CEOs have forgotten the moderate playbook. The stakes for relearning it have never been higher | Fortune

Good morning. American competitiveness has long been a triumph of the moderate, won by those who could find common ground with policymakers to get things done. Some taxes but not too much. Clear rules that protect without stifling innovation. Knowing when to speak up or shut up, appealing to common values among multiple stakeholders. I’m at the Aspen Ideas Festival this week, where there’s a lot of debate about how business can help create that common ground.

Right now, silence from CEOs on business issues is making it easier for politicians to present a vision that’s more black and white. I tried to get New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani to speak at a CEO dinner earlier this year, but one of his advisors told me that visibly engaging with CEOs wasn’t a priority at that point. For a Democratic Socialist who’s critical of capitalism and proving to be a kingmaker at the national level, it might even be a bad look. (Mamdani has since met with CEOs like JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon behind closed doors.) And pressure from the far right, most notably in Washington, has made CEOs reluctant to speak out on issues like climate change, diversity, ethics, immigration and mission-critical issues that might put a target on their backs.

But there are ways for CEOs to reclaim the narrative. Here are three strategies being discussed at Aspen that I’m seeing put into action:  

Speak to the middle. Dan Smoot, CEO of the space-based intelligence firm Vantor, believes “most people are right down the middle,” as are many politicians. “It used to be that being a moderate was the most valuable thing we could do, because that was how we got things done.” Much like Dimon’s offer to help Mamdani create pragmatic policies, Smoot argues “that industry needs to be working with the government, because we’re moving so fast that we might be leaving them behind.” 

Have clear, consistent values. Costco CEO Ron Vachris speaks about creating equal opportunities for employees, and it’s one reason the company is doing well. That could mean redefining labels like DEI and ESG to talk about the outcome you’re trying to achieve. In Aspen, Southern Company CEO Chris Womack talked about clean energy as key to an affordable, sustainable and resilient power grid for innovation.

Reshape the jobs debate. Ferrovial CEO Ignacio Madridejos, whose company makes the bulk of its $10.9 billion a year from U.S. projects like Texas toll roads and JFK’s Terminal 1, is facing a labor and skills shortage. “There are not enough students joining our sector,” he told me. Barbara Humpton of USA Rare Earth has told me the same thing, as have others in manufacturing and health care. They could help public-private initiatives like RAISE US create a truly future-ready workforce. And if you plan to reap the benefits of AI, invest in preparing people for it. Walmart just told its 2.1 million workers that AI tools will improve their jobs—and it’s offering every U.S. employee a chance to become certified to use them.

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The computers inside AI data centers need memory chips, causing a severe shortage that’s rippling through PC and gadget makers that have hiked prices in recent months to make up for the rising cost of RAM and NAND memory. 

Since taking the reins five years ago, CEO Cristiano Amon has worked to equip the company for the tough but lucrative AI chip wars. Qualcomm has reinvented itself to become a major player in newer areas such as tech for cars—including driver-assistance and connected-vehicle systems—and chips to power smart home devices and wearables.

Jacob Andreou, a polished 33-year-old executive with Hollywood ties and a knack for pitching and presentations, is leading the charge to retool Microsoft’s pivotal AI product. Chief Executive Satya Nadella has placed great trust in Andreou to guide Copilot in a more competitive direction.

S&P 500 futures are up 0.67% this morning. The last session closed down 0.05%. The STOXX Europe 600 was down 0.12% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.22% in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.15%. South Korea’s KOSPI was down 0.20% today. China’s CSI 300 was up 1.21%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.57%. India’s NIFTY 50 was down 0.46%. Bitcoin was at $60K.

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“Most organizations know more about an employee's capabilities on the day they're hired than they do five years later. That’s a problem in a world where skills are changing faster than jobs. As AI changes how work gets done, workforce readiness starts with understanding what people can actually do today, not what their job title says they should be able to do.” – Himanshu Palsule, Chief Executive Officer at Cornerstone.

We also welcome new CEOI members: Dycom Industries’ Daniel Peyovich, Vince Tizzio of AXIS Capital, Christopher Caldwell of Concentrix Corp., Robert Stone of City of Hope, EverSmith Brands’ Justin Ghadery, Frederick Lowery of Henry Schein, and vVARDIS co-CEOs Goly and Haley Abivardi. I look forward to rich conversations in the coming weeks.

CEO Daily is curated and edited by Joseph Abrams, Jason Ma, Claire Zillman, and Lee Clifford.