Abstract
Enabling innovation from the ground up is the way for businesses in the tropic. This paper presents insights from research, observation and management frameworks to implement such a strategy from a practitioner’s perspective. It drastically differs from tropical organisations’ top-down, hierarchical, and authoritarian leadership. The paper highlights some of the most urgent environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities in the tropical region to elaborate on the severity and importance of successful ESG strategy implementation in the region. Moreover, businesses must be resilient in a challenging environment with ongoing uncertainty and disruptions in technologies and supply chains. Leaders must have emotional and mental health resilience to drive innovation and implement sustainable development. The paper is written from a management practitioner’s perspective to examine the cultural, philosophical and managerial aspects of Lean-Agile innovation. An implementation practice framework has been proposed as a way forward.