In today’s fast-paced digital era, technological advancements like AI, machine learning, and cloud computing are essential. According to World Economic Forum's The Future of Jobs Report 2025, 60% of organizations expect technology to be the most transformative trend — with 86% anticipating that AI and information processing technologies will have the greatest impact by 2030. Furthermore, research from Accenture shows that investments in digital core technology could deliver up to 60% higher revenue growth rates and 40% boost in profit.

Pursuing digital investment and transformation seems like a straightforward decision, but why are companies still struggling with speed and adoption?

The reality is, true digital transformation requires more than tools. It demands a culture where experimentation is encouraged, learning is continuous, and agility is embedded into the way people think and work. It’s about fostering an environment where risk-taking, continuous learning, and agile thinking are part of the organizational DNA.

Why Culture is the Key to Digital Transformation

Technology alone cannot spark breakthrough innovation — it’s the people behind the technology that drive lasting change. Organizations that nurture a culture of experimentation and psychological safety empower their teams to test new ideas, challenge the status quo, and adapt quickly. Without such a culture, even the most sophisticated digital tools may fall short.

Imagine this: A leadership team is fully committed to driving technology transformation within their organization. They see innovation as the key to future success and have launched multiple initiatives to spark change. Yet, despite their efforts, the adoption remains painfully slow. At a strategy roundtable, leaders gather to discuss the roadblocks. The ideas being presented are strong, yet the atmosphere in the room feels stiff — formal presentations, rehearsed speeches, and hesitation when tough questions arise. Leadership grows frustrated. “Why aren’t our teams embracing this change?”

Does this scenario sound familiar? Because this is not uncommon. 

Often, the root challenge isn’t the technology — it’s the culture. Transformation stalls when teams prioritize maintaining legacy structures or personal KPIs over long-term innovation that will support the overall strategy. Cultural resistance can stem not only from job security, but also image management, reward and recognition systems, and deeply embedded norms. True innovation requires a shift in mindset at every level of the organization, not just new systems or platforms.

Without a strong cultural foundation that fosters innovation, even the best strategies struggle to take hold. True transformation isn’t just about implementing new tools; it’s about fostering a culture where people feel empowered to explore, challenge, and innovate.

Culture at the Core of Disruption

I recently joined a leadership program on AI and data where we explored how companies like Netflix and Grab have successfully leveraged data to disrupt their industries. The conversations among my executive peers reinforced a vital truth: people are the key to any successful adoption. A culture of openness, agility, and continuous learning enables organizations not just to keep up but to lead, evolve, and innovate at scale. 

As we unpacked their strategies, I found myself increasingly curious, not just about the tools they used, but about the cultures that made such bold moves possible. How much of their success was rooted not only in technological excellence, but in empowering people to challenge, adapt, and lead? I went on to dig deeper into the culture of the two companies. 

Netflix: From DVD Rentals to Streaming Giant

Netflix began in 1997 as a DVD rental-by-mail service, offering an innovative alternative to traditional video rental stores. By leveraging strong data analytics, it gradually built a loyal customer base. Netflix’s transformation began long before streaming. From its early days, it built a culture defined by freedom and responsibility. This wasn’t just about flexibility — it was about radical transparency, trust, and data-led decisions, championed by leaders who believed in empowering top talent. At Netflix, culture is a strategy in itself. The belief is simple but powerful: in order to innovate, hire the very best and give them the trust and space to lead. Here’s what set them apart:

• Radical Transparency & Trust: Netflix puts “people over process,” operating on the premise that better decisions come when employees have the context, clarity, and autonomy to act.

• Direct Feedback as a Norm: Feedback flows freely in all directions, even towards the leaders. Everyone is encouraged to view feedback as constructive, and they are accountable for how they choose to act on it — creating a culture of mutual respect and continuous improvement.

• High Talent Density: Netflix hires and retains only the best. One known practice is the “keeper test” — where managers ask themselves: “If this person resigned, would I fight to keep them?” It’s a reflection not just on the employee, but sometimes also on leadership’s role in their performance.

Netflix’s ability to continually reinvent itself from DVD rentals to streaming, and then to becoming a powerhouse in original content, was not simply the result of smart technology bets. It was driven by a culture that enabled innovation to thrive at every level. By fostering transparency, encouraging candid feedback, and empowering only the best talent to take bold decisions, Netflix created an environment where reinvention wasn’t the exception; it was the norm. This culture didn’t just support its strategy; it was the strategy. While traditional competitors clung to legacy approach, Netflix’s cultural agility became its greatest competitive edge, allowing it to lead disruption rather than respond to it. 

Grab: From Ride-Hailing to Super App

Grab started in 2012 as a simple ride-hailing service in Southeast Asia, addressing urban mobility challenges. Over time, Grab evolved into a super app that now offers food delivery, digital payments, and other services. 

But this remarkable growth didn’t come without its challenges — especially when it came to culture. As co-founder Tan Hooi Ling reflected in an episode on InsideGrab, “Culture started to become a problem when we were going through a hyper-growth phase. We were doubling our headcount every year. And we hadn’t yet learned the lesson that culture needed to be tended to like a very intentional garden.” I love this reflection and realization coming from a leader. That realization marked a turning point — the beginning of Grab’s deliberate effort to shape and sustain a strong organizational culture that could support scale and innovation.

