From “Tool” to “Partner”: How can AI Help Unlock our Human Potential in 2025?

Over the past year, artificial intelligence has undoubtedly made impressive leaps. We've all taken note of the growing capabilities of AI systems like ChatGPT and Claude that respond quickly to our prompts, saving us time and simplifying our tasks.

But in 2025, we're on the brink of a much bigger shift: Agentic AI. These are systems that can act independently, break down problems dynamically, and learn proactively. McKinsey recently predicted that AI agents will be truly transformative, calling them the “next frontier” of generative AI.

Unlike the previous generation of AI models that function like advanced tools responding to inputs, agentic AI systems are designed to be dynamic and adaptive. They take initiative, solve problems step by step through a method called chain-of-thought prompting, and refine their approach over time – much like how humans tackle complex projects by breaking them into smaller tasks.

This new generation of AI doesn't just execute; it collaborates, personalizes, and grows. Its independence allows it to:

>> Deconstruct complex problems into manageable sub-tasks.

>> Adjust to changing circumstances and user needs.

>> Learn from previous interactions to improve over time.

At first glance, this might seem like another step toward AI tools that can streamline and simplify our lives. Need help organizing your conference travel itinerary? An agentic AI like Mindtrip or Wonderplan is increasingly able to handle the details. Planning a dinner party? Ollie, a family assistant AI agent,  can handle many of the details. What about that new fitness regime your doctor keeps prescribing. In 2025, an AI agent like BodBot can likely hammer out many if not all the details.

On the enterprise side, tech companies are including autonomous agents in their product offerings (see: Salesforce’s Agentforce for next-gen customer service) and offering an expanding array of platforms and tools for creating them (see: Microsoft’s Auto Gen, Meta’s React, recently introduced Amazon Q, and Google’s Vertex AI Agent Builder).

While agentive AI's capabilities are impressive, I believe they represent only part of the equation. Great potential also lies in how AI agents can amplify human creativity, sharpen decision-making, and expand strategic thinking.

As we head into the era of the AI Agent, I believe it's time to stop thinking, "What can AI do for us?" and start asking, "What can AI do with us?"

AI as a Thinking Partner, Not Just a Tool

Imagine you’re preparing for a critical meeting. While you spend time reviewing notes and refining your talking points, what if an agentive AI assistant could amplify your efforts?

By analyzing past conversations for insights, identifying gaps in your messaging, and simulating challenging questions, it could act like a personal executive coach — one that costs just $20 a month and fits in your back pocket.

In a recent conversation between serial entrepreneur Greg Shove and technologist Scott Galloway, Shove emphasized the often-overlooked potential of AI as a "thought partner" for business leaders. While many use AI for straightforward tasks like summarizing documents or drafting content, few are tapping into its ability to enhance strategic thinking.

A 2024 study by Boston Consulting Group, Harvard Business School, and Wharton highlighted this potential. The study found that consultants who used AI completed 12% more tasks, 25% faster, and produced results that their supervisors rated as 40% better. These findings suggest that AI can play a transformative role in decision-making and strategic planning.

Shove shared a personal example of how he uses AI to critique his presentations. By asking AI to take on the persona of a board member, he receives feedback that closely mirrors what actual board members would say. This process helps anticipate questions, identify blind spots, and suggest actionable improvements—turning AI into a trusted collaborator for high-stakes scenarios.

To effectively use AI as a thought partner, early adopters provide some actionable recommendations, including:

>> Seek ideas, not just answers: Engage AI in open-ended discussions to explore diverse perspectives.

>> Provide ample context: Offer detailed, specific information to generate tailored and relevant insights.

>> Use decision frameworks: Ask AI to apply structured frameworks to tackle your challenges.

>> Assign personas: Prompt AI to respond as specific individuals or roles to gain unique viewpoints.

>> Challenge AI's suggestions: Push AI to explain and defend its recommendations to deepen understanding and refine ideas.

Whether it’s using AI to refine big ideas, challenge assumptions, or co-create innovative solutions, the conversation is shifting — AI isn’t just something we can use; it’s something we can collaborate with.

A big part of embracing AI as a thinking partner is experimenting with and curating your own personal stack. Some of my current favorites include Perplexity for deep research, Idea Ape and Jasper for brainstorming and writing, and Notion as a “second brain” to organize ideas and make meaningful connections. But this list isn’t static, it’s constantly evolving as new options emerge and as I refine how I integrate AI into my daily work.

Many of these also have team collaboration features, something I’m especially interested in exploring in the year ahead. As AI becomes more embedded in workflows, I see real potential in using these platforms to enhance group brainstorming, strategy sessions, and shared decision-making.

The more we experiment, the more we’ll understand how AI can elevate not just our own thinking—but the way we work together.

Finding The Balance: AI and Your Human Spark

The real shift for 2025 isn’t just about AI making leaders and their organizations more efficient—it’s also about AI making us more creative and strategic.

As I navigate this shift, I am going to be mindful of what some call the flattening effect of AI. Because large language models (LLMs) are trained on vast datasets reflecting common preferences and behaviors, their responses often gravitate toward the statistical middle. One researcher explains it thus, LLMs generate “the average of what everyone wants. This means that while AI-enabled tools can be useful for refining ideas, they (alone) aren’t always the best source for wholly new ideas or true innovation.”

For leaders and businesses, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. AI can be a powerful strategic partner, but it’s up to us to preserve what makes our thinking distinct—our brand voice, intuition, and creative edge.

Amidst the move to embrace more collaborative AI applications, I believe we must remember that these tools can only be as good as what we feed them.

Ask generic questions, and you’ll get generic answers. Engage with personalized prompts—your industry insights, specific challenges, and unique perspective—and you’ll unlock solutions that are truly relevant to you.

A Creative Future Awaits

AI developers and researchers often emphasize the importance of keeping "a human in the loop." 

Traditionally, this refers to oversight and accuracy—ensuring the right items are in a shopping cart or verifying that a flight is booked to the correct destination before checkout.

But staying in the loop with AI doesn’t have to be just about accuracy—it can be about something far more transformative. When we shift from using AI as just a tool to treating it as a thought partner, we unlock new ways to refine ideas, challenge assumptions, and push innovation further.

As you navigate the AI landscape in the year ahead, here are three key strategies to get the most out of agentic AI:

1.     Focus on Augmentation: Start small but think big. While AI is great for automating tasks, one of its underused strengths is its ability to enhance strategy, creativity, and decision-making.

2.     Think “With,” Not Just “For”: Treat AI as a collaborator, not just a tool. Use it to challenge your thinking, test different outcomes, and uncover new opportunities you might have missed.

3.     Preserve Your Human Spark: Lean into what makes your business, brand, and leadership style unique to ensure AI enhances, rather than dilutes, your voice.

Here’s to embracing AI’s growing capabilities—not just make us work faster, but to make us think bigger as well.

Bold Moves and Big Swings: Unlocking the Potential of a Challenger Mindset

Innovation is something I champion wholeheartedly, but in a world that’s moving faster than ever, innovation alone is insufficient to lead.

Bold actions and big risks are required to stay ahead, and that’s the foundation of what I call a Challenger Mindset.

A Challenger Mindset is not only about competing; it's about deliberately disrupting the status quo. It’s about having the courage to take big swings and maintaining the vision to keep consumers at the core of evolution. And, of course, this mindset hinges on the commitment to building a culture that makes space for the ideas and actions that scare us the most.

In today’s digital-first landscape, where consumer attention and preferences are increasingly fragmented, adopting a Challenger Mindset is more critical than ever.

Importantly, the Challenger Mindset isn’t limited to start-ups or new companies; even well-established brands can harness this ethos to stay at the forefront of their industries.

Leaders across all types of organizations must embrace creativity and expansive thinking to seize the endless opportunities for innovation and disruption.

> > > As we enter the 5th Industrial Revolution, continual reinvention is not just a choice—it’s a necessity.

#1: A Challenger Mindset is Deliberately Disruptive & Distinctive

At its core, a Challenger Mindset is about disrupting the way things are currently done. It’s about turning conventional wisdom on its head, redefining the rules, and carving out a distinctive niche in your category.

