation capacity, says Dr. Cindy Gordon, CEO and Founder of SalesChoice, an AI Disruption Innovation Award Winner, Forbes Board Advisor, and recently recognized as one of the most creative CEO’s in North America.

According to Dr. Gordon, AI is the cornerstone of a new wave of customer experience and driving guided insights and personalization is incredibly important to today’s customers, and the fastest innovation area continues to be in CEO’s learning how to master growth leveraging big data and AI.” A recent survey by PointSource found that 49% of customers are willing to shop more often when AI is present. Thirty-four percent of customers will spend more money, and 38% will share their experiences with friends and family. Essentially, AI makes people shop more, spend more and share more.

In order to use these powerful AI technologies, companies need to spend money on AI. Many companies already are, as investments in AI have seen huge jumps in recent years. Forrester Research estimates that cognitive computing technologies, or platforms based on AI, will be worth $1.2 trillion as a whole by 2020. In that same time, investments in AI will triple.

At SalesChoice, we have been able to increase companies top-line revenue growth rates by 5-15%, improve sales forecasting accuracy so CEO’s can sleep better at night. The price of a miss impacts shareholder confidence, employee confidence, and with AI – you can see the future 12 months in advance. Our Chairman, Dr. Kevin Francis, Former Chairman and CEO of Xerox Canada, always says: If he had what SalesChoice has built when he was running Xerox, he would have been able to accelerate the organization’s focus on the best pathways forward. Too much time is always wasted in business in pursuing customers that are not the right ones or don’t yield the best returns. It is hard to say no, but in the distracted world we live in, knowing where to focus is critical.

AI gives CEO’s and C-level leaders an opportunity to improve operational performance outcomes and see beyond where they are.

For more information, you can contact, Dr. Cindy Gordon CEO, Founder of SalesChoice at cindy@saleschoice.com or request a demo at marketing@saleschoice.com.

SalesChoice is creating remarkable experiences to help our customers SEE MORE TO WIN MORE in the Age of Distraction, where focus is a major productivity issue for all CEO’s.