Harvard Business School’s former dean has studied CEOs for three decades. He says the role remains remarkably unchanged

Nitin Nohria, Harvard Business School's former dean and executive chairman of Thrive Capital, has spent three decades studying CEOs. Since 1997, Nohria has led the university's New CEO Workshop, an exclusive program for executives. His insights have been shared in his book, "The CEO: The Role, the Reality, the Responsibility", co-written with economist Michael E. Porter.

In a recent interview, Nohria discussed how the CEO role has remained largely unchanged over the past three decades despite the increasing complexity of the job. He emphasized that the core responsibilities of a CEO, such as crafting a vision, selecting an outstanding senior team, and aligning the organization, have remained consistent.

However, Nohria noted that some aspects of a CEO's role have evolved, such as the increased use of virtual meetings since the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to engage with regulators more frequently. The study conducted by Nohria and Porter revealed that CEOs dedicate only 3% of their time to interacting with customers, despite their significant importance.

Nohria advises CEOs to schedule customer and employee visits to ensure they don't get lost in a busy schedule. He also mentioned the potential impact of artificial intelligence tools, like Copilot, in helping CEOs manage their time more efficiently.