A classic example that captures this principle is Apple’s launch of the iMac in the late 1990s. At a time when personal computers were purely functional and visually uninspiring, Apple introduced bold, colorful, and design-forward machines. Remember those neon-colored clamshell laptops? In a sea of beige boxes, Apple stood out. They didn’t just sell a product; they redefined how people viewed technology. This deliberate disruption not only boosted iMac sales, but also catalyzed Apple’s rise as a technology leader.

 Apple took another bold step when the company chose to introduce the iPhone, fully aware that it would likely cannibalize sales of its popular iPod. Yet, Apple remained confident in the potential of mobile technology, recognizing that the iPod was the future, and the iPod was the past.

 Challengers ask the provocative "What if?" questions. Sometimes, it leads to innovation that attacks profit strongholds, like Warby Parker did by challenging where and how people purchase prescription eyeglasses. Other times, it means altering the business model, as Casper did when it disrupted the logistics and experience of buying a mattress. (Or Stripe, or AllBirds, or a host of others.)

The power to provoke change doesn’t rest solely with start-ups or smaller companies; legacy institutions hold this ability as well. Take Porsche, for example, which disrupted the automotive world by launching the Cayenne SUV—creating an entirely new vehicle segment (the Performance SUV) and revitalizing the brand.

Similarly, Zelle was created in 2017 by a network of seven legacy banks that adopted a Challenger mindset. By leveraging their established relationships and infrastructure, these banks successfully competed with early movers in the peer-to-peer payment space, reshaping a highly regulated industry.

Zelle’s success shows that even in industries dominated by tech-driven disruptors, traditional institutions can act like challengers by harnessing their strengths and embracing innovation.

Ultimately, no matter a company’s size, it’s about boldly answering the 'What if?' and daring to chart new paths.

#2: A Challenger Mindset is Unafraid to Take Big Swings

Taking big, audacious risks is a hallmark of any Challenger.

Maersk, a legacy company known for its dominance in global shipping, embodies this element of the Challenger Mindset. In recent years, Maersk has transformed from being solely a cargo shipping line into a full-service logistics and supply chain partner. Recognizing that customers needed more than ocean freight, the company expanded into air, trucking, rail, and warehousing.

This shift required an overhaul of their traditional business model and opened up new opportunities in both strategy and geography. By diversifying their services, Maersk gained a larger share of the logistics market, offering clients an all-in-one solution for global transportation.

Maersk also boldly embraced digital transformation, integrating cutting-edge technology into its core operations. By upgrading its digital platforms, Maersk now offers logistics software alongside physical transportation services, delivering a seamless and transparent experience to its customers.

This shift wasn’t just about moving goods, but about creating an end-to-end service that enhances the customer experience. Although this transformation required significant investment and a willingness to embrace change, it solidified Maersk’s position as an innovator in the logistics industry.

Maersk’s journey underscores the courage required to embrace disruption. Behavioral psychologists like Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky have shown that humans are wired to fear losses more than they value gains. This “loss aversion” can hold organizations back from taking bold steps, even when the potential rewards are significant. > > >

Leaders must recognize and overcome these biases to unlock their true Challenger potential.

#3: Challengers Keep an Eagle Eye on Consumer Needs

Another critical trait of a Challenger Mindset is a relentless focus on consumer needs. Challengers adopt an "outside-in" approach, always looking beyond themselves to anticipate future trends and evolving preferences.

Challengers aren’t just about creating novel products — they are visionaries who stay connected to their audience and continuously explore ways to meet emerging demands. Adopting this mindset requires staying attuned to consumer behavior by gathering insights, listening to feedback, and pivoting when needed.

Look at Nvidia. Initially known for gaming GPUs, Nvidia foresaw the broader capabilities of its technology and expanded into industries like AI, self-driving cars, and natural language processing. They have been credited with “creating a market that didn’t exist,” by taking an architecture for a single thing (gaming) and envisioning how it could expand into many other uses, at a time when few others could connect those dots.

This strategic foresight and willingness to innovate propelled them into leadership positions across multiple sectors. Today, Nvidia’s GPUs are the backbone of AI research and deployment, powering everything from autonomous vehicles to facial recognition systems.

Nvidia’s success is a reminder not to rest on laurels, but to always anticipate what consumers will need next, delivering solutions before the need even becomes apparent.

#4: Challengers Create Space (and Time!) to Innovate

It’s no secret that the most disruptive ideas often come from the marriage of deep reflection and unexpected insight. In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to overlook the importance of slowing down and giving ourselves the freedom to think creatively. Yet, this very pause is often a Challenger's most potent tool.

Take inspiration from Albert Einstein, who famously valued imagination over knowledge. Some of his most groundbreaking insights came from moments of daydreaming and quiet contemplation. His approach reminds us of the critical need to carve out time for our minds to wander and explore new, uncharted ideas.

To build this kind of reflection into daily routines—whether at the individual or organizational level—requires deliberate effort. True innovation demands we slow down and create the space and resources to nurture the most groundbreaking ideas.

Embracing the Challenger Mindset

So, how can companies and individuals truly embrace a Challenger Mindset? Whether you're a start-up looking to break in or an incumbent brand looking to stay on top, embracing a Challenger Mindset means constantly questioning the status quo and daring to innovate in bold, new directions. It starts with creating a culture that encourages bold thinking, questions the status quo, and values calculated risks.

One effective way to create space for innovation is by reducing internal complexity. Continuously ask how much of your organization’s resources are being allocated to managing internal processes. What’s the ROI on that investment? Often, you’ll find that overly intricate internal initiatives can be redirected to high-impact efforts that drive innovation.

Another principle is to focus on where disruption can happen. Ask yourself and your organization: What legacy practices or mindsets need to be broken to build a stronger future? Push your teams to imagine new possibilities, whether it’s a fresh idea or a new way of tackling an enduring problem.

For individuals, embracing a Challenger Mindset means adopting a growth mentality. Seek out new challenges, learn from every experience, and resist the comfort of complacency. Strive to get at least one percent better every day. Whether you’re leading a team or just beginning your career, a Challenger Mindset can provide the inspiration and drive to excel.

Where From Here?

Achieving Challenger status is not a destination – it’s a mindset that must be lived every day. This mindset requires the focus to deliberately disrupt through bold moves, the courage to take big swings, and the foresight to keep consumers at the core. And of course, it starts with the commitment to build a culture that holds space for ideas that might unnerve us.

It’s going to make you uncomfortable. But in the end, it’s worth it. By embracing the Challenger Mindset, companies and individuals alike can not only navigate today’s complexities, but also lead the way in shaping tomorrow. > > >

As Clayton Christensen a father of disruptive innovation, once said, "Companies fail because they either keep doing what made them successful in the past, or they look to their competitors to figure out what to do next."

Challengers, however, are unafraid to make big bets on the future, even when this means following a path that defies conventional category wisdom.

So, whether you're looking to disrupt an industry or push the boundaries of your own career, stay curious, stay bold, and think like a Challenger.

AI's Interface Evolution: From Clicks to Conversations ``

AI's Interface Evolution: From Clicks to Conversations

Over the past few months, it’s been hard to miss the buzz surrounding Generative AI.

Yet, amidst all this chatter, there's a crucial aspect that seems to be overlooked > > >

The dramatic way AI-enabled tech is poised to change how we interact (or interface, in tech speak) with the digital world.

This impending shift carries significant implications that business leaders would be remiss to ignore. Anticipating and embracing them is paramount for staying ahead in an increasingly AI-driven landscape. So this month, I’m diving in!

The genesis:

The digital landscape is entering a new era of interaction, where conversations with intelligent agents are beginning to replace the traditional behaviors of browsing and clicking. In this new era, our tech tools have the potential to shift from dispassionate middlemen to intelligent, informed, even empathetic agents.

Over the next few years, our interactions with “the internet” will likely look significantly different than they do today, including a digital landscape punctuated by AI conversations, rather than apps and browsers.

Savvy leaders should start embracing those changes now and planning to meet consumers (and employees) where they are headed.

I believe a key question will be, “What will your brand/companies act like, and sound like, in an AI-mediated world?”

Not sure yet about that answer? Let’s go deeper.

Tech Interfaces: Why Do We Care?

