During the closing session of the Strategic Workshop Meeting for Senior Planning Officers of NPOs (SPW), held 9–11 July in Tokyo, APO Secretary-General Dr. Santhi Kanoktanaporn explained how the APO Secretariat had worked on national productivity master plan development in collaboration with Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, and Pakistan and the impacts on those member countries. He hoped to see that effort continue for other members. Such master plans build overall capacity and foresight to prepare for future national development and improved productivity.

APO Director for IR Iran Pahlevani (L) presenting a letter of appreciation to APO Secretary-General Dr. Santhi.

Dr. Santhi emphasized that, “Today, excellence in productivity no longer guarantees that your organization will survive and thrive in the world of constant change and uncertainty. To be resilient, organizations must take a long-term view to develop future-readiness strategies, act to address risks, and seize opportunities to build on productivity growth that fits current needs and can continue in the highly uncertain, highly complex future, i.e., sustainable productivity.”

The agility–productivity–innovation nexus envisioned by Dr. Santhi was also clarified. In order for NPOs to improve productivity and achieve the ultimate goal of becoming leading productivity organizations in each country, they need to be agile enough to adapt to rapid, constant change. That agility will ultimately lead to innovation, creating new productivity gains. This seamless agility–productivity–innovation cycle could contribute immensely to APO member countries.

In response to the national productivity master plan initiative, APO Director for IR Iran Fatemeh Pahlevani presented a letter of appreciation to the Secretary-General from the National Iranian Productivity Organization (NIPO) at the conclusion of the SPW. It congratulated Dr. Santhi on his “outstanding leadership and peerless performance in taking APO to the leading edge of productivity.” It also commended the efforts made to build a closer relationship with NIPO.