Howard Yu

Howard Yu has extensively researched what makes companies “future ready” – their ability to predict, adapt and capitalize on emerging trends and innovations.

Using industry-specific insights, he can highlight universal lessons like exploring new tech early, learning aggressively to differentiate, and branching out fast in high-speed sectors.

In such times of crisis, companies’ resilience is what shines. So what are the different strategies that lead to resilience? How have certain companies absorbed the shock, changed and bounced forward rather than backward? Already we saw some Asian companies that have weathered the current crisis have done so by reducing bureaucracy (E.g., Haier, Ping An, Alibaba and Tencent). But what is the common theme around them? This session will provide examples of companies that did indeed succeed by shattering corporate bureaucracy. Digital work tools is here to stay. Companies that use them well, and think beyond the present crisis, are likely to emerge stronger in the post-pandemic world.

Working remotely is here to stay. It’ll upend how corporate decisions are made. The inevitable experiment due to travel bans and social distancing is that companies of all sizes are now forced to try out work-from-home en masse and to avoid almost all face-to-face meetings. Many of us are suddenly dependent on digital tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom or WebEx.

In this conversation, Prof. Howard Yu will explore how frontier companies have been deploying digital work tools in achieving not only autonomy and resilience but also upending corporate bureaucracy and changing the organizational design. We are now producing a staggering digital library on how managerial decisions get made. And that library, or the digital footprint of corporate decisions, is making work processes more transparent. Decisions that are historically based on managerial intuition will soon be automated. Some companies, even in the traditional economy, have already done so.

As an expert on innovation and strategy, Howard Yu can discuss how companies can foster a culture of innovation by developing three key capabilities:

Creative abrasion, Creative agility, Creative resolution

He can emphasise the importance of collaboration, diversity of thought, and an experimental mindset to unleash collective genius.

Drawing on insights from his award-winning book “LEAP: How to Thrive in a World Where Everything Can Be Copied”, Howard can discuss how companies can prosper.

This topic could cover the latest in digital transformation, competitiveness, and how businesses can leverage emerging technologies for sustainable growth, reflecting on Yu’s extensive research and thought leadership in these areas.