Executive Briefings 2026

ICDP’s Executive Briefings - high-level summaries of our insights on the full range of programme topics - are available for all to read and download. If you make use of them in your own material, please remember to attribute ICDP as the source.

Executive Briefings going back to 2020 are also available to download from the website.

Businessman in a suit stands confidently with arms akimbo under storm clouds and rain, while an upward trending arrow and city skyline are in the background, symbolizing growth and resilience.

People - leadership, development, and teamwork

EB 02/26 Steve Young

The importance of people to a successful business is (I hope) a universally acknowledged truth.  It is therefore a topic that has featured in some form or other in many of my weekly blogs, and I have pulled three together here that cover different dimensions that might be considered contradictory to a degree.  The importance of strong leaders implies that without this, the business will lack direction.  Recruiting good people, and then developing them to reach their full potential suggests that a business can be self-driving to some extent.  And if you need strong leaders and capable individuals throughout the business, then does that not imply teamwork is likely to suffer?

Skyline of Shanghai, China, featuring the Oriental Pearl Tower with a futuristic design, set against a partly cloudy sky and reflecting on the river below.

Responding to the growth of Chinese new entrant brands in Europe

EB 01/26 Steve Young

There are probably very few people in the general population, let alone car buyers or those employed in the industry who are unaware of the arrival in Europe of Chinese car brands.  They are not the only new entrants, and as brands, some are older than the sub-brands that have been launched by the established players, but collectively they will be the group that forces the most change on the industry in Europe.