Innovation: Intangible teachings

Summary

Innovation has evolved from an occasional buzzword into an operating discipline that businesses across Asia Pacific are being pushed to institutionalise, as government-backed initiatives and shifting market dynamics raise the cost of standing still. Organisations that build a genuine culture of innovation differ from those that treat it as a slogan in a handful of identifiable, practical ways.

A policy environment is fuelling innovation across the region, including Singapore's national grants and workforce initiatives designed to help businesses adopt new solutions and upskill talent. Companies that fail to adapt to shifting industry trends risk following the path of once-dominant brands that lost relevance despite years of prior success.

Four practical levers for building an innovation culture are explored: breaking down departmental silos so ideas draw on cross-functional expertise, creating psychological safety around failure and experimentation, equipping teams with the right tools and investment structures rather than surface-level perks, and aligning incentives and performance reviews with innovation goals rather than purely traditional metrics. A well-known consumer brand's origin story illustrates how sustained experimentation, including a long run of early failures, can still produce a durable, valuable outcome.

• Findings on how many Singapore-based firms experienced failed digital projects and what that signals about risk tolerance
• The role of leadership behaviour, recognition, and reward systems in sustaining an innovation culture over time

What separates companies that talk about innovation from those that actually build the culture to sustain it?