Which contemporary factors impact growth the most?

Ng Tian Beng

Vice-president and managing director, South Asia and Korea, Dell

In today’s evolving marketplace, traditional factors for growth continue to have significance on a macro-level — cost-effective transportation, reliable infrastructure, and quality education. Yet competition is intensifying, and contemporary factors are changing the way business is done. Digitisation and connectivity are creating new avenues for growth; however, the transformation journey is not necessarily smooth.

Today, early adoption of digital technologies gives businesses a head start in enhancing the customer experience and boost overall growth. To become future-ready, businesses need to perceive technology as an enabler, cultivate and invest in innovation, embrace a digitally inclined workforce, and streamline systems and processes.

It takes the right leadership and a motivated workforce to digitally transform a business to impact growth. With strategies that provide future readiness for the company, businesses can ensure they are in the best position to innovate and thrive.

Nigel Ng

Vice-president, Asia-Pacific and Japan, RSA

The breakneck pace of digital transformation is charging through key sectors in critical infrastructure, financial services, travel and healthcare, to name a few. Who would have predicted a successful taxi firm that owns no cars, and an accommodation provider that owns no property? As advanced technology helps businesses flourish, public- and private-sector organisations should understand that the cyberspace is a trove of valuable information kept in a maze — difficult to access, but not impossible for trained adversaries.

This gaping vulnerability comes with consequences including financial loss, brand damage and system outage — impacting the potential of growth. It is critical for business strategies to complement the power of the Internet with effective information security.

Regina Goh

Managing director APAC, Blis

Cultural adaptability is crucial to growing a business and fundamental to a company’s growth strategy. Having built teams from scratch for three companies, I have realised how much impact a diverse workforce that understands Asia’s nuances has on maintaining a competitive edge. Asia is blessed with incredible diversity and cultural variations. This means that growing across the entire region requires a holistic approach. One size doesn’t fit all here, particularly within the digital advertising industry where each market has distinct online behaviours and infrastructures. When a company lays a strong foundation in helping clients to understand that their priorities are well understood, it gains a huge differentiating factor. This is the most fundamental in building business, which leads to trust and propels growth.

Dominic Wong

COO, Watsons Singapore

Opportunities abound in this exciting era, where the millennials are motivated in a very different way from the Gen Xs, Gen Ys and Baby Boomers.

Gone are the days where businesses can rely on a “one-size-fits-all” approach, and the need to capture insight andunderstanding of customers should be at the top of many strategic planning agendas. The digital revolution and era of big data have heightened our analytical capability; however, other viable methods of capturing customer insights should not be overlooked.

Companies that have a solid understanding of customers and design their business models in an innovative manner will have a much better chance of success. One of my favourite sayings encapsulates this: “When the winds of change blow, some put up walls and some set up sails”.

Michelle Lim

Managing director, Reed Exhibitions

Rising urbanisation has brought to light the issue of environmental sustainability, one of the most overlooked factors that impacts growth. As demand for energy increases, buildings — home to city dwellers like us — are expected to affect bottom lines for businesses as they consume two-thirds of all energy. The irony is that energy consumption in buildings can be reduced by as much as 80 per cent by applying proven and commercially available technologies, and more importantly, with collective conversations. To that point, collaboration is another factor that impacts growth. The increasing focus on intelligent systems and buildings calls for a greater need for firms to work together to turn energy savings into profits.

Compiled by Rumi Hardasmalani (rumih [at] mediacorp.com.sg)