The Hard Choices Behind the World’s Most Admired Companies

Short-term performance or long-term transformation? AI efficiency or value creation? In-office or remote?  

Today’s business environment is defined by a host of competing forces, but it appears that the most successful firms are making some critical calls. According to Korn Ferry’s annual World’s Most Admired Companies list, the top companies are focusing much more on the long term than their peers, even amid many short-term pressures. Indeed about one-third of WMAC leaders say the pace of change has led them to invest more in new technology and focus more on future strategy, versus about one-quarter of leaders of peer companies. “WMACs are looking out further and more frequently to align strategy with accelerating disruption,” says Mark Royal, a Korn Ferry senior client partner and co-author of the World’s Most Admired Companies (WMAC) report, which Korn Ferry has published in partnership with Fortune magazine since 1997. The report’s findings are based both on key indicators and on interviews with some 3,000 executives.

As part of that long-term play, AI integration is another focus for WMACs, with nearly 40% saying it is their most pressing business challenge; only 30% of leaders of peer companies feel similarly. Royal says this is partly because WMACs often have deeper pockets and a bigger business moat than their competitors, both of which help them withstand pressure—for instance, from rising costs or changing consumer-buying habits brought on by tariffs.  

At the same time, WMAC leaders have also made a clear decision on the long-running return-to-office debate. More than 45% of WMAC executives say office time is collaborative, and that the quality of their work benefits from employees’ physical presence. By contrast, less than 30% of those at peer companies feel the same way. Instead, they report spending their day in the office on calls or in virtual meetings, both of which they say they can accomplish at home. “WMACs make returning to the office purposeful and worth it,” says Royal, “while peers are fueling frustration and disengagement.”

One big difference: The research shows that WMACs are doubling down on talent development. They are doing it by investing more in learning and development, encouraging lateral moves to gain experience, thereby lessening the strain on managers. Peer-company executives, on the other hand, report spending more time in meetings and routine tasks that slow down productivity and strategic planning.  

While WMACs have historically focused more than their peers on people and development, their approach is shifting to “a stewardship over ownership model,” says Laura Manson-Smith, global leader of organizational strategy consulting at Korn Ferry and lead author of the report. Nearly 60% of WMAC executives say they have shifted their emphasis from long-term retention to shorter stints that produce value both for the firm and the employee. Put another way, they not only expect talented workers to leave, but actively develop them to be redeployed elsewhere in the firm, or even outside of it. Whereas 40% of peer-company executives cite traditional P&L responsibility as the fastest path to success, less than 30% of WMAC executives do. Other emerging paths to leadership at WMACs include lateral moves to gain experience, leading through technology, and even leaving the organization and coming back with new skills. “It’s a mindset shift to more of a marketplace approach,” says Manson-Smith, “where talent is an enterprise asset to be built, protected, and moved to where it creates the most value.” 

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