While the majority, (92%) of businesses in Asia Pacific say that an adaptive culture and continuous employee upskilling is very important, only 30% say their organisation is ‘very prepared’ for unexpected changes or disruptions, according to research by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services commissioned by SAP SE.

The research also found that APAC businesses are increasing their investment in people (62%), business processes like innovation or services (69%), and operations (43%) over the next year.

Meanwhile, despite the priority on anticipating the future, there remain critical challenges many businesses face when planning. Slow decision-making was identified as the biggest challenge by APAC respondents (38%) when anticipating the future, while attracting the right talent (36%) and retaining staff (36%) were both raised as key issues.

Another problem identified by many APAC companies was a ‘hierarchical disconnect’ when it came to planning. A third (32%) of businesses said that lower-level employees not being involved in planning was a core problem. That may be because the more senior a role, the more they're encouraged, and rewarded, to have a proactive mindset and think about the future.

"Executives in APAC are much more encouraged (80%) and rewarded (55%) to have a proactive mindset about the future than most other roles," said Cathy Ward, Chief Operating Officer, SAP Asia Pacific and Japan. "But while leaders are integral to building a future-ready business, they cannot do it alone.” Ward added that it is important to create a culture of ‘collaborative planning and forward-thinking mindset across the organisation.’