At the heart of Grab’s success lies a culture built on agility, customer-centricity, and collaboration — anchored in its values known as the “4Hs”: Heart, Hunger, Honour, and Humility.

• Heart: Working together as OneGrab to serve communities across Southeast Asia — promoting unity, collaboration, and shared purpose.

• Hunger: A relentless drive to understand real-world challenges and improve continuously, both through big leaps and incremental gains.

• Honour: Doing the right thing even when no one is watching, including for users and communities. Building trust through integrity, accountability, and follow-through.

• Humility: Embracing the mindset that everyone is a work in progress. Encouraging feedback, learning, and self-awareness at every level.

Grab’s transformation from a ride-hailing startup to a regional super app was not just a story of digital innovation — it was a story of intentional culture. Recognizing early on that hypergrowth could dilute culture, Grab’s leadership made the deliberate choice to nurture it like a living system, one that could sustain both speed and scale. 

By fostering a culture of humility, hunger, heart, and honour, Grab created the conditions for bold thinking, rapid experimentation, and trust. In doing so, Grab redefined what people-centered innovation could look like in the digital age. 

Red Hat:  From first open-source technology company to surpass $1 billion in revenue to the largest software acquisition in history acquisition by IBM

Red Hat’s story is a remarkable one — from its humble beginnings as a small open-source software company in 1993, to becoming the first open-source technology company to reach $1 billion in annual revenue by 2012, and eventually evolving into a global leader acquired by IBM in the largest software acquisition in history. Since the acquisition, Red Hat’s revenue has nearly doubled, growing from $3.4 billion to over $6.5 billion, a milestone that not only validated its growth, but also proved the long-term viability of the open-source business model at scale.

I had the privilege of being part of this remarkable journey for over seven years, and what made Red Hat truly exceptional was its unwavering commitment to being an open organization. Red Hat Multiplier, like connection, trust, collaboration and transparency, formed part of everyday decisions, conversations, how we led across the business and assessed performance.

At the core were Red Hat’s values: freedom, courage, commitment, and accountability, and they showed up everywhere. It wasn’t just about building technology. It was about building a culture that could scale innovation, foster deep trust, and create lasting impact together. The belief that good ideas can come from anywhere wasn’t just aspirational, it was operationalized. The culture was intentionally designed to invite unique perspectives, enable debate, and encourage leadership at every level.

Together, companies like Netflix, Grab and Red Hat highlight how culture can become a company’s strategic differentiator, not just a supportive backdrop. While their industries, scale, and customer bases differ, these organizations share a deep commitment to empowering their people, building trust and embracing change with intention. They may not always have all the answers or get every decision right at every stage, but they found ways to learn, adapt, and keep moving forward. Their success was not simply the result of bold vision or smart technology investments; it was enabled by cultures that rewarded purpose-driven execution. These are not traits reserved for startups or tech giants; they are replicable principles that any organization can adopt to unlock innovation at scale. 

Key Cultural Shifts for Digital Transformation

If you're inspired and starting to wonder whether your culture is keeping pace with your strategy or quietly holding it back, here are some actionable steps organizations can take to close the gap and unlock real, lasting impact. 

Where to Start? Practical Culture Shifts for Digital Momentum

• Assess Cultural & Digital Readiness: Know where your organization stands.

• Set Clear Culture-Linked Goals: Align digital projects with values and behaviors you want to scale.

• Build Leadership Alignment: Leaders and managers can make or break change — engage them early.

• Reward What You Want to See: Recognize those who model experimentation and cross-functional collaboration.

• Start Small, Learn Fast: Pilot, iterate, then scale.

To lead in a digitally enabled future, organizations must build cultures that:

• Celebrate Experimentation: Normalize learning from failure.

• Reward Innovation: Rethink how performance and contribution are measured.

• Invest in Learning: Make reskilling and upskilling a continuous effort.

• Use Data to Empower: Equip people to make smarter, faster decisions.

AI and digital transformation offer unparalleled opportunities, but their success ultimately depends on the culture that powers them. The stories of Netflix, Grab and Red Hat demonstrate that organizations which invest in their culture not only harness technology effectively — they redefine their industries. When companies empower people to explore, challenge, and innovate, they create resilient, future-ready foundations for lasting growth. 

So, how is your organization preparing its culture to fuel innovation and digital transformation?

Let’s start a conversation about building a future where technology and people move in harmony — where innovation and transformation aren’t just adopted, but owned.

Updated on May 9, 2025: This article was edited to include deeper insights into culture’s role in driving innovation.

Disclaimer: The insights shared in this article are based on personal reflections, independent analysis, and professional observations intended to illustrate broader themes in digital transformation and organizational culture. Examples referencing companies such as Netflix, Grab, and Red Hat are drawn from publicly available sources and do not represent confidential or internal information. Additionally, any examples shared about companies are based on observations and research and may not reflect every individual’s experience. CultureHive is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the companies mentioned. Any opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official views or positions of the organizations referenced.