Australia may be famous for its natural wonders, but there’s another kind of terrain that can offer massive breakthroughs for the rest of the world.
On a recent trip to Australia with the executive team of one of my clients, I wasn’t just met with sunshine and warm welcomes. I encountered something rare: bold, practical experiments in adapting to a world of permanent disruption.
In a time when 20% of organizations are reinventing themselves every 12 months or faster, many companies are still pretending they can keep doing the same thing over and over again. But across sectors—from heavy industry to leadership development—I saw teams testing serious, scalable reinvention strategies.
They weren’t theoretical. They were grounded, gritty, and driven by necessity.
Here are three that stood out—and what the rest of the world can learn from them.
1. Build a Sandbox for Innovation (Literally)
Just outside Perth, I visited the Australian Automation and Robotics Precinct (AARP) — a government-funded, state-of-the-art test site where companies can trial automation, robotics, and remote operations technologies in real-world conditions.
Picture a co-working space, but for mining trucks, drones, and autonomous systems. Think of it as a playground for heavy industry, where failure is safe, learning is rapid, and the road to commercial deployment is faster.
This $28 million investment by the Western Australian Government (developed by DevelopmentWA and operated by CORE Innovation Hub) isn’t just about infrastructure — it’s about ecosystem thinking. Companies large and small share test beds, accelerate R&D, and co-develop standards for safety and performance. The headquarters officially opened in November 2024, but the site was buzzing with activity long before that.
The big lesson?
Don’t innovate in isolation.
Pull resources.
Create spaces where your entire industry can try, fail, and try again — together.
2. When Time Is Short, Buy Speed
Next, I visited Epiroc, a Swedish-headquartered giant in mining and infrastructure equipment — and one of the most active acquirers in the world.
In just three years, Epiroc executed 31 acquisitions. That’s nearly one every month.
Why? Because in an era where technology is evolving faster than internal teams can keep up, acquisition is sometimes the fastest form of reinvention.
Instead of waiting to build a capability from scratch, Epiroc identifies innovators, folds them in, and scales fast — across applications like battery-electric mining, digital fleet optimization, and underground automation.
This echoes what I wrote in “The New Corporate Playbook: 5 Trends Changing the Rules of the Game in 2025”—where the smartest companies are rethinking traditional boundaries and reinventing their approach to sourcing new growth.
It’s not just a buying spree. It’s a strategic move to outpace disruption by absorbing what’s already working — and giving it the backing of global distribution and R&D muscle.
The big lesson?
If your pace of change is too slow, look outside.
You might not need to build the future — you just need to bring it in.
3. Certify Your Impact — and Your Courage
Finally, I spent time with Modern People, a consulting firm based in Australia that helps me explore how reinvention frameworks might be adapted to the Australian context.
What sets them apart? A rare (especially in the consulting world) B Corp certification — a rigorous standard that forces companies to reimagine not just what they do, but how they operate internally, hire talent, and measure success.
In my previous article, “Surviving Uncertainty: 5 Strategies To Stay Sane, Sharp And Financially Sound”, I emphasized how critical emotional sustainability has become in volatile environments. What I saw here reinforced that belief.
Modern People don’t just talk about the human side of work. They live it — embedding social, emotional, and spiritual development into every leadership program they run. Their goal isn’t just smarter executives. It’s more resilient, self-led, compassionate leaders prepared to thrive in a complex world.
The big lesson?
If you want to lead change inside your organization, you have to rethink your own business model, too.
Sometimes the best way to differentiate on the outside is to transform on the inside.
Final Thoughts
Australia might be remote — but that very distance can spark bold thinking.
From test beds in the desert to acquisition sprints to human-centered strategy, the most exciting moves I saw weren’t about being the fastest. They were about being brave enough to try differently.
Wherever you are in the world, these three moves are worth watching — and worth trying.