Asia Pacific: What lies ahead for its business leaders?

Timely book Foresight & Strategy in the Asia Pacific Region sheds light on business perspectives in a time of change

Heidelberg | New York, 8 March 2016

The Chinese market crash at the beginning of January 2016 made an unsettling start to the New Year. The timing is therefore apt for the publication of a new book Foresight & Strategy in the Asia Pacific Region. The basic premise of the book, irrespective of the economic performance of certain countries, is that the Asia Pacific is and will continue to be the long-term economic powerhouse of the world. The authors Luke van der Laan and Janson Yap argue that its stability and potential will also largely determine the global economic outlook. Consequently, to optimise stability and potential, foresight and strategic thinking by business and political leaders in the Asia Pacific is an imperative.

“Janson Yap and I suggest that the Asia Pacific has become the site of a global ‘chess game’,” said Luke van der Laan. “With slipping economic power in Europe and the economic tightrope in the US, moves by the West to gain influence and power in the Asia Pacific have become dramatically more urgent. The Chinese have said, and will continue to say, that they play by their own rules and that this structural adjustment in their economy was expected. What they are not openly saying is that the same reasons causing the Global Financial Crisis are once again becoming increasingly apparent: global corporate greed, sub-prime lending and artificial values.”

This book explores the importance of strategy and how to make it work in an environment characterised by constant change, such as the Asia Pacific region. It offers insights into the optimisation of economic potential and social cohesion enabled by leaders, which is crucial to the global economy and living standards. It highlights sound foresight, strategic thinking and innovation as the critical underpinnings of successful business, policy and governance, and explains how these essential elements can be integrated in practice. The book suggests that those who embrace this (and are one step ahead of change) do well. It also implies that those who don't have these capabilities will fail. Deloitte Southeast Asia CEO, Chaly Mah, touches upon this theme in a dedicated chapter by providing specific insights into the cultural aspects of business conduct in the Asia Pacific region.

The book will help leaders and strategists to make sense of the intricacies of how business is conducted in the Asia-Pacific region. It also vividly illustrates the promise of the region’s futures and the importance of foresight towards creating a better future for individuals, their organizations, communities and indeed society at large. It is of interest to leaders, industry practitioners, researchers and students alike.

Luke van der Laan is the Director of Professional Studies at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia, and member of the Australian Centre for Sustainable Business Development (ACSBD). With extensive experience as a CEO, non-executive director and trustee, he describes himself as a pracademic, integrating both practice and scholarly insights in his efforts to de-mystify both looking into the future and the practice of strategy. Janson Yap is the Regional Managing Director of the Risk Consulting Division at Deloitte (Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific). Embedding the innovation culture into the DNA of the Deloitte Southeast Asia organization is also part of his business portfolio where he also holds the title of Innovation Leader.

Foresight & Strategy in the Asia Pacific Region
Practice and Theory to Build Enterprises of the Future

Springer. 2016, XVII, 201 p.
Hardcover € 59,99 | £53.99 | $79.99
ISBN 978-981-287-596-9
Also available as an eBook