Other recent Deloitte research reveals a similarly expansive and complex risk landscape. In the Spring 2025 Fortune/Deloitte CEO Survey, [1] respondents said their biggest challenges were economic, political, and geopolitical uncertainty. It can be difficult for leaders to think about the long term right now because “the level of uncertainty today is absolutely unprecedented,” says Anjali Bansal, founder of India-based venture capital platform Avaana Capital Advisors LLP and independent director on the boards of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., Nestle India Ltd., Piramal Enterprises Ltd., and Tata Power Co. Ltd. “Leadership now requires the ability to move fluidly across parallel realities, synthesizing complexity into decisive action,” Bansal adds. “We are living in a multiverse.”

There is a risk, therefore, that the need to focus on short-term disruptions may distract executives and boards from focusing on the future. Leaders we spoke with cautioned against falling into this trap. “If you become too defensive, given the geopolitical environment, it’s really going to constrain longer-term growth because you’re not making the investments today that you should be making for the future,” explains Gordon Nixon, chair of Canadian telecom company BCE Inc., and independent director on the boards of BlackRock Inc. and George Weston Ltd.

Looking beyond 2025, the ranking of board and C-suite priorities shifts noticeably. Rapid technological advancements and digital disruptions rise, becoming the top concern over the longer horizon (jumping from 42% to 52%). Human capital moves up to second place (from 41% to 42%), followed by geopolitical and economic volatility, which drops from the top short-term concern in 2025 to third place in the longer-term view (from 55% to 41%). Meanwhile, security and cybersecurity, though still a top-five concern, declines in priority over the longer horizon (from 50% to 33%), suggesting respondent organizations are placing greater emphasis on cyber risks in the near term than in their longer-term planning.

This shift in concerns may reflect several factors. Boards and C-suites are generally focusing on growth, acknowledging that talent and technology have significant potential to drive long-term, resilient business value. They also likely recognize the need to continue to monitor the changing geopolitical environment.

When we asked respondents to evaluate whether their organizations possess enough financial, technological, and human capital resources to build long-term resilience, most believe they are well-resourced across these dimensions. Confidence, however, varied: Respondents are most confident in their organizations’ financial resources (82% agree or strongly agree), but less so in having robust enough human capital (64%) and technological resources (63%). This may reflect an awareness of the resource demands that these longer-term priorities often require.