Be agile and adaptable: Takeaways from MAP CEO Conference

The global industry has faced significant setbacks because of the ongoing pandemic but the most important thing here is that our speakers and guests at the Sept. 13 Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) International CEO Conference on “The Wins of Change: Thriving in a World of In-Betweens” have provided us with insights on how best we can move forward. An overarching theme here is being agile and adaptable.

In our first session, Mark Koziel of Allinial Global provided a purview of how to manage the blurring lines in a hybrid work setup. Pivotal changes in the workplace, in an effort to address widespread employee burnout, have led to a flexible management approach, such as listening to employees’ preference for flexible model, and how likely organizations are putting talent at risk when full onsite work is implemented.

Koziel also touched on how technology, automation and outsourcing can affect organizational changes. Technology by itself cannot fix all our problems, but it can definitely help, if used and managed well, especially if proper guidance and training opportunities are provided to the emerging workforce. His advice in establishing a responsive hybrid work setup—i.e. empower employees by collaborating on the right strategy and take note of best practices in remote setups—is a welcome value added to our ongoing conversation on future-facing working environments. Issues on staffing, which have plagued businesses long before the pandemic, can also benefit from points raised on technology, automation and outsourcing.

If we make sure that the culture surrounding a hybrid workforce is healthy, then the Philippine business landscape is on its way to creating a more resilient workforce.

Navigating changes

The second session led by Stephen CuUnjieng gave us insight into a changed business landscape that fits well with the challenges posed by the pandemic. What separates companies that sink to the bottom from those that ride the high waves? He showed that being proactive, through strategizing, planning and building, has created increased business resilience. Instead of basic responses to events, those who have put sound strategies in place can lead their companies through exceptionally difficult times. Proper planning, instead of merely responding to events, has also proven effective. Lastly, taking the time and effort to build businesses, instead of having a trading mindset, will maximize opportunities for individual firms and the national economy.

All in all, we cannot just rely on what our strategy is and how successfully it is executed; we must also take into account all other factors that do not stay the same. Thus, our plans must be nurtured, adapted or if needed, changed or abandoned. In short, our strategies and implementations will always need continuous improvement, no matter how flawless these may seem.

After that inspiring talk, we listened to lawyer James Grandolfo, partner at Millbank LLP, as he related to us how best to address challenges in the capital markets. The challenges faced by the Philippine capital market, which has the oldest stock exchange but fewer stocks listed, include:

• streamlining listing process;
• expanding the foreign capital base to help provide liquidity and improve pricing for investors;
• developing policies to encourage government-owned and -controlled corporations to list;
• working on sustainable integration with global markets;
• developing independent and accountable regulators and creation of new ones like a mortgage regulator;
• making rules and regulations transparent; and
• ensuring that taxation encourages development of capital markets.

Tax challenges

Prof. TY Sim, former consultant to the United Nations, then gave an incredibly informative talk on the national implications of long-term structural challenges for tax reforms, including three mega trends and policy directions on taxation. There’s a tectonic shift in tax rates and the period of moderation of tax rates appears to be ending. However, the need for higher tax collection has to be met. So the question is, how do we fill this gap, since corporate tax collection is only a small slice of the total? Thus, more of the shortfall will have to be covered by other sources, like personal income and consumption taxes.

There’s now a digital divide between digital leaders, like the United States and China that dominate the internet space, and countries like France and India, which are not so e-commerce-heavy.

As there’s no tax without physical presence, data could become the new factor. But the challenge is: how do you tax data? To level the playing field, there’s a proliferation of digital services tax laws to capture part of global profits in the absence of digital transaction tax.

Hyper transparency: data is the ‘new oil’

With hyper transparency happening, the likelihood is high that authorities may know more about your company than you. Sim closed by posing the question: are our audit committees and chief financial officers aware of these issues, and are our tax functions prepared?

Nicolas Pascal, CEO and executive director of Blue Finance, expounded on how the future of business should be blue and green. A blue economy revolves around anything to improve marine conservation, working with coastal communities and other stakeholders to make it sustainable. He shared their experience as a social enterprise in Mindoro, where they are piloting a business that can produce environmental benefits while remaining sustainable. They are funding the enterprise through a blended finance facility, which involves both grants and debt instruments. Managed by a multi-disciplinary team of marine scientists, philanthropists, impact investors and development agency partners and banks, they have been able to raise “passion” capital. It is available. It is possible.

Our day ended with Bhushan Sethi, joint global leader for people and organization at PwC in the United States, tackling global workforce hopes and fears. “The Great Resignation” is seen very real, with one out of five employees likely to switch to a new employer, with Gen Z workers (ages 18-25 ) leading this movement.

In this in-between world, it is important to factor in pay but also purpose and authenticity, if we want to attract the best talent and retain them.

We also touched on empowerment and skills, political and social issues in the workplace, the demand for transparency and the future of hybrid work. These points tell us where we can put our focus in the next few years because while the pandemic has slowed down, its effects, whether physical, mental, or emotional, are here to stay, whether it be on our business, our employees, or culture in general.

While you’d think that businesses used to be so black and white, where work is within the four walls of a tall building in the metro, these lines have now been blurred. Work no longer exists in one place. The existence of cloud networks and a shift in the mindset of workers have brought us to an in-between world where everyone is flexible, adaptable, and prone to change.

Our speakers and guests have all spoken about how best to approach and win in a changing landscape. I guess all we have to do now is ride that wave of change and hope for the better.

The author is vice chair of MAP CEO Conference Committee, chair of MAP Health Committee and chair/CEO of The EON Group. Feedback at [email protected] and [email protected]