Innovation is not merely change, but a conscious effort to create greater efficiency and added value. Lieutenant General Tao Duc Thang, Chairman of Viettel, stressed that in a competitive business world, following old paths will only hinder competitive advantage. Companies are required to dare to take different paths to create strong differentiation in the global market.
One of the main obstacles in today's work culture is the fear of failure. According to Mr. Thang, true innovation requires space for experimentation. Viettel itself has implemented a measurable risk management system, where new ideas are tested on a small scale before deciding to roll them out massively. This approach ensures that potential losses can be mitigated without stifling the research team's creativity.
Furthermore, he highlighted that government policies are often trapped in input support, such as research grants or financial incentives. In reality, the main decisive factor for companies to continue investing is market certainty. By creating demand through technical regulations or voucher mechanisms, the government can compel business players to continuously improve product quality to remain commercially competitive.
The government is also encouraged to review administrative barriers in goods and services procurement. Frequently, rigid experience requirements restrict local companies from entering the market. Therefore, a paradigm shift is needed from evaluation based on administrative processes to evaluation based on tangible results.
For Mr. Thang, the biggest failure is not making mistakes while trying, but the unwillingness to innovate at all. Courage in delegating responsibility to research teams, combined with a clear legal protection system for failed experiments, is the key to building a resilient innovation ecosystem in the future.
