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Asia Pacific businesses are caught in the crossfire of the US-China trade war. No matter how the conflict ends, trade patterns in the region are likely to change permanently and it will be those businesses with the most strategic foresight that stand to benefit.

Global business is facing a wave of disruptive influences that look set to spark the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We explore how the way professionals work is evolving, the leadership skills that will be needed within the dynamic mid-market to thrive, and how organisations can stay competitive in the war for talent and customers in 2030.

There may be a storm brewing in some of the world’s largest economies as businesses come to terms with a skilled worker shortage. Are technology and mobility two options for businesses struggling to find talent?

China’s One Belt, One Road outbound investment strategy presents a wealth of opportunity along major global land and maritime trade routes. But how can business owners outside China take advantage?

Professional service firms, as unique organizations, cater to the needs of companies across various industries through vending time, knowledge and expertise of skilled individuals. With talent as the core of our business, it comes as no surprise when the business strategy starts to shift from being R.O.I-centric to being people-centric. We call it the “People Strategy”.

It’s helpful to start by clarifying the definitions of terms that are widely used but often confused. Simply put, outsourcing is the provision of specialist skills by a specialist third party service provider who focuses solely in this area. Insourcing is the provision of those services by an in-house team. Offshoring relates to the provision of those services by an outsourcing provider based in a different country (or continent) to that of the purchaser or user.

Why we should all be concerned by falling productivity rates and how businesses should respond Improvements in productivity have driven global growth for decades. Technological advances, new ways of working, and improvements to transport and infrastructure, have all made businesses more efficient and more profitable. At the same time, rising birth rates meant that there were more young people to do the work and relatively fewer old people to draw down pensions. Worldwide, that resulted in people being better off; over the past half-century global incomes almost tripled and millions have been lifted out of poverty. It seemed as if it could go on forever.

Cyber-attacks are set to grow in their number and nature; those companies that embed security measures into their culture will be most successful at fending them off Type ‘cyber-crime’ into any search engine and you’ll get an array of pictures of shady-looking young men in hoodies, hunched over laptops in dark corners. Today, that stereotype couldn’t be further from the truth.