Accenture CEO: 5 Forces That Will Define Leaders’ Priorities in the Next Decade

As a business leader today, what should you prioritize for the next decade?

Nearly 10 years ago, leaders would have most likely said: digital cloud and security. But now in a landscape transformed by the pandemic, leaders must focus on “five key forces of change,” said Accenture Chair and CEO Julie Sweet during an in-depth conversation with Fortune Media CEO Alan Murray. The discussion was part of the “Changemaker Keynote: Customer Perspectives on Embracing Change” at Workday Rising, our marquee customer event. 

Sweet’s forces of change include total enterprise reinvention, talent, sustainability, operating on the metaverse continuum, and ongoing technology revolution.

And as Murray put it: “Given all of that, you can’t lead in the ways you led 20 years ago. There’s just too much going on.”

For example, regarding total enterprise reinvention, Sweet cited an upcoming Accenture research finding that 68% of companies have at least three transformation programs, a huge shift from the pre-pandemic days.

“So we’ve shifted from having digital strategies to, basically, take the wheel of your company, put every function on it, and say, ‘Every function will have to be transformed by technology, data, and AI [artificial intelligence], and we’ll have to have new ways of working and engaging employees, customers, partners, and our communities,’” Sweet said. “That is a shift. That isn’t about digital strategy. It’s not about a piece of it; it’s about the entire enterprise, no questions asked, and doing so in a compressed fashion.”

Sweet spent a good portion of the conversation providing a more in-depth perspective on the talent force of change, citing three must-do’s: First, companies need to be able to access great talent, which means having a broad, diverse talent pool.

A second aspect is being a talent creator. That means being able to identify workers who can shift their skills or reskill toward new demands, a strategy that requires having a database of skills and the ability to run algorithms to identify who could be retrained. 

“This is so important, we believe, not just to Accenture, but this is the future of how people manage talent,” Sweet said. “We believe that organizations have to focus on skills, and it also allows you, in this time of change and transformation, to fulfill your commitment to your employees. Because if you can’t become a talent creator and reskill and understand skills, then your only choice is to go hire. And this allows us to provide new opportunities for our own people, which drives our transformation.”

And the last piece that companies need to succeed with their talent, according to Sweet, is being able to unlock the potential of your talent, which means understanding it.

For leaders steering their organizations amid the current landscape of constant change, Sweet advised progress over perfection and dreaming big, referencing a plaque in her home that says: “If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough.” 

“And I think right now is the time where we can dream big,” Sweet said. “I think about that from my personal perspective and the way that we run Accenture. And I’m super optimistic that organizations around the world are dreaming big, and as long as we continue to do that, the world after five years is going to be a lot better for everyone than it is right now.”

Register for a Workday Rising 2022 Digital Discovery Pass to watch Sweet and Murray’s full conversation in “Changemaker Keynote: Customer Perspectives on Embracing Change”. More than 300 on-demand keynotes and breakout sessions are available through the Global Digital Access Pass through April 2023.