In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, interfaces have always played a key role in shaping our experience. For business leaders, they are (increasingly) the primary point of interaction between your customers and your company’s products and services.

From the early days of command-line interfaces to the graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that revolutionized personal computing,

we've witnessed a steady progression toward more intuitive and seamless ways of engaging with digital systems.

The invention of the world wide web transformed how we access and share information.

Then, the advent of the smartphone and apps brought the internet to our fingertips.

Now, AI is on the verge of taking the next evolutionary leap – one that will again result in even greater convenience and sophistication for users.

Is your organization anticipating this shift?

But What Exactly Do We Mean by an AI-interface?

In (somewhat) simple terms, it's an interface that leverages machine learning to understand user inputs, anticipate their needs, and deliver personalized experiences.

All in real-time.

You might see words like “AI Agent,” “Chatbot,” or “GPT-Plugin” floating around. These all reference some sort of AI-driven interface.

Think of virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant – they're prime examples of first-generation AI interfaces that have already become deeply integrated into our daily lives.

However, the next gen of AI-interfaces will be much more powerful.

These interfaces will be capable of completing sophisticated tasks and transforming the digital paradigm from “search and click” to conversations.

So, Why is AI Emerging as the Next Dominant Interface Paradigm?

Well, for starters, traditional interfaces have their limitations. Apps and websites require users to navigate through predefined menus and commands, often leading to friction and inefficiency.

Let’s take travel as an example.

As recently as this time last year, planning a trip online involved searching and clicking.

A travel shopper needed to spend time searching for ideas, scanning the links and content that the search turned up, sifting out the meaningful information, then building an itinerary, not to mention actually making the reservations – or hiring an assistant or human agent to do all the above.

Fast-forward to today, when the online travel planning process has moved much closer to a dynamic conversation. I can pick a destination, put in a prompt, and then “converse” with an AI system that serves up a curated, personalized travel itinerary.

I noticed recently that Expedia is testing something like this with Project Explorer.  

Companies like Auto GPT and Vim GPT are working to develop and scale chatbots that will get things done, such as taking action to accomplish AI-generated recommendations.

Other examples of digital tasks that have shifted from search-and-click to conversation abound.

• Grocery Shopping: Instacart’s “Ask Instacart” function helps shoppers convert a recipe into orders from local grocery stores with the click of a button.

• Consumer Goods Shopping: Using a Microsoft, Google or Open AI chatbot to almost completely remove the heavy lifting of product research.

• Companies who have signed up for ChatBot GPTs include:

  • AllTrails, the user-generated trail hiking community (one of my favorites—think of it like Waze for hikers).

  • Design App, Canva, which helps users create voice-to-image designs for social media posts, presentations, logos and more.

  • And Books GPT, which promises to be “your guide in the world of reading and literature.”

 This should give all brand leaders pause.

What does a world look like where every consumer’s interaction with their category is a dynamic conversation, rather than a web search, a click on social media, or a visit to a brick-and-mortar storefront?

An Unrivaled Era of Personalization

One of the key strengths of AI interfaces is their ability to adapt and learn from user behavior.

By constantly analyzing data and patterns, AI systems can get better at predicting preferences and habits, enabling them to deliver increasingly personalized and relevant experiences.

In my travel example, I can ask an AI-enabled travel chatbot not just for “New York itinerary ideas,” but for “New York hotel ideas for a family of 3 traveling in March who enjoys local restaurants and indie bookstores.”

And, the technology can increasingly deliver.

 If I’m not pleased with Expedia’s Explorer, I can hop over to Kayak GPT and take another shot at getting a personalized travel itinerary generated in minutes.

 But it's not just about personalization.

AI interfaces also have the potential to streamline complex tasks and automate routine processes. Whether it's scheduling appointments, picking the best car or toaster, or controlling smart home devices, AI-powered assistants will increasingly be able to handle a wide range of tasks, saving users considerable time and effort.

For example, check out Zapier, a beta tool that lets you connect a chatbot to your calendar and use it to turn AI-generated suggestions into your own, personal scheduled appointments.

To envision this Zapier tool might work in the real-world, I marveled when I came across New York Times writer Brian Chen’s description of how he used this AI-enabled bot to turn suggestions from a “how to run” self-help book into a set of personalized weekly exercise appointments, which the app plugged directly into his calendar.

 OK, So the Future of Digital Interactions is a Conversation. Any Watchouts?

It would be shortsighted to write about the future of AI-interfaces without pointing out that we will certainly hit a few speedbumps along the way.

 I read recently about a current downturn in the excitement surrounding generative AI, with some AI-led solutions facing criticism due to embarrassing errors in generated content and concerns about intellectual property infringement.

 Further, some companies are finding it difficult to successfully scale their generative AI experiments. However, I don’t think this marks the end of generative AI; rather, it's a typical phase (often described using Gartner’s label, “trough of disillusionment”), where emerging technologies undergo periods of inflated expectations, followed by a period of working out challenges before reaching maturity.

 I appreciated Every columnist Evan Armstrong’s assessment that, “While much of this stuff doesn’t currently work perfectly, investors are betting it can. Many assume we are just one or two scientific advancements away in models or tooling to make [AI] agents available at scale.”

In Conclusion…

The era of the AI-led interface is upon us. I believe that in the next few years, smart leaders will be able to leverage the power of artificial intelligence to create interfaces that are not only smarter and more intuitive, but also more empathetic and human-centric.

Undoubtedly the low-hanging fruit is Consumer Engagement and Personalization.

 But I see opportunities for AI-driven interfaces to shape innovations in other parts of the enterprise as well, including: predictive analytics for supply chain optimization, new product development, eCommerce applications, customer support, and even workforce training. So, we shouldn’t limit the scale of the next interface evolution to consumers alone.

To position our companies for sustained growth and success, we have to dream now about what that future will look and sound like, and how we can keep pace.

So, here's to the future of digital interaction – where AI is not just the next interface, but a catalyst for innovation and empowerment. Stay curious, stay informed, and keep exploring!

Decoding Algorithms: TikTok, Cognitive Liberty, and Retail's Battle for Original Thought

A headline in Wired recently caught my attention: “TikTok is Letting People Shut Off Its Infamous Algorithm – and Think For Themselves.

That’s a provocative headline, and it nudged me to dig deeper into this topic. (Perhaps echoing a cultural moment reminiscent of 2008 when technologist Nicolas Carr asked, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”)

We know that algorithms power an increasing number of our daily tasks, but are they somehow affecting our cognitive capacities in the process? How are algorithms shaping your brain?

When it comes to TikTok, the app’s engaging content-selection algorithm learns from users’ interactions to create highly tailored user experiences. In short, this means that Tik Tok uses everything you watch, like and share to expertly feed you more of the same.

This sounds efficient at first blush. There is more digital content in the world today than any human could ever sort through. Isn’t it beneficial if a finely tuned sequence of mathematical instructions can do the heavy lifting for us?

But amidst the efficiency, a growing number of technologists and tech enthusiasts are raising a question about the flip side of that coin: “What about all the things the app doesn’t show you?”

Are filtering algorithms like the ones Tik Tok uses shaping our mental states, feelings and preferences “without our full awareness or consent?”  

Further, and most germane to my interests, what do we lose when we aren’t exposed to a diverse variety of content, ideas, and viewpoints? When we don’t, at least sometimes, interact with things we disagree with or even dislike?

The Cognitive Liberty Movement

To address these concerns that “filtering algorithms” (not to mention associated technologies like “generative AI”) may not be ALL upside, some technologists have begun championing the idea of “cognitive liberty,” which simply means the fundamental right to self-determination over our brains and mental experiences.

Thus, Tik Tok’s move to allow users in the EU to opt out of their powerful filtering algorithm and explore the wide world of Tik Tok content on their own terms.

I’m diving in to learn more about the idea of “cognitive liberty” and inviting my readers to come along for the journey. (This all sounds very The Matrix, doesn’t it?)

The movement reminds me of the concept of the retail filter bubble, something I wrote about a few years back.

