Adaptability is becoming a critical leadership capability as rapid technological change, shifting customer expectations and growing competition reshape the business environment.
This was among the key themes discussed during the panel session “Decisions Under Pressure: How Leaders are Navigating 2026” at the inaugural ACC CXO Forum in Hong Kong, which brought together business leaders from telecommunications, technology, digital infrastructure, finance and enterprise sectors.
PLDT highlights need for adaptive leadership
PLDT Senior Vice President and Enterprise Business Group Head Blums S. Pineda joined industry leaders in discussing how organizations can remain resilient and competitive as market conditions become increasingly complex.
For Pineda, adaptability is now as important as scale or market leadership, particularly as technology and customer requirements continue to change.
“It’s not as simple anymore to rest on your laurels as a B2B or enterprise company and build up to a certain size because you’re not sure that what got you there is going to keep you at the top. And that holds true for B2C companies as well,” Pineda said.
The discussion underscored the difficulty of long-term strategic planning in an environment where technology, customer expectations and competitive pressures can change rapidly. Leaders therefore need to continuously reassess strategies rather than rely solely on past success.
Pineda also emphasized the importance of learning from different leadership approaches. Drawing from his experience working with global organizations, he said leaders can strengthen their ability to solve problems by adopting effective practices from others and adding those lessons to their own leadership toolkit.
“I think leadership is a story of evolving your craft and evolving yourself and really reflecting on what you can add and what you can steal with pride from others,” he said.
The forum highlighted a broader shift in how organizations approach leadership in a technology-driven economy. Size, market position and past achievements are no longer sufficient guarantees of continued success as businesses face faster cycles of technological and customer change.
“It’s a harder time to be in business. It’s a harder time to be a leader. You can no longer think that you’re entitled to something. You have to earn it every day, unfortunately, and I think that’s a new normal,” Pineda concluded.
