This is a short film capturing a speech from David Brennan, the CEO of AstraZeneca plc. David is speaking as one of four speakers at a Criticaleye event held in association with IBM dealing with the decision making processes employed by CEOs. The discussion at the event centred on how leaders balance the use of 'data' with 'gut feel' in making the right call.

The event was entitled 'CEOs & Decisions: Balancing Data with Gut Feel' and the other speakers were:

Geraint Anderson, CEO, TT electronics plc
Graeme Butterworth, General Manager Global Process Services, IBM
Alan Parker, former Chief Executive, Whitbread Group plc

• How does the process of decision-making differ in emerging markets?
• When do CEOs make decisions outside their common strategy?
• How can organisations speed up their cycle time for decision-making?
• How effective are decisions based on predictive ‘future data points’?
• When is it appropriate to change personnel based on your gut?
• How effective are decisions based on imperfect ‘data’ and/or intuition?
• Is the boardroom the right forum to ratify big ticket decision-making?
• Do boards help or hinder the decision-making process?
• How do you ensure decision-making promotes innovative thinking?