Eli Paiser coined “filter bubble” back in 2011 to describe the intellectual isolation that occurs when algorithms selectively tailor everything we see to align with what we already believe. I explored the application of this to retail, writing back in 2017 that:

“It is troubling to imagine a world where shoppers almost exclusively browse and purchase items an algorithm has determined they will like. At best, that sounds boring and staid in a category and culture that values the novel and unique.

 At worst, it could leave shoppers feeling dispassionate and uninspired. In a heavily filtered retail world, it is not a stretch to imagine retailers will see less brand and product diversity in shopper baskets, lower trial of new brands, and have fewer opportunities to surprise customers with an unexpectedly satisfying product….

If we worry that too much data will make the retail offering predictable and uninspired, what’s the solution? Retail Serendipity.

Fast forward to 2023. The data sets are even bigger, and the predictive algorithms are even better. Further, we have generative AI applications like Mindjourney and Chat GPT producing content that blurs the lines between human and AI creation, yet lacks human perspective.

Where From Here?

How to Champion Cognitive Liberty

For business leaders, it’s crucial to consider how the algorithms and generative AI content generators shape creativity and original thought. Great leaders go out of their way to expose ourselves to new experiences, ideas, and worldviews. This gives us more “dots” to connect – to solve problems in more interesting ways. Our challenge ahead is to make sure algorithms don't filter out unconventional viewpoints, thus reducing our vast ocean of creative dots to a small pond.

Within our organizations, we must also champion an emphasis on original thinking. This of course doesn’t mean forgoing the use of algorithms to help make sense of vast amounts of content and increase productivity in daily tasks. But it does mean identifying those parts of our value chain where we really need human creativity and innovation, and ensuring our teams can rise to the occasion.

We need to consider how to empower consumers, too, with a level of algorithmic understanding and control when it comes to interacting with our brands and the broader retail category. This means enabling choices and transparency, akin to something like what TikTok is trying in the UK.

Opportunities

For Your Brand

The list of companies using algorithms to show their consumers more of what they already know they will like is extensive. It includes Netflix, Amazon, Spotify, Apple, FlipBoard, Facebook and Instagram, GoodReads, Etsy, Alibaba, and Google, not to mention most digital retail ecosystems – just to name a few.

Yet those prioritizing cognitive liberty are rare; in research for this article, I came across scant articles devoted to this topic. One standout includes the content-summarizer company Blinkist. In the podcast “The Art of Curation,” their Director of Content Discovery Robyn Kerkhof does a great job of explaining how expert human curation adds to the bottom line, by creating moments of “aha” or “epiphany” for consumers that cannot be delivered by machine learning alone.

In the short term, I see an opportunity for retail brands to incorporate features like these into their digital offerings to create those “aha” moments:

1) Human-Led Curation: Employing subject matter experts to assemble and showcase unexpected finds and discoveries.

2) Chronological Sorting: Allowing consumersto sort digital content in time order instead of algorithmically. This approach can be particularly useful for platforms that curate content feeds, ensuring that customers see broader content beyond what expressly aligns with their last view.

3) User-Generated Recommendations: Creating or showcasing features that enable customers to receive recommendations based on other users' input, as opposed to algorithmic predictions. This way, customers can enjoy the collective wisdom of the community, leaving room for unexpected content along the way.

4) Algorithm-Free Parts of Your Ecosystem: Creating dedicated sections within your brand’s ecosystem that are clearly labeled as algorithm free. Customers can explore products or content in these sections without any algorithmic influence, leaving cognitive liberty room to flourish.

Additionally, a few other platforms similar to Blinkist are pointing the way, aiming to diversify their content by incorporating more human curation and community-driven recommendations.

 >> Curated newsletters like The Browser, whose editorial team reads hundreds of articles daily and sends five recommended stories for the day “so you’ll always have interesting things to ponder and fascinating ideas to discuss at dinner.”

>> DuckDuckGo, a browser and search engine that does not track online activity, meaning that new searches will not be filtered and tailored based on previous search history. This is one way to end the filter bubble feedback loop and gain new points of view in your online searches.

>> LongReads provides reader-funded access to the world’s best storytelling. The platform curates content based on editors’ selections alone, providing a space to discover well-written articles outside of what your algorithms might serve you.

>> Subreddits on Reddit often share recommendations, and you can ask for suggestions within specific interest areas, creating a more community-driven approach to book recommendations.

In an era saturated with algorithmic interventions, prioritizing cognitive liberty is essential for every retail leader. Scientist Thomas Kuhn's words resonate: "Discovery commences with anomaly." How will we get to the anomalies if we are all using the same bodies of language and perusing content eerily like what is being generated by our competitors?  

It's a defining question for the AI age, one we can only answer by navigating the uncharted waters of original thought.

LEADING IN TURBULENT TIMES

Greetings Readers. As we near the halfway point of 2023, I can’t help but think about what a wild ride the past few years have been. We’ve experienced a global pandemic, seismic shifts in the global supply-chain and labor market, dynamic political and cultural movements the world over, and rapid technological advances, just to name a few.

Sometimes it feels like we’ve packed a decade of evolution and change into three short years.

In the early days of the pandemic (April 2020), I shared key leadership lessons from the first 30 days of the crisis in China. Reading back now, it’s clear that some of these points are still as pertinent as ever, while others resonate less now that the crisis has ebbed.

What I find most valuable is contemplating the three pillars of leadership I outlined in that post: Leading Your People, Leading Your Organization, and Leading Yourself.

We know it is crucial for leaders to keep their eyes on the horizon, even in turbulent times.
But what should we prioritize in each of these arenas?

Below, I share eight themes that can help steer us all towards success and meaning in the back half of 2023.

I’ve also included recommended readings for each, and I hope they will provide good food for thought for summer reading and reflection.

FOR LEADING YOUR PEOPLE

1. CHECK IN ON WELLBEING

The pandemic marked a shift in how we think about wellbeing in the workplace, and we are all aware that it is more important than ever.

One simple action I am taking is to continue my pandemic practice of the “Wellbeing Check-In”. 

Early in the pandemic, I read an article suggesting a helpful action for teams dealing with intense emotions. Begin meetings with a simple, personal question: "How are you?"

I gave it a try, and I was heartened to see the positive effects. Going forward, I will continue this practice. After all, the world has not gotten any less complex or easier to navigate in the past few months.

Maintaining a “Wellbeing Check-In” means that I both make time to ask this question at the start of many group and 1:1 meetings. And, that I create genuine pauses where people can reflect and answer.

I’ve learned the most authentic answers are often shared in person, and I make sure to hold time for personal Q&A sessions in every location I visit. I supplement these with Zoom connects and “office hours,” during which colleagues and team members are encouraged to drop in and chat.

The “Wellbeing Check-In” really is a matter of emphasis. A simple question can create an opening that makes a significant impact.

Recommended Reading:

Should Your Manager Be Responsible for Your Well-being at Work? / via Quartz 

The @ Work Guide to Talking With Your Boss / also via Quartz (great for leaders and their teams)

2.     EMBRACE NON-LINEAR LEADERSHIP

As we continue to explore the impact of generative AI in the workplace, I encourage leaders to maintain their creative edge by embracing non-linear leadership.  

I agree wholeheartedly with this thought from a recent Fast Company piece:

“A creative mind is one designed to look at complex problems and come up with non-linear solutions; solutions that other, more linear thinkers—or alas, AIs— would not necessarily have the mental dexterity to imagine.”  

To get started with cultivating your non-linear leadership style, pay attention to how you approach a new challenge with your team.

Non-linear leaders encourage brainstorms. They hold time for divergent thinking, which they may prompt by asking unexpected questions and giving serious time to consider unconventional connections.

How do you know if you are thinking as a non-linear leader would? I’ve been experimenting with a simple test: Is this a question/answer that I could not get from Chat GPT?

 I am big a fan of exploring the applications of generative AI to fuel brainstorming. But, at the end of the day, I am making sure to push myself and my team members to make that final (unexpected) turn or connection beyond what AI can generate.

Recommended Reading:

Why Creativity is the Top Skill You Need / via Fast Company­­

Why Every Boss Should Take An Improv Class / via CNN

3.     LEAD WITH AUTHENTICITY

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how “authenticity” is the foundation of any high-functioning team, especially amidst accelerating change. Those who have worked with me know that I’ve long been a fan of Bill George’s philosophy on this topic.

