Through the Looking Glass: What the hell am I looking for?

Well here it is, the first ramblings of, hopefully, not a mad man.

You’re probably here out of curiosity, maybe due to the title that gives so little away, maybe because you want to see some more of my thinking.

So, what the hell is this all about…

One thing that I have noticed lately is that everyone in my world talks about similar things with their clients and networks. Whether it is digital transformation, experience led delivery, human centred design, product driven delivery.. It’s all pretty standard these days. We all recognise that to drive successful change you need a combination of business, experience and technology. But one word is thrown around too loosely as part of these conversations.

And that word is futureproof.

I find it strange that such a broad term is regularly bandied about, and used to talk, mainly about how technology can be built to withstand the future or a business strategy will futureproof a company from the seas of change (whilst the consultant is cherry picking data and looking through a slit into a dark hole).

It’s started to grind my gears a bit. Even more so because I’ve been guilty of it. As consultants we’ve all planned for the future with our own biases and anchors, a lot of the time not looking at the endless possibilities on the distant horizon, and not considering a wide range of macro trends and associated drivers. People stick to their own ecosystem and echo chamber a lot of the time, which could be an industry or a domain.

This series is about looking at macro and mega trends, and how we see them impacting life through different lenses; creating a view of sub and niche trends.

These will then be applied to the world of experiences and how it will change.

But overall, it’s really about getting us thinking and talking about possibilities. It’s also about realising that futureproofing is fallacy, you can never futureproof, but you can prepare.

I’m not going to commit to an article a week, it will be a little random based on availability of time and whether my brain is working that day… But you can expect:

• Regular articles (at least monthly)

• Quarterly deep dives: Much longer copies that delve into a sub set of trends, specific industry impacts, recommendations and a deeper deep deep dive into a region for that industry. The first one is on the world of luxury goods

• Discord/Slack: For those in APAC with a keen interest in future trends and CX, I will look at creating a group where we can connect and talk

• Podcast: I will be speaking with futurists, industry leaders, executives and authors regularly. ETA September

Thank you for making it this far… So, what the hell are you looking for? Hopefully, the fancy speak summary below makes the view on the other side of the looking glass a little clearer. See you next time.

Prepare to embark on an exhilarating expedition into tomorrow. This series will serve as your cognitive catalyst, igniting synapses with glimpses of emerging trajectories and paradigm-shifting forces. Drawing from a confluence of research, expert insights, and intuitive foresight, we'll navigate the multidimensional futures unfolding before us.

The mission? To propel you into a state of radical openness, where you'll grapple with the myriad potentialities that await humanity. We're not merely predicting the future—we're exploring the vast spectrum of possible tomorrows.

Each instalment will highlight a cluster of future-forging trends, examining their cascading implications across the intricate tapestry of human life. From the transformation of economic power dynamics to the revolution of the connected consciousness, our evolving world will be explored.

Hugo

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