Eric Stryson

The View | Reinvention must start now if Hong Kong businesses are to survive change

Faced with climate change, geopolitics and evolving consumption patterns, too many businesses are headed for extinction in the coming decade without reinvention

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Tourists rest outside a Wellcome supermarket on May 2. As awareness of the harms of ultra-processed foods grows, are the leaders of chains like Wellcome and ParknShop preparing for a future when unhealthy packaged food is no longer in demand? Photo: Eugene Lee

Eric Stryson

Published: 4:30pm, 19 Jun 2024Updated: 5:24pm, 19 Jun 2024

Is “business as usual” as bad as it sounds? Most CEOs in the Asia-Pacific think it’s worse. According to a recent PwC survey, 63 per cent believe their companies will no longer be viable in 10 years if they stayed on their current path. Only a radical mindset change will enable the business transformation they need.

What is causing the concern? Climate-related regulation and the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) are among the biggest risks. But there are other drivers too: geopolitical tensions, shifting trade corridors and worsening externalities.

Projections like the 29 million tonnes of plastic expected to go into the ocean each year by 2040 (or the 5g we each ingest every week on average) are firmly in public view. While not cited in the report, these affect consumer choice and eventually regulation.

Hong Kong CEOs are acutely aware of the fallout from the US-China rivalry, including supply chain disruptions and changing trade patterns. Many remain in denial of the risks from inequality and economic dislocation. Many fought the city’s plan, now shelved, to charge for waste disposal, denying the reality of finite landfills, in stark contrast with our more agile neighbours in Shenzhen.

If most agree that reinvention is needed, what are business leaders to do? The first step in recovery is to admit there is a problem. For CEOs, the mindset that accepts the need to make fundamental changes is non-negotiable. Overhauling the business can be daunting when confronting company politics.

The advice from a wise retired CEO we worked with was to expand the problem: make it everyone’s problem. Too often the tendency is to avoid, even paper over, the problem with slogans, attracting criticisms of “greenwashing” or “purpose washing”.