His timely new book, True North, reminds us that it is all too easy for leaders to lack self-awareness, to let the pursuit of outside rewards hamper our efforts to understand and build our teams from the inside.

His suggested approach is to make sure you can define your “True North,” or your unique moral compass that represents who you are at your deepest level. Once you understand your own internal anchor point, you can turn to understanding those of your co-workers and employees, ultimately creating a team that truly thrives.

This process of True North discernment may sound intimidating, but it really just means making an effort to get to know people through the lens of their values and the things that have shaped them as people.

George’s recent book offers a helpful checklist of questions to jumpstart this process. Any of these would be a great way to start or renew your authentic leadership practice:

• “Do I understand my teammate’s career objectives and how their current role helps them develop?”

• “Do I understand each person’s intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, as well as their challenges?”

• “Do I have deep one-on-one meetings that go beyond superficial discussions?”

• “Do we have natural and free-flowing interaction, and are we comfortable with each other, including moments of ‘common humanity?’”

• “Do I know my colleagues’ family members and understand their lives outside work?”

I encourage you to dive into the reading below and make authenticity a priority on your team for the months ahead.

Recommended Reading:

True North – Emerging Leader Edition/ summary via Charter

How to Talk To People/ new podcast via The Atlantic

FOR LEADING YOUR ORGANIZATION

4.     DEFINE YOUR DIFFERENCE

I recently read a striking article about the “blanding” of culture. In it, Alex Murrell uses compelling visuals and examples to make the case that we live in an age where everything is the same. Across the world, cars, home interiors, coffee shops, book covers, video games, celebrities, architectural styles, social media influencers, and even brands – they all ­look extraordinarily similar.

Amidst this somewhat uninspiring observation, Murrell highlights an opportunity, one that I see too:  

“When every supermarket aisle looks like a sea of sameness, when every category abides by the same conventions, when every industry has converged on its own singular style, bold brands and courageous companies have the chance to chart a different course. To be different, distinctive, and disruptive.”

Job 1 for leaders today is to clearly define what makes your organization unique and to make sure your difference is clear and compelling. Then, to equip and inspire your organization to live that difference at every consumer touchpoint. 

Examples of organizations that do a good job standing apart can be difficult to come by, which probably underscores the trend.  However, here are a few companies outside of my own that excel at defining their difference:

• Patagonia: Continuing to act and innovate with their focus on sustainability and ethical practices.

• Warby Parker: Committing to affordable style and a socially conscious business model

• Moleskine: Celebrating the power of handwriting as an expression of humanity. I am loving their most recent collaboration with the Van Gogh museum and sponsorship of a traveling collection of artists’ notebooks to amplify their core values.

Recommended Reading:

The Age of Average / by Alex Murrell

5.     RETHINK THE DEFINITION OF WORK

It’s no secret that how we work has undergone significant changes over the past few years.

Less understood is that the definition of what work even means is also changing, and leaders must continue helping their organizations adapt.

In this realm, I’ve been inspired by the work and thinking of futurists Jesuthasan & Boudreau, who argue that we need to define a new “Operating System” for work.

In today’s Fourth Industrial Revolution, work is no longer just a series of tasks; it's about playing a role on an agile a team.

Gone are the days when people can be a “supply chain” or “marketing” expert. Rather, I’ve been coaching my team to rethink traditional job descriptions and instead focus on the needed skills and capabilities for the initiative at hand. Then, empowering their talent to flow to what needs to be done. 

As we face this changing definition of work, it is important that we as leaders don’t rest on our laurels, thinking our organization has weathered the storm and “figured out” the hybrid workplace.

Rather, we need to have the courage to face the ongoing disruption, living by the mantra that the future of work is not a destination, but a journey.

Recommended Reading:

Work Without Jobs Webinar / via MIT

6.     ADOPT AI, STRATEGICALLY

We know that artificial intelligence is transforming the way we work, from automating routine tasks to enabling new levels of personalization and customization.

As organizations continue to hone their AI strategies, I believe the biggest challenge is one of abundance.

When AI is everywhere, it is easy to be lured by red herring applications and use cases that might sound really techy or savvy, but fail to deliver results. 

Smart leaders will force themselves to build the right accountability metrics to guide their AI journey.

Of course, every company’s value chain is different. Building an accountability practice will help you understand where in the company AI can add the most value. Then build out those use cases.

On my team at PepsiCo, we are testing different types of tools across the value chain. But with every new pilot, we are working hard to keep ourselves in check, to make sure we are not just chasing the latest tools for tool’s sake.

Recommended Reading:

The Business Case for AI / Kavita Ganesan 

Working With AI: Real Stories of Human-Machine Collaboration by Thomas Davenport and Steven Miller

FOR LEADERS THEMSELVES

7.     COLORIZE TO OPTIMIZE

Four Thousand. This is the average number of weeks in a human lifespan, a number popularized by former Guardian columnist Oliver Burkeman. Many of the recommendations in this post come back to prioritizing time to do one thing or another. But, how to make sure we’re making the best use of our most scarce resource?

Over the years, I’ve experimented with minding my time by color-coding my entire calendar.

I have several categories, each with a designated color. For example, Running the Business is Green. Long-Term Thinking is Blue. People and Culture is Yellow, and Learning is Red

Then at the end of every month or quarter, I can look at a breakout to understand how I am doing.

Am I spending the right portion of time in each arena? Where do I need to course correct?

I am especially attuned to making time for learning new things, which I believe feeds the critical non-linear leadership mindset I discussed above.

This approach has been a game-changer for me, and I am interested in inspiring and empowering my team members – and their team members – to adopt the bits of it that work for them.

Recommended Reading:

Four Thousand Weeks / Oliver Burkeman

Time Blocking Explainer / via How-To Geek

8.     MAKE TIME FOR FUN

 If there is one thing the last few years have taught me, it is that sometimes taking a moment to laugh is the best medicine for body and soul.

It turns out science backs me up on this, and I’ve been intrigued by the premise of The Fun Habit. In it, Mike Rucker explains the neuroscience of fun and how it can play a critical role in improving mental and physical health.

This #goodread got me thinking about the fact that humans are designed to live life with hearty doses of levity and enjoyment, yet this can easily get squeezed out as we progress through adulthood and our career trajectories.

The science of “fun” inspires us to think about how we can change the daily cadence of our lives. We need to be as intentional about creating time for “fun” as we are about maximizing our productivity.

I think this is a lens we could do well to infuse into our work culture, and in fact this might just feed right back up to Theme 1 about Protecting Wellbeing.

So, my mid-year resolution will be to schedule more blocks for “fun” into each week; I may even add a color code to my calendar. Who’s with me?

Recommended Reading

The Fun Habit / by Mike Rucker

Why our Best Ideas Come When Having Fun / via Fast Company

So there we have it. Eight themes to guide and inspire the second half of 2023:

FOR LEADING YOUR PEOPLE:
1) Check In on Wellbeing, 2) Embrace Non-Linear Leadership, 3) Lead with Authenticity,

FOR LEADING YOUR ORGANIZATION:
4) Define Your Difference, 5) Rethink the Definition of Work, 6) Adopt AI, Strategically,

FOR LEADERS THEMSELVES:
7) Colorize to Optimize, 8) Make Time For Fun

Thanks for reading. Stay curious, and let’s tackle the balance of 2023 together!

#Leadership #Wellbeing #NonLinearThinking #Authenticity #ChangingWork #AI #TimeManagement #ContinualLearning #Ramalytics

Unlocking "Next Web" Experiences in 2023

The Next Web is here

In a previous blog, I spoke about the next generation of Internet as we know it – a more immersive and responsive internet that I’ve started calling the “Next Web.”

This “Next Web,” underpinned by Web3+ technologies, will decrease the barriers between the physical and digital, and will be able to respond, reason, and produce unique new content.

As I wrote in my last piece, I believe that we must work hard to remember that our consumers will not really care if they are using blockchain, or the semantic web, or better-regulated crypto wallets to power their thirst for new experiences. No more than they presently care that WiFi 7 is powering their livestreamed events or 5G is powering their smart home.

People will, however, understand and care about the new options for experiences that can enrich their lives and their world.

