Deloitte & Touche surveyed CEOs during the first quarter of 2003 and received 200 responses. Mark Evans, managing director of Deloitte & Touche's Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group (San Jose, Calif.) said CEOs remain optimistic but "they recognize a fundamental shift in the marketplace."

To thrive under such conditions companies must "emphasize products that address customers' needs and keep a sharp eye on holding down expenses to drive growth," added Evans.

The economy posed the biggest challenge for 33 percent of CEOs, while 23 percent of respondents cited developing and bringing new products to market. Twelve percent said managing customer relationships was their biggest hurdle while 10 percent named establishing and maintaining a brand presence. Nine percent identified building strategic relationships as toughest.

Despite difficult business conditions, 59 percent of the CEOs said they are very or extremely confident their companies will maintain the high levels of growth they've experienced over the past five years, down slightly from 62 percent in last year's survey.

Twenty-four percent of CEOs said they are somewhat confident about maintaining their five-year growth rates, up from 21 percent last year, and 17 percent indicated they are not very confident or are pessimistic, up from 10 percent last year.

With most workforce cuts behind them (only 3 percent of chief executives planned further job reductions), hiring is on the agenda of most CEOs (81 percent). On a conservative scale, 49 percent said they will hire less than 25 employees. Conversely, 19 percent of those surveyed said they are not hiring, up from 11 percent last year. Twice as many CEOs as last year, 16 percent, will not add or reduce the number of employees.

A key to economic recovery is regaining investor confidence in corporate executives, said most CEOs surveyed (88 percent), along with managing cash and returning to profitability. Executive compensation scandals have scared off many investors during the current economic donwturn.

Economic uncertainty prompted most CEOs to say they plan to stay the course and grow internally (68 percent), and 65 percent will target markets in North America for growth, compared to 59 percent last year and 30 percent two years ago.