Victor Servin, CTO at start-up accelerator TheVentureCity, worked with telecom giant Millicom before joining the small Miami-based firm. A panellist at IRC’s Americas summit, Servin said the fast, inclusive decision-making at start-ups has several benefits over the more laborious process typical of large organisations. While rapid decision-making increases the risk of failure and creates a degree of chaos, there’s more time and resources available for implementation, an acceptable trade-off, even if early attempts may fail, he said.

It may not be realistic to expect large organisations to make decisions hastily or by consensus like a small team of founders, but they can take a page out of the start-up book by employing a more consultative approach, which ultimately encourages the buy-in required for successful and sustainable outcomes, Servin added.

Adapting quickly as the effectiveness of new initiatives becomes apparent requires constant vigilance and introspection. Internal evaluations should be performed more regularly when new technologies are being rolled out and disruptive changes impact business as usual so that leaders understand how their company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) are being affected by external factors in flux.

No company can predict with certainty innovations that will make its products or services obsolete, but those that understand their strengths, anticipate what the market will demand tomorrow and plan for a range of most likely scenarios will undoubtedly rebound quicker when they stumble and get it right enough of the time to remain in business. Those that take their cues from the innovators only after their advances have been proven worthwhile will “be left in the dust”, according to proAXIS President Philippe Kuperman, who also participated in IRC Global’s C-Suite Roundtable in Miami.

Embrace Disruption

Technological innovations are changing the way business is done across virtually every industry. More and more companies are redefining themselves as innovators. Fundamentally important industries from retail to energy are being turned upside down as innovations revolutionize the way people live, get around and consume. Automation, cloud computing, data analytics, robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning are becoming commonplace, altering work-flows, creating new talent needs and requiring novel business strategies, even at the most traditional companies.

Take Royal DSM, which participated in IRC Global’s APAC summit, for example. The company has evolved to meet the challenges of modern times by diversifying and embracing technological innovation. Founded by the Dutch government in 1902 to mine coal, the listed company outgrew its original purpose, diversified into science, nutrition and materials and redefined itself under the motto, People, Planet and Profit. In 2018, DSM reaffirmed its purpose-led, performance-driven strategy having grown to EUR 10bn in net sales and 23,000 employees. Born to extract fossil fuel, the company now meets 100% of its energy needs from renewable sources.

Take Risks and Innovate

Over the past five years, the attitude towards innovation has shifted from a predominantly wait-and-see approach to one where more and more companies describe themselves as innovation pioneers, according to global research and advisory firm Gartner. In 2013, only 27% of respondents polled by Gartner described their firms as innovation pioneers, while 37% described themselves as mainstream players that adopt new industry trends only after they’ve been proven. Five years later, 41% describe themselves as leading new industry trends, while the percentage describing themselves as mainstream players fell to 27%.