In 2023, I’ll be looking for the “Next Web” to unlock a number of  new experiences with these themes:

UNLOCK EXPERIENCES

4 THEMES

#1: IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES that transport people while further blurring the line between physical and digital.

Overall, internet spaces started to look a lot more like the physical world over the past year, due to availability of new technology that supports detailed-oriented design even without coding expertise. Roblox launched their Materials tool, which provides the ability to mimic even the most minute features of the physical world. Developers immediately leaned in to the ability to design hyper-real environments using a base of 35 materials like asphalt, cracked lava, granite, and leafy grass.

British fashion brand Charlotte Tilbury doubled down on efforts to create a hyper-real retail experience during Holiday ’22. The brand launched a new Personalized 3D Avatar that allows consumers to customize an avatar shopper using a range of features, including skin color, facial features, body type, clothing and makeup, then walk through the virtual store environment with friends. These uber-customized representations bring a new level of reality to the brand’s already-immersive storefront experience.

Experiments with virtual smell and taste. Current digital environments are largely limited to the audiovisual realm, but emerging applications explore how to embrace the full range of human senses. At this year’s CES, Vermont-based brand OVR showcased a headset that contains a cartridge with 8 primary smells that can be used to create different aromas, noting “Scent is now Digital.” Innovations like Haptx gloves experimented with how to bring touch to digital environments, for example simulating the feeling of rain on your face, or the sensation of shaking hands.

#2: BESPOKE EXPERIENCES, that go beyond cutting and pasting physical life into digital worlds to invent things that are wholly new.

One commonly searched term in 2022 was “Phygital,” a word referring to goods and experiences that are equal parts digital and physical…a “portmanteau” of the two. As AdAge notes, it may not be a new phrase, but it certainly gained new relevance via recent innovations that mash-up physical and digital touchpoints to create something new.

The Bored & Hungry NFT Restaurant: Canadian frozen-food manufacturer McCain Foods launched their new sustainably grown product called “Regen Fries” with a “Farms of the Future” game in the popular Roblox game Livetopia. The simulation allowed players to virtually “grow” potatoes using regenerative farming methods, then go and sample what they created at brick-and-mortar NFT pop-up restaurants across the country.

Ariana Grande’s summer concert in Fortnite allowed music lovers to reimagine the concert experience – as a multi-day, immersive experience complete with mini-games, concert skins, and sailing around the musician with millions of other co-fans. (Video recap on YouTube here)

The Friends With Benefits (FWB) Social Club creates a new version of the time-tested networking group. The Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) functions as a social club and investor group. It has been compared to The Wing and SoHo House, both physical world clubs that offer networking benefits in exchange for membership fees. However, FWB requires crypto tokens to gain access to the group’s experiences, curated both via a Discord channel and in select cities. FWB currently has around 6,000 members and raised $10M from investors last year.

Finally, brands are experimenting with tokenized dining or travel to create bespoke experiences. The Flyfish Club is the first “Members Only” NFT restaurant, where membership is purchased as an NFT. Opening this year in Manhattan’s lower East Side, the 11,000sf space will feature an Omakase bar and access to myriad other fine dining experiences. While this is a premium experience, I can envision this type of bespoke creation expanding for mainstream consumers, too.

#3: BRAND PARTICIPATION EXPERIENCES, that leverage tech to deepen consumers’ relationships with their favorite brands by allowing them to not only engage, but to have a stake and participate.

Nike’s recent launch of Dot Swoosh, which promises product co-creation partnerships with everyday customers, among other participatory opportunities. The brand intends that their new platform and ecosystem that will house all of their Web3 activations and NFT drops. Registered community members will be able to buy/collect, show off and trade their Nike virtual merchandise, and eventually help co-create physical products by influencing design choices or even suggesting completely new ones.

In sports, the PGA (and other leagues too) partnered with NFT marketplace Autograph to create their own dedicated platform. It allows fans to collect and own NFT moments of golf history but also seeks to reimagine the way fans interact with players, by unlocking access to exclusive digital and onsite experiences with athletes and other golf professionals.

And of course, as I have written previously, Web3 technology is sparking experimental organizations with decentralized leadership and shared governance and profits. These so-called “Headless Brands” (or Decentralized Autonomous Organizations/ DAOs) are popping up across verticals and industries.  I was surprised to learn while researching this piece that DAOs held over $16B AUM in December of last year – a 40 fold increase from the previous year. Organizations like Decentraland, MetaFactory, and Vita DAO are challenging the conventional model of a physically-anchored company led by a single person or leadership group. They provide a new way to think about the purpose of a company and how it should run.

#4: CREATIVE EXPERIENCES, that utilize Immersive AI tools to redefine the line between creator/consumer.

Tools like Chat GPT, DALL-E, Midjourney and Dream Fusion are among the most exciting pieces of current “Next Web” tech, because they put “synthetic creativity” into the hands of average people.

I find Midjourney very interesting, because it allows every consumer the ability to dabble in artistic expression, along with a participatory community. Midjourney runs on the Discord platform, which started as a place for gamers to hang out and chat, but has evolved into a broader audience. To create, you jump into a Discord community and use an “/Imagine” prompt to type in a visual creation you’d like to see. The discussion moves quickly, and in the process of seeing your own creative outputs, users see and experience the artistic explorations of other community members as well.

In another realm, it’s been interesting to follow the progress of cooking enthusiasts who are using AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT to find or create new recipes. “ChatGPT recently gave me a vegan version of a bœuf bourguignon recipe, adjusting the proportions to make a single serving,” writes The Information’s Arielle Pardes, “Show me a recipe blog that can do that!”

I love the idea that immersive AI tools allow anyone to become a “creator,” regardless of whether they have traditionally considered themselves ‘creative’ or not.

How to Engage in a “Next Web” World

The “Next Web” -- and the new tools and experiences it brings –  is a shift that could be likened to the leap from mainframe computers for enterprise to the PC.

As we read and learn more about these tools, we quickly understand it is not as simple as “clicking a button.” There are prompt whisperers, and companies who sell prompts to others, and artists who spend hundreds of hours and iterations to “coax” images from the AI.

For brands and retailers, the question is how do we lean into this new world to learn and engage, right alongside our customers?

Doing so will undoubtedly help uncover new products, new marketing ideas, and new revenue streams.

There is a lot to learn and discover (not to mention keeping an eye on the evolving legal and privacy landscape). But like so many others, I can’t help but be excited by the possibilities.

STAY CURIOUS

As a parting thought, something I see staying constant in the “Next Web” is the need to unlock curiosity.

One of the things that strikes me about the world of generative AI and the immersive Internet is the fact that you still need a very human foundation of ideas, inspiration, and creativity to build it.

GPT or DALL-E users must have a command of genres and artistic styles or the right prompt language to coax their desired text or images from the machine. Just as those inventing new designs or experiences in the Sandbox or Decentraland still need a broad-based command of physical world destinations, architectural styles, and consumer needs to create new things that will resonate.

This foundation is a pre-requisite for the “Next Web” experience builder. It still emerges from a growth mindset. It is cultivated through broad reading, travel, curious questions, and even unplugging to pursue a passion.

 I encourage you to keep the cultivation of creativity on your 2023 priority list and to become an advocate for this practice within your sphere of influence.

Keep getting out there to explore the things that interest you. Keep pursing the paths to unlock new experiences in the “Next Web,” and together we will realize the next version of the internet, whatever it will be called.

What’s Next for the Next Internet?

Did 2022 mark the rise of the concept of the Metaverse, it’s fall, or both?

 I had long planned to kick off the year by writing about promising developments on the Tech Innovation landscape. But as I sat down to organize my thoughts, I bumped into a looming question that I am sure many of you have grappled with as well: Where are we with the metaverse?

Is it still the future and the next big thing, or is it just an overhyped concept, plucked from the Sci-Fi annals, that has now run its course? I think reasonable tech optimists can – and certainly have – debate this point.

On the one hand, Oxford University dubbed “metaverse” the second most popular word of the year for 2022, noting that usage quadrupled from the previous year.

The concept became a cultural buzzword, with 74% of consumers gaining awareness of the word, up from only 35% in the prior year. It was mentioned thousands of times in investor reports and earnings calls last year.

