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Why Your 2026 Strategy Won't Matter (If You Can't Execute It)

Jessica O

Product Demand Generation Specialist

Aug 5, 2026

Jessica O

Product Demand Generation Specialist

Aug 5, 2026

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4 min read

What 22 APAC leaders are betting on in 2026: execution infrastructure, not perfect strategy. When conditions change monthly, the 'right' strategy matters less than systems that can execute whatever strategy becomes necessary.

After interviewing leaders from Canada Goose, Domino's, Luckin Coffee, Guzman y Gomez, Nando's, CARRO, Sunway Berhad, and 15 other companies across APAC in Q4 2025, a clear pattern emerged.

The Numbers Tell the Story

When asked to rank organizational priorities, growth came in dead last.

Only 9% ranked it as their #1 priority, while 36% ranked it least critical.

Instead, 55% now prioritize operational efficiency and AI capabilities.

This isn't pessimism. It's a fundamental shift in how leaders allocate resources.

Why Execution Beats Strategy Right Now

Strategy determines direction. Infrastructure determines speed and reliability. In volatile times, execution capability matters more than perfect direction.

When consumer confidence shifts monthly, regulations change overnight, and competitors pivot unpredictably, what matters more: having the "perfect" 5-year strategy, or having systems that can execute whatever strategy becomes necessary?

Time International (Indonesia) watched this play out across their luxury retail portfolio:

"Right after the pandemic was the highest achievement of every luxury brand in the world. Everybody expanded massively. By 2022, spending kept decreasing. Some brands that heavily invested in their products, but not in their customer romance and loyalty are at the moment very red."

The survivors didn't have better predictions. They had better execution systems.

Explore leadership insights from 22 APAC organizations in the full report

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The Three Infrastructure Bets

Our research revealed where leaders are actually putting their money. Everything comes down to three bets:

Bet 1: Systems (Efficiency + AI: Both 55%)

Leaders are eliminating work that creates no value while protecting capabilities that serve customers. But there's a critical sequence that separates success from failure.

CARRO (Singapore) frames it: "Foundation over hype." Without clean data and documented processes, AI amplifies mess rather than creating efficiency.

Sunway Berhad (Malaysia) achieved a 250% uptake increase on targeted vouchers using AI. Their success came down to three specific foundations built before implementing: organizational readiness (business units leading adoption, not IT), clear problem definition before solution deployment, and a no-layoffs commitment that turned employees into automation advocates.

The lesson: fix the workflow to create value, then find technology to scale what works.

Bet 2: Capacity (Culture + Talent + CX: 45%, 45%, 50%)

45% ranked culture as their #1 priority.

The driver: retention economics. When you can't compete on salary alone, culture becomes your competitive advantage for keeping the people who execute your strategy.

Time International (Indonesia) built a specific retention system: 74 key talents across their portfolio, 5 HR team members with individual ownership (15-20 people each), disengagement alerts that make retention proactive rather than reactive. They track each departure's true cost: 6-9 months salary for recruitment, 3-6 months for lost productivity, plus knowledge loss.

When you treat retention as P&L impact rather than HR sentiment, you build different systems.

OUE Restaurants takes a different approach: their COO runs weekly stay interviews with frontline staff, addressing common problems before people quit rather than after.

But the talent equation itself has changed.

Kawan Lama Group (Indonesia) lost a candidate despite offering 10% higher pay. The fresh graduate chose a startup with free-flow beer in a co-working space.

FamiSuper-FamilyMart (Indonesia) discovered their retention problem wasn't compensation. Retail workers can earn 3-4x banker salaries, yet the work remains unpopular.

The real issue: shift work creates social isolation. When friends are off, retail workers are working.

Traditional companies must now compete on culture and workplace experience, not just compensation.

Bet 3: Momentum (Collaboration + Innovation: 27%, 41%)

Here's the paradox: innovation investment stayed high (41%), but only 18% ranked it their #1 priority.

Why? Innovation is no longer a department. It's an operational outcome.

The best improvements now come from frontline staff, not centralized labs.

OUE Restaurants: a manager suggests company-paid flu vaccines to reduce absenteeism, implemented within days.

FamiSuper-FamilyMart: a store employee sweeps floors more efficiently, management standardizes it across stores.

But this only works when two specific foundations exist first: culture that enables psychological safety to suggest changes, and collaboration systems that capture and scale those improvements.

Without both, frontline insights stay silent or die in implementation.

What This Means for You

Companies that execute well think about risk and opportunity differently:

RISKS (Things within their control): Strategy execution, talent gaps, quality failures, communication breakdowns

OPPORTUNITIES (Things outside their control): Consumer confidence, government policy, market conditions

Alpha JWC Ventures (Indonesia), after over a decade of investing in Indonesia, captures this mindset:

"Markets evolve faster than mental models. Our discipline lies not only in applying lessons learned, but also in challenging them."

The shift: bet on what you can control, not what you hope for.

Perfect planning is impossible when external conditions are unpredictable. Execution infrastructure is everything.

The question isn't whether you have the right strategy for 2026.

The question is: Do you have the infrastructure to execute whatever strategy becomes necessary?

📥 Get the Full Report

What's inside:

22 company lessons from Canada Goose, Domino's, Nando's, Luckin Coffee, Guzman y Gomez, CARRO, Sunway Berhad, Time International, and 14 other companies on technology, talent, strategic positioning, and execution

Five defining shifts reshaping how APAC businesses operate in 2026

The execution playbook showing how companies convert strategy into reality

Direct quotes and tactical approaches from C-suite leaders across 10 countries

Featured companies and leaders:

Canada Goose (APAC) • Domino's (AMEA) • Nando's (Malaysia) • Guzman y Gomez (Singapore) • Luckin Coffee (Malaysia) • FamiSuper-FamilyMart (Indonesia) • Sunway Berhad (Malaysia) • CARRO (Singapore) • Time International (Indonesia) • OUE Restaurants (Singapore) • Alpha JWC Ventures (Indonesia) • Kawan Lama Group (Indonesia) • Shakey's (Philippines) • Puyo Group (Indonesia) • GDEX (Malaysia) • iMotorbike (Malaysia) • MUI Group (Malaysia) • Next Securities (Korea) • Fortem Cement Corp (Philippines) • Tawada Healthcare (Indonesia) • LeVel33 (Singapore) • Lippo Group (Indonesia)

The Infrastructure Imperative: Why Execution, Not Strategy, Will Decide 2026

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Based on interviews conducted Q4 2025 across APAC markets.

Jessica O

Product Demand Generation Specialist

Jessica O is a Product Demand Generation Specialist with proven expertise in audience segmentation and campaign optimization. She leverages experimentation and performance insights to continuously improve engagement and drive pipeline growth.