How to Prepare Your Organization for 2025

As 2025 approaches, innovation is no longer a bonus; it’s a MUST. With fast-paced technological changes, the need for better teamwork, and a fear of failure holding people back, teams face some real challenges.

The good news? There are practical ways to tackle these issues and set your team up for success.

Here are three key challenges teams face and straightforward solutions to prepare your organization for 2025 and hopefully thrive.

Challenge 1: Keeping Up with Rapid Technology Changes

AI, automation, and data analytics are transforming industries at lightning speed. Keeping up can feel overwhelming.

Solution: Cultivate a Learning Culture

The most innovative teams are those that never stop learning. Create a culture where continuous learning isn’t just encouraged — it’s celebrated.

• Practical Tip: Dedicate a “Learning Hour” weekly for team members to explore new technologies. Platforms like IDEO U, Interaction Design Foundation, and LinkedIn Learning are excellent resources.

• Bonus Tip: Check out the AI and Design Thinking course by IDEO U. It offers helpful frameworks to show your team how to use AI creatively and responsibly.

• Idea: Set up a weekly “Tech Exploration Hour” where team members explore new technologies and brainstorm how they could be useful for your work.

Challenge 2: Teams Working in Silos

When teams don’t work together, great ideas get stuck. True innovation happens when people from different backgrounds collaborate.

Solution: Start every project with Stakeholder Mapping exercise

Before starting a project, identify who needs involvement and their priorities. This helps you know when and how to bring people in at key points.

• Tip: Use a simple stakeholder map to outline who’s important to the project and what they care about. Sometimes a simple check-in with other stakeholders goes a long way in getting your project ahead.

• Idea: Would you prefer something more casual? Host monthly brown bag sessions, where employees bring their lunch boxes and casually share what they’re working on or experimenting with. This informal setting can lead to new insights and connections.

  
  

✅ Why This Works: In one of my first consulting gigs, these brown bag sessions helped break down silos and build stronger teamwork.

Challenge 3: Fear of Failure Holding Teams Back

When people are afraid to fail, they avoid taking risks, which kills innovation.

Solution: Create a Safe Space for Experimentation

Encourage your team to see failure as a learning opportunity. When people feel safe to share their mistakes, they’re more likely to try new things.

• Tip: Organize regular “F#$K Up Nights” where team members share things that didn’t go as planned and what they learned from the experience.

• Idea: After every project or sprint, run a “Failure Retrospective.” Ask: “What did we try? What did we learn? How can we improve next time?”

✅ Why This Works: When failure is normalized, teams feel free to experiment, and that’s when the best ideas happen. Truth be told, we cannot always avoid failure, so we might as well embrace it and fail when it's cheap and early.

How Is Your Team Tackling These Challenges?

How are you preparing for rapid tech changes, improving teamwork, or creating a culture that supports experimentation? Are you using stakeholder mapping or running brown bag sessions? Share your strategies — let’s learn and grow together!

By using AI thoughtfully, improving teamwork, and creating a safe space for experimentation, your team will be ready to face 2025 confidently.

Let’s turn challenges into opportunities and make 2025 a year of meaningful innovation!

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[About the Author]

Jentz has a deep background in innovation and design across Europe and Malaysia. Committed to enhancing design practices, Jentz aims to help position Malaysia as a hub for creative and impactful solutions. Join him in exploring the potential of design thinking to tackle immediate challenges and inspire transformative change and innovation.