Even the World Economic Forum happening in Davos this month opened with a series of high-profile chats from their “Blockchain Hub” on the promenade. (Not to mention all the buzz around Chat GPT, which I’ll get to below.)

On the other hand, 2022 brought a series of well-documented struggles and missteps. Pioneering companies, including the eponymic “Meta,” saw stock declines and layoffs. Sales of AR/VR glasses stagnated. And cryptocurrency lost over 70% of its value, with the flagging momentum culminating in the dramatic and public implosion of the FTX crypto exchange.

Still, analysts who watch these spaces closely remain incredibly bullish about the potential. A recent McKinsey report predicted the value of the Metaverse could be $5 trillion by 2030. Goldman Sachs puts that number at $8 trillion. Plus, brand leaders across categories continue to explore new approaches, investing increasingly precious dollars and hours to pilot initiatives in the space.

So where does that leave us?

Tomorrow’s Internet, Let’s Call it “Next Web”

I have no doubt that a next generation Internet is coming. I’m hesitant to call it Web 3.0 or the Metaverse, because both of those labels have become bound up in granular principles and connotations that no longer serve the purpose of capturing the bigger idea. So instead, I’ll simply call it the “Next Web”.

The “Next Web” will mark a full shift from Web 1.0 technologies that were all about accessing INFORMATION. The newest iteration will be all about IMMERSION.

Today’s Internet is organic and participatory. It brought us RSS, social media, blogging, social commerce, and podcasting.

Tomorrow’s internet will be immersive and responsive. Immersive, because hyper-real environments, 3D graphics, and AR/VR technology are decreasing the barriers between the physical and digital every day. Responsive, because machines will be able to respond, reason, and produce unique new content, rather than just matching keywords.

The “Next Web” will be underpinned by Web3+ technologies like blockchain, which are the non-glamorous workhorses, reinventing how data moves through this system.

I agree with analysts like Vivaldi’s Erich Joachimsthaler who said the full realization of tomorrow’s internet could be as much as one decade away, and “will show up in bits and chunks, clunky and disjointed, before coalescing.”

If you think about it, even a decade more isn’t dissimilar from the evolution between AOL dial-up (which launched in 1989) to today’s shoppable social network, which was at least 30 years in the making.

So, if we are standing at the precipice of tomorrow’s internet – the “Next Web,” or whatever it ends up being called – how can we move forward? Where will the value that so many analysts can imagine be created? How can we start to capture it today?

It’s the Experiences, Stupid

Joachimsthaler writes that the path to unlock value in the future internet (he calls it the metaverse) will be to consider how to solve real problems, akin to those that Amazon, Google, and Uber solved in the Web 2.0 economy.

I don’t disagree with that assessment, but I would add one more lens to his frame.

I believe we can also create value in the “Next Web” by creating new kinds of consumer experiences. Problem-solving experiences, certainly. But also experiences around retail, entertainment, health, education, travel, food and beverage, and more.

We’ve been living in the “Experience Economy” for more than two  decades, and the consumer appetite (and willingness to pay a premium) for them shows no signs of slowing down.

I still remember reading years ago the Harvard Business Review article that described how Iggy, the cab driver in Taxi, repurposed his cab into an engine of the experience economy, creating an entirely new kind of offering by adding snacks, drinks, city tours and Frank Sinatra karaoke.

In my mind, one very simple way to think about the incredibly complex question of what’s next for the Internet is to ask: What new experiences can we unlock for everyday people?

How can we recombine the tools we have, to yield something wholly new for people to enjoy?

How can we think like Iggy?

I love this idea of flipping the question on its head, because it shifts the emphasis from a tech-centric approach (What can the technology do?), to a consumer-centric approach: “What can the technology do for people?

Ultimately, we must work hard to remember that our consumers will not really care if they are using blockchain, or the semantic web, or better-regulated crypto wallets to power their thirst for new experiences. No more than they presently care that WiFi 7 is powering their livestreamed events or 5G is powering their smart home.

People do, however, understand and care about the new options for experiences that will enrich their lives and their world.

The question is: how can we use the “Next Web” to unlock them?

The Great Re-Design >>> 3 Ideas to Help Build the Workplace of the Future

In their new book “Work Without Jobs,” Jesuthasan & Boudreau open with a brainteaser, asking readers to imagine they are given a box of tacks, a candle, and a match.

THE QUESTION: How do you attach the candle to the wall and light it without dripping wax on the floor?

THE ANSWER: Deconstruct the box into its parts, attach the box to the wall using the tacks, and attach the candle to the bottom of the box.

In experiments, people who receive the tacks inside the box can’t easily solve the problem, while those who see it already deconstructed into its parts can quickly see the solution.

““In the dynamic work environments of the future,” they write, “organization dilemmas closely resemble the candle puzzle. It’s time to take the tacks out of the box…Work needs to be redesigned with a new operating system.”

— WORK WITHOUT JOBS

The word “Re-Design” stands out to me as a salient idea and a call to action.  

Will the next chapter of workplace evolution be “The Great Re-Design”? I believe so, and I believe now is the time to take tangible steps to translate the dialogue that has been ongoing for so many months into action.

Moreover, I am passionate that data + tech tools are an overlooked lever.

At the moment, we fully understand how data + tech have changed the nature of work.

But we’ve spent less time considering how data + tech can help us build the next-gen hybrid workplace.

This summer, I set aside time to reflect on what a tech-centric workplace redesign would look like in the context of my leadership style. 

I have three working ideas to guide my priorities and actions over the last few months of this year. …

#1: Disrupt the CADENCE

First, I believe we have a golden opportunity to disrupt the convention that ‘work’ must look like an 8-plus-hour dash from one virtual or hybrid meeting to the next, with nary the time for a bathroom break.

I know based on feedback from my own leadership team that many of us spend a significant amount of time in meetings every day, but often feel like nothing has been accomplished. We wonder why we need to attend a series of meetings where the same materials are presented over and over, or why meetings often feel like a one-way monologue?

If we really step back and take stock, it is remarkable how many leaders at all levels have accepted calendars jammed with wall-to-wall meetings as an immutable part of the hybrid workplace.

As part of the Great Re-Design, I believe we can and must take back our time by becoming ruthless about driving meeting efficiency. I see two paths to accomplish this: fewer meetings and shorter meetings.

>>> FEWER Meetings: The current default for many is that every topic deserves a meeting, and every meeting needs to be an hour long. Today’s leaders have a tremendous opportunity to become much more proactive about questioning how many meetings are truly required.

I am working diligently to reserve my live meeting time for a diminishing group of interactions that really require them. This includes topics when there is true information sharing, particularly when an interpretive lens is required to understand the information, or when that information is sensitive.

I am also interested in using tech platforms like Headroom to maximize meeting efficiency through AI.

>>> SHORTER meetings: If a topic does merit a live meeting, moving to shorter meetings of 15- to 30- minutes can help cultivate focus & productivity.

I’ve put shorter meetings into practice by requiring pre-reads for meetings and encouraging my leadership team to carve out time to digest content in advance. This removes the added time of presenting material and allows us to dive right into discussions on business decisions.

Meetings that go beyond 30 minutes are exceptions on my calendar, except for talent development conversations. 

This forces us all to be disciplined about the purpose and agenda of the meeting. In almost every case, a well-planned quarter hour sprint can be as effective as an hour-long meander through the topic.

Re-imagining the workday cadence is an interesting example of choosing NOT to use virtual meeting tech just because we have it. In the rush to explore and adopt these applications, the balance tipped too far in favor of making every topic a live meeting.

I love the idea that part of the Great Re-Design can include restoring that balance to recast the ‘workday’ as a variety of tasks, rather than a monotonous block.

#2: Create Time for ASYNC work

BUT, what will we do with all of our time if we aren’t in meetings? (Said no leader, ever…)

Concurrent with maximizing meeting time, I am interested in how to redesign work to include more time for asynchronous collaboration.

Asynchronous simply means ‘not in real time.’ The idea behind asynchronous (or asynch) work is that team members can continue the thread of a conversation over hours or days without all being present in the same physical or virtual space.

Asynchronous work facilitates balance by freeing individuals to plan some of their work schedule in a way that best fits their personal needs.

