The business landscape is littered with the carcasses of corporations that failed to adapt to shifting externalities. In today’s knowledge-based economy, never has innovation been more crucial to corporate survival.
As the Fourth Industrial Revolution unfolds with dizzying speed, innovation has become organizations’ most pressing priority as they race to keep up with the business zeitgeist.
Not only are governments forcing companies in high-polluting industries to transition to low carbon emitters to achieve net zero carbon emissions, but there is also an increasing emphasis on achieving high ESG scores to attract the surging sustainability bid.
Added to this, the impact of digitalization on customer interaction and workforce engagement, combined with factors such as operational sustainability and regulatory risk, means the rate of change is faster than ever.
The shift in working habits prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic has also ushered in a new era of introspection around values, work-life balance, a just society, environmental and health concerns, and an equitable economic status quo.
Within this radical new environment – widely referred to by the acronym VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) – it is more important than ever to create an organizational model which removes barriers to innovation for short-term compliance and efficiency and long-term differentiation, value creation and growth.
Escaping the vacuum to create an innovative work culture
Innovation cannot occur in a vacuum, and within corporations it depends on propagating an action-oriented, collaborative culture ready to respond to the challenges posed by a VUCA environment with agility, creativity, and a willingness to adapt and transform.