The culture driver behind global growth
Persistent business complexity
Businesses are navigating a growing number of risks that are both persistent and intensifying. In the 2026 HLB Survey of Business Leaders, respondents reported that each of their top five risks – cybersecurity issues, economic uncertainty, inflation, trade flow disruption and geopolitical risk – is now more severe than it was in 2020.
This pressure is being felt across markets. Similarly, a global 2026 study across OECD countries shows that regulatory compliance is the most significant challenge businesses face today, followed by talent acquisition and retention.
This rising complexity is reshaping how businesses and their leaders operate. The HLB Survey of Business Leaders found that, while 88% of business leaders remain confident about growth despite volatility, 42% rely on relatively short planning cycles of between six and 24 months. Leaders are optimistic, but they are also adapting their plans to reflect risks that are constant, varied and accelerating.
Against this backdrop, one question stands out: how can leaders build the confidence to navigate complexity and achieve sustainable growth?
In this report, we specifically explore the role of culture in growth. We look at why an organisational culture built around innovation (what we have labelled ‘innovation culture’) is essential to embracing change, remaining agile and adaptable, and making the most of emerging opportunities.
Opportunity and challenge
In such a changeable business landscape, forward-thinking businesses are finding ways to turn volatility into opportunity. By looking beyond the immediate challenge, they can reshape their operations not only to withstand change, but to adapt and grow through it. A difficult economic climate, for example, can prompt a valuable review of operating costs and reveal opportunities to work more efficiently.
Of course, every opportunity brings its own challenges. Two examples illustrate the balance businesses need to strike:
1. Global expansion
HSBC’s Business of Expansion Study found that 77% of businesses plan to expand into new overseas markets in the next two years. Growth is the most common motivation, with 38% citing it as one of their top three reasons for international expansion.
Yet successful global expansion requires organisations to overcome a wide range of hurdles. Attracting and retaining people across markets, working across time zones, understanding local regulation, building market knowledge and managing supply chains all demand careful planning.
Leaders therefore need to weigh the potential rewards of expansion against its upfront costs, including investment in recruitment, infrastructure and local expertise.
2. Achieving operational efficiency
The HLB Survey of Business Leaders found that achieving operational efficiency is a top priority for 58% of leaders over the next 12 months, as they seek to reduce costs.
AI is becoming an important part of this conversation. Businesses are moving beyond experimentation towards more considered deployment, with a clearer focus on return on investment. According to Kyndryl’s 2025 Readiness Report, 61% of the 3,700 senior business leaders and decision-makers surveyed feel more pressure to demonstrate ROI on their AI investments than they did a year ago.
By approaching these opportunities thoughtfully, businesses can strengthen their resilience and futureproof their organisations.
Anant Patel; HLB Global Capabilities Leader
An innovation culture
Wanting to build resilience and pursue growth is one thing; putting that ambition into practice is another. In our experience, innovation and resilience are most effective when they are supported by a culture that is ready to embrace change and rise to new challenges.
That mindset needs to reach every part of the organisation, beginning with senior leaders and flowing through their teams. People should feel empowered to spot opportunities and take on new challenges. They also need to be engaged, open to developing new skills, and committed to the organisation’s success.
Creating this kind of positive culture – and developing the talent strategy needed to sustain it – is not without difficulty. Hiring the right people is one of the core foundations of an innovative culture.
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 found that 67% of employers globally identify resilience, flexibility, and agility as core workforce skills, making them the second most important skills in the global workforce. Yet 76% of employers globally say they are struggling to find the skilled talent they need, according to ManpowerGroup’s 2025 Talent Shortage Survey.
Although this is slightly lower than the 80% reported in 2024, it still shows that the vast majority of organisations face significant skills shortages. Alongside having the right people, organisations need a genuine commitment to innovation. Turning that commitment into everyday practice, however, remains difficult. The 2025 HLB Survey of Business Leaders found that 65% of business leaders feel their organisations lack effective innovation practices, while 45% are actively encouraging a culture of innovation.
The same report highlights the value in successfully embracing an innovative culture. It found that companies reporting a moderate or significant increase in profit margin over the previous year were 1.9 times more likely than their peers to rate their innovation as successful. They were also three times more likely to describe their operating model as optimal and 1.3 times more likely to have high-performing, engaged employees.
Abu Bakkar; HLB Chief Innovation Officer
Practical steps to implement an innovative and resilient culture
For organisations able to secure and develop the right talent, taking deliberate steps to build a culture of resilience and innovation can create a meaningful competitive advantage.
Empower leaders
Organisations should begin by equipping leaders to create the right environment for their teams. Gallup research shows that managers account for 70% of the variance in team engagement, underlining the importance of helping them build trust, communicate clearly and provide consistent support.
Assess value
Technology, data and AI remain powerful enablers of efficiency and insight, but only when investments are grounded in clear operational outcomes. Challenge established ways of working and accept that a different approach may be better when it delivers a clear business benefit.
Invest in talent
Businesses that make upskilling a core priority and invest consistently in their people will be better prepared for change. The World Economic Forum found that 63% of employers see skills gaps as the biggest barrier to business transformation, while 85% plan to prioritise upskilling their workforce.
Draw on networks
Leveraging networks can be a gateway, not only into filling practical gaps within an organisation but also as a source of wisdom and knowledge from those who have achieved global expansion before. Like-minded business relationships can keep you ahead of the curve.
Succeeding in innovation culture
Business complexity shows no sign of easing. Geopolitical tensions, economic instability, technological change and supply chain disruption mean that responding to challenge has become part of everyday business. Organisations that cannot adapt risk standing still. Many will focus on controlling the factors within their reach – no small task in itself. But those that excel will go further, finding opportunity within the challenge.
To thrive in this environment and stay ahead of competitors, organisations need to build a culture of innovation. A culture of innovation breeds resilience. It means that rather than simply trying to weather periods of unpredictability, a business accepts that these hurdles are becoming more frequent and prepares itself to more successfully deal with them. In doing so it also sets itself up to see them as opportunities for growth and development.
Whilst every business will be slightly different, broadly speaking there are some key ingredients that are required to successfully create and establish a culture of innovations. Here we have focused on two broad categories: talent with the right skills and attitude and establishing a mindset of innovation which means that everyone across the business is fully invested in driving the organisation forward.
Practical ways to implement an innovation culture include empowering leaders and teams to suggest, test and refine new approaches, ensuring people feel invested in shared success, and developing the skills the business will need in future.
An innovation culture can only succeed if it is rooted deeply in the organisation. It should begin with senior leadership, earn the support of managers and be reflected in the day-to-day experience of every team. Building it takes time and commitment, but organisations that do so will be better placed to adapt, grow and succeed over the long term.
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