The year 2025 has been an especially challenging period for many businesses, with multiple disruptions occurring simultaneously. Entering 2026, although Ho Chi Minh City’s economy is showing positive growth signals, pressures related to priorities, resources, and organizational capabilities remain a major challenge for many companies.
The Challenging Context for Businesses in Ho Chi Minh City
The year 2025 marked a highly difficult phase for the business community in Ho Chi Minh City, as key economic variables shifted at the same time. These are no longer cyclical or isolated challenges; businesses are now operating in an environment where uncertainty has become the new normal.
First, the slow recovery of the global economy has led to unstable market demand. International orders remain inconsistent, while domestic consumption is cautious, making it difficult for businesses to forecast revenue and build long-term plans.
Frequent changes in tax policies and regulations create significant operational pressure. New requirements on taxation, invoicing, cash flow, and compliance force businesses to continuously adapt—particularly challenging for SMEs.
Meanwhile, ESG and CBAM requirements demand changes across both production and management, increasing pressure on costs and operational capabilities. At the same time, operating costs continue to rise—from labor and raw materials to financial expenses—shrinking profit margins. Businesses are forced to optimize operations while still maintaining quality and competitiveness.
More critically, companies are facing a dual transformation pressure: digital transformation to improve efficiency, and green transformation to meet sustainability requirements. Both are inevitable trends, but they require significant resources, long-term vision, and strong execution capabilities—something not every organization is ready for.
These are the “priorities” that businesses must handle simultaneously.
Causes of Organizational Overload
Overload in organizations does not usually begin with having too much work, but rather from not clearly identifying what matters most.
Lack of Clear Priorities and Key Objectives
Many businesses pursue multiple goals at once—revenue growth, market expansion, cost optimization, digital transformation, or team restructuring. Without defining a core objective, organizations easily fall into a scattered state. Everything seems important, but nothing receives enough focus to create breakthrough results.
Resource Fragmentation
When priorities are unclear, organizational resources become fragmented. Leaders, managers, and teams are pulled into multiple directions, preventing time and energy from focusing on high-value tasks. As a result, everyone is busy, yet the organization lacks a strong direction.
Lack of Data and Decision-Making Tools
Many decisions are still based on experience or intuition rather than reliable data. Without trustworthy information and progress-tracking tools, businesses may prioritize incorrectly, allocate resources inefficiently, and react slowly to changes—leading to further overload.
Lack of Trust Within the Organization
Low trust makes collaboration more difficult. Leaders hesitate to delegate, managers struggle to align, employees lack initiative, and departments tend to blame each other. This slows down execution, increases coordination costs, and intensifies pressure.
The Way Forward Is Not Doing More, But Focusing on What Matters Most
When an organization clearly identifies 1–2 critical goals that can create the greatest impact, all resources begin to converge instead of being scattered. This marks the transition from “being busy” to “being effective”—where every action serves a clear outcome instead of chasing multiple goals without achieving any fully.
To achieve this, businesses need a disciplined approach to prioritization, aligned with Habit 3 – Put First Things First (from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People).
Instead of letting urgent tasks dominate all available time, organizations must redesign how they work—allocating time and resources to strategic, high-impact activities. When leaders and teams share a common understanding of “what truly matters,” decision-making becomes faster, clearer, and less conflicted.
More importantly, focus is not just about selecting goals—it must be sustained through a consistent execution system. When Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) are clearly defined, supported by tracking mechanisms and accountability, organizations gradually escape overload.
Instead of trying to do more within the same time, businesses begin to achieve better results by doing the right things, with the right focus, all the way through.
This is the foundation for overcoming challenges sustainably, rather than merely reacting to short-term pressures.
Programs That Help HCMC Businesses Overcome “Priority Overload”
Below are programs with different focus areas, helping leaders address their specific bottlenecks:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Helps leaders break free from urgency-driven work, rebuild prioritization capability, focus on what matters most, and lead teams effectively under pressure.
Now open in Ho Chi Minh City
The 4 Essential Roles of Leadership®
Helps organizations overcome misalignment and lack of clarity by defining strategy, strengthening execution, and aligning teams toward a common goal.
Now open in Ho Chi Minh City
Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Ignite Everyone’s Intelligence®
Helps organizations achieve more with the same resources by unlocking team potential instead of relying on increasing headcount or costs.
Now open in Ho Chi Minh City
Leading Customer Loyalty®
Helps businesses reduce short-term growth pressure by retaining customers, enhancing experience, and building more sustainable revenue streams.
Now open in Ho Chi Minh City
6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team™
Helps organizations build customer loyalty from within by engaging teams, fostering a service mindset, and creating experiences that earn trust, repeat business, and referrals.
Now open in Ho Chi Minh City
Connect with the FranklinCovey Vietnam consulting team to optimize your operating system and execution culture for sustainable growth.
