2020 was a hard year for companies that were unable to adapt quickly. Businesses with rigid workplace cultures and siloed processes struggled to seize on opportunities to push new offerings. On the other hand, innovative brands used real-time customer insights to diversify away from physical events and instead focus on digital content, virtual events and ecommerce. While many media companies were making cutbacks due to lost advertising revenues, brands like Men’s Health, Good Housekeeping and Cosmo reported triple-digit increases in e-commerce. This year’s report shows one clear trend: that success in 2021 correlates with a culture of innovation and agility. In fact, top performers were less than half as likely as their mainstream competitors to describe their businesses as traditional working environments with an emphasis on stability.
Our top recommendation for 2021:
Companies must nurture and reward innovation and collaborative behaviour. Unless businesses are investing in technological change, they risk getting left behind by more agile competitors.