01 September 2006 EDITOR'S NOTE By Sasha Planting

So the CEO of Johncom has been axed. According to an official communiqué, the board had "lost faith in him and his ability to lead the company". What he lacked, in other words, was the appropriate vision to chart a strategic future for the company. In a business environment challenged by more competition, increasing customer expectations, regulatory change, unexpected market shifts and rapid technological change, it's not good enough for a CEO to concentrate on the day-to-day issues of running a company. These days it's all about growth. And executives are acknowledging that growth - perhaps even survival - depends on a firm's ability to innovate. Klaus Kleinfeld, the CEO of Siemens AG, recently observed that "you win the war with ideas, not with spending cuts". Boardroom discussions on innovation have evolved, with executives recognising that innovation is not just about invention and new product development. Innovation is about skill and leadership - understanding market trends, knowing where to concentrate innovation attention and having the guts (and board support) to make decisions that pay off only in the long term. IBM released a survey on innovation that canvassed the views of top CEOs around the world. Fully 65% of these leaders believe they have to make fundamental changes to their business models over the next two years. They also acknowledge that it is up to the CEO to lead, set direction and lay the cultural groundwork that stimulates innovation in an organisation. If that person is not up to this task then the rest of the organisation, no matter how dedicated, will never take up the cudgels. Editor