How Businesses Can Deliver Impact in 2026

In an exclusive conversation with Global Leaders Insights, Yohanes Jeffry Johary, President & Managing Director at OCS Indonesia, shares his insights on the evolving business landscape in 2026. He emphasizes that sustainability is no longer just a buzzword but a core element of business strategy, particularly in labor-intensive industries like his. Johary explains how ESG standards are becoming integral to operations, not just external communication, with a focus on worker safety, ethical labor practices, and governance. He highlights the growing importance of technology, automation, and data analytics in improving operational efficiency and risk management. For Johary, innovation in 2026 is about building resilient, transparent systems that align with ethical leadership and long-term sustainability.

How do you foresee the business landscape evolving and its key challenges in 2026?

By 2026, the business environment will be shaped less by episodic disruption and more by sustained complexity. Volatility will no longer be an exception; it will be the operating context. The challenge for leaders will be maintaining coherence across strategy, execution, and people while navigating continuous pressure.

In emerging markets such as Indonesia, businesses will face overlapping demands: persistent price sensitivity, tighter expectations around ESG and labor practices, increasingly fragmented supply chains, and a workforce that expects safety, fairness, and progression as baseline standards. At the same time, geopolitical uncertainty and capital discipline will sharpen scrutiny on how growth is achieved and sustained.

The risk I see most clearly is organizational fragmentation. Many companies pursue multiple transformation agendas without a unifying operating logic. This leads to fatigue, inconsistency, and the accumulation of hidden risks rather than resilience.

From my roles at OCS Indonesia, BritCham Indonesia, and the Institute of Strategic Risk Management, it is evident that organizations performing well in 2026 will be those that treat governance, risk management, and ethical leadership as core strategic capabilities. These are not compliance functions; they are enablers of consistency, trust, and sound decision-making in an environment where margins for error continue to narrow.

How is sustainability influencing your strategies, and what steps are you taking in 2026?

At OCS Indonesia, sustainability influences how we design and govern our operations rather than how we describe ourselves. In a labor-intensive industry, ESG risk is concentrated around people: recruitment practices, working hours, wage integrity, safety, and subcontractor oversight. When these are weak, sustainability claims quickly lose credibility.

Our 2026 strategy is execution-led. We are embedding ESG standards into site-level operations through clearer labour controls, measurable indicators, and stronger supervisory capability. This includes tighter governance of subcontractors, improved visibility over workforce conditions, and structured intervention when risks emerge.

Modern slavery risk is a particular focus. We treat it as a systemic business risk rather than a reputational issue. Weak labor practices create legal exposure, operational instability, and long-term trust erosion with customers and regulators. Addressing these risks requires discipline, consistency, and accountability.

We view sustainability as a contributor to operational resilience. When people are treated fairly, trained properly, and managed consistently, service reliability improves and risk declines. That logic underpins our ESG execution plan for 2026.

Through my engagement with BritCham and ISRM, I continue to advocate that sustainability frameworks must protect the most vulnerable parts of the workforce. Without that foundation, sustainability will struggle to retain credibility in the years ahead.

Also Read: Rethinking Corporate Value Growth: CEOs on a New Track

How is your company using AI, ML, and automation to stay competitive in 2026?

Our approach to technology is practical and disciplined. We begin with operational challenges, not tools. The guiding question is whether technology improves visibility, decision quality, and governance across complex operations.

In 2026, we are using analytics and automation to strengthen workforce planning, service performance monitoring, safety oversight, and risk identification. These capabilities allow us to detect issues earlier, respond faster, and apply standards more consistently across a geographically dispersed operation.

Technology also supports stronger labour governance. Data helps identify patterns that may indicate excessive overtime, unsafe conditions, or weak subcontractor compliance. This is particularly important in preventing hidden risks from developing unnoticed.

We are clear about the limits of automation. Technology does not replace leadership or accountability. Poorly governed systems can distance managers from operational realities and unintentionally amplify risk.

Our principle is that technology should reduce friction for people doing the work and increase accountability for those leading it. When applied with discipline, it frees supervisors from administrative burden and allows greater focus on safety, coaching, and problem-solving. That balance defines how we view competitiveness in 2026.

How do you balance short-term performance and long-term strategy in a fast-changing market?

This balance remains one of the most persistent leadership challenges, particularly in competitive and low-margin environments. Short-term performance ensures commercial viability. Long-term strategy protects organizational integrity and sustainability.

At OCS Indonesia, we manage this tension by being explicit about what cannot be compromised. Legal compliance, worker safety, and ethical labor practices are fixed points. Decisions that undermine these areas may deliver short-term gains, but they create disproportionate long-term risk.

At the same time, we continuously improve productivity, redesign processes, and review contract structures to remain competitive. Long-term thinking does not mean avoiding difficult commercial decisions. It means making those decisions with a clear understanding of their downstream consequences.

In 2026, leadership credibility will increasingly be assessed by consistency. Stakeholders will look closely at whether organization results without eroding trust, people, or standards along the way.

From a risk perspective, this balance is about choosing trade-offs deliberately rather than drifting into them. When leaders are clear about their thresholds, organizations are better positioned to perform under pressure without losing direction.

What strategies are you implementing to enhance customer experience and engagement in the coming years?

In our industry, customer experience is shaped primarily by the people delivering the service. Systems, contracts, and technology matter, but customers ultimately judge reliability, responsiveness, and consistency through frontline performance.

Our strategy focuses on strengthening customer engagement through transparency and partnership. We are more explicit with customers about cost structures, labour standards, and sustainability expectations. This creates more realistic conversations about service outcomes and long-term value.

Many customers increasingly recognize that reliability and compliance matter more than headline pricing alone. Poor labor practices may reduce costs temporarily, but they introduce operational and reputational risks that customers are less willing to accept.

We also use structured feedback and performance data to understand what different customer segments value most and where friction occurs. This allows us to refine service design without placing unsustainable pressure on the workforce.

Looking ahead to 2026, customer engagement will be defined by shared accountability. When service providers and customers align on standards and expectations, outcomes improve for both parties. That alignment is a core pillar of our customer strategy.

Also Read: The Viability of Ethical and Sustainable Product Delivery in 2026

What advice would you give businesses looking to stay ahead and innovate in the coming years?

My advice is to focus first on how your organization operates under pressure. Innovation is not primarily about ideas or language. It is about systems, incentives, and governance.

Many organizations invest heavily in innovation initiatives while leaving core operating models unchanged. When pressure increases, behavior often reverts to old patterns. This is where risk emerges, particularly in labor practices, safety, and compliance.

Businesses that want to stay ahead should examine where hidden human costs exist within their models and whether those costs are sustainable. Modern slavery risk, excessive workload, and weak oversight rarely appear suddenly; they develop gradually when accountability is unclear.

Technology can support innovation, but governance must evolve alongside it. Tools should improve transparency and decision-making, not obscure responsibility.

In 2026, the organizations that earn trust will be those that align commercial performance with ethical discipline. Trust is built through consistency. Once established, it becomes a durable competitive advantage in increasingly complex and scrutinized markets.