It also creates space for the focused work and deep thinking that today’s competitive environment requires. I believe the beautiful, blank calendar spaces created by shifting to asynch collaboration can be an advantage for any organization.

Here again, I am exploring how to leverage tech tools to facilitate asynchronous work, including brainstorming, idea exchange, and content development. I am interested in platforms like Bubbles, which makes interesting use of asynch video messaging to facilitate conversations across time and space. (And I am sure there are many more like this one.).

Further, I would like to see broader trial and adoption of platforms like Miro, Trello, and Asana that allow people to input, review, and refine ideas in visual space – without the need for a live conversation.

While the tech tools responsible for so many of our interruptions started out as a way to boost productivity, there is growing evidence that they may be doing the exact opposite.

No matter which tech platforms enable it, successful implementation of asynch work time requires a leadership culture where practices like scheduling quiet work hours – during which people can decline meetings (see above!) – and silencing notifications is not only accepted, but openly encouraged.

#3: Get Serious About Designing the EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

You undoubtedly spend a lot of time thinking about your omni-channel consumer, but what about your omni-channel employees?

We know that tech defines the employee experience in the hybrid workplace, and we know that employees who are happy with their tech tools and processes are much more engaged and more loyal than those who are not.

Yet, I am not sure that many organizations have really given the employee experience – which I call your PeopleX – it’s due.

I am a strong advocate that part of the opportunity to Re-Design our workplace conventions must include a PeopleX refresh.

The good news is, we’ve been down this path before, and we can certainly take a page from our customer playbooks.

We should start by using our increasingly sophisticated data capabilities to understand how employees experience their work day and the broader organizational culture – and how we can improve them.

Some call this “People Analytics,” and I love this term and the sentiment behind it.

Embracing People Analytics can be as simple as fielding simple, weekly pulse surveys to informally query employees. This can encourage the candid feedback and dialogue that can be harder to glean in the hybrid workplace and open up the lines of conversation.

At PepsiCo, we used People Analytics from research we conducted among our teams to design our Work that Works model – an individually tailored approach that empowers teams to determine what works best for them based on their individual daily work activities, priorities, and preferences.

People analytics  can also be more  involved, such as building a bespoke BI application to help your leadership better understand employee behavior and sentiment. Such dashboards can flag things like lack of engagement and dissatisfaction early on, before they build to more significant issues.

I’m intrigued by the idea of applying consumer concepts like “cart abandonment” or “conversion” to understand where employees are experiencing digital friction – and how to address it.

In an adjacent space, I have my eye on emerging tools like metaverse job fairs and virtual onboarding sessions to help create richer and more interactive spaces for hybrid employees.

Whichever end of the People Analytics spectrum makes sense for your organization, the key is to act now.

Do what you can to tap into the goldmine of employee experience data that is available to help leaders engage and retain employees, and ultimately grow their bottom line.

Where From Here ?

“Whatever specific actions we choose, now is undoubtedly the time to take the tacks out of our workplace box. To rethink fundamental concepts like leadership, culture, and organization, and build a “new operating system” for the workplace.”

The great news is, we have the tech and the data tools at our disposal, and we have the opportunity to put them to work to re-design our organizations for the better.

I am striving to put some of these into practice to make the last quarter of this year – and the new year that follows – as productive and positive as possible. Will you join me?

Crisis Innovation 2.0: The Ideas Poised to Power the Future

In April 2020 I wrote about leadership lessons learned during the first 90 days of the global Covid-19 crisis. 

One of these lessons was to think in transformative terms, not iterative. I urged readers to carve out time during the hectic early days of the pandemic to envision how life could look on the other side of the crisis. “Imagine,” I wrote, “how your company will fit into the post-crisis world and what bold moves it will take to get there.”

It is hard to believe we are now living in that post-crisis world – at least the newest iteration of the Next Normal. Over the past two years, I have been inspired to see how needs and pain points resulting from the ongoing pandemic have sparked disruptive ideas among entrepreneurs, small companies, and larger organizations alike.

You could call these Covid-ovations: Innovative approaches borne out of pandemic-driven disruptions. These answer that 2020 call to think to transform, and they are poised to power life in 2022 and beyond. 

Here’s a look at 3 Covid-ovation shifts I find especially interesting, along with some examples to make the concrete real. And, I share my POV about what this means for 2022 and beyond. 

I hope you will enjoy reading and connect back to share the inspiring new ideas popping up on your horizon. Happy reading and happy Spring.

SHIFT #1 >>

A NEW DEFINITION OF WHAT IS REAL

THE COVID SPARK:

The pandemic pushed people around the world to explore new ways of being “together” in virtual spaces. Our decreasing reliance on physical interactions and spaces – and corresponding comfort with virtual ones – created a watershed moment that permanently blurred the boundary between the two.

I recently heard a tech reporter describe watching her son “attend” his first concert in Roblox during the pandemic. He was absolutely “present” in his avatar form, she recalled, and he lived it as an authentic experience. This reactivated my own pandemic memories of exploring Animal Crossing and other “real” virtual worlds with my own daughter, and it crystallized the fact that the lines have indelibly crossed. 

THE 2022 DO-DIFFERENT: 

This is the year to end the binary thinking between IRL and URL. We can no longer consider physical places and experiences as “real” and virtual interactions as part of a separate domain.

IN THE YEAR AHEAD:

The most transformative organizations will eschew the idea that they have a physical footprint and a digital presence. They will move beyond just hitting “copy and paste” in their efforts translate physical presence to a digital experience. 

Instead, leaders should push their teams to lean into the possibilities in the hybrid middle, drawing on tech innovation to help create entirely new types of formats and experiences. 

A FEW EXAMPLES of COMPANIES DIVING INTO THE EMERGING MIDDLE:

Fantasy Islands

An exclusive, 100-person community in The Sandbox Metaverse. Fantasy Island buyers receive a digital receipt of their property (an NFT) that is recorded on a blockchain, with parcel prices starting around $100,000.

Owners can visit their property on the island, decorate their home, display NFT artwork, and host friends. They also gain access to a members-only chat on Discord.

With Metaverse real estate sales topping $500M last year, it is safe to say more than a few are exploring how “real” property manifests in the non-physical world.  

Samsung Store 837X

A re-interpretation of the brand’s NYC flagship store located within Decentraland. Visitors can unlock NFT badges and wearables by competing in quests, see product reveals, and enjoy live performances by well-known musicians and DJs.

An early example of how to reinvent retail experiences for a hybrid world vs. just copy and paste the physical store.

Alo Wellness Sanctuary

Situated on an island in Roblox, this immersive wellness space invites users to explore, experience and learn about mindfulness.

Visitors are given digital yoga mats and invited to engage in guided meditation retreats and daily on-demand content from well-known yogis. And, of course they have the opportunity to purchase pieces from a five-piece digital fashion collection.

SHIFT #2 >>

NEW CONCEPTS OF WHAT CONSTITUTES A COMPANY

THE COVID SPARK:

Pandemic disruptions  highlighted the benefit of autonomy from large networks (including large organizations) and intensified interest in all kinds of decentralization. This propelled the burgeoning Web3 movement into overdrive.

In simplest terms, Web3  represents a decentralized vision of the internet in which blockchain technology and crypto systems allow individuals to earn money, control their content, and make governance decisions without middleman (read: large platforms like Google or Facebook), to facilitate interactions. 

Web 2.0 brought us the sharing economy, apps, and social media networks but also concentration of data and dollars among a few platform companies. Some hope the imagined “open web” represented by Web3 thinking could re-shift the balance. 

The Web3 movement is sparking experimental organizations with decentralized leadership and shared governance and profits. These so-called “Headless Brands” (or Decentralized Autonomous Organizations/ DAOs) are popping up across verticals and industries.  I was surprised to learn while researching this piece that DAOs held over $16B AUM in December of last year – a 40 fold increase from the previous year. 

More important than size and scale at this point is the idea; DAOs disrupt the conventional model of a physically-anchored company led by a single person or leadership group. They provide a new way to thank about the purpose of a company and how it should run.

THE 2022 DO-DIFFERENT:

While I don’t imagine the balance between DAOs and classic companies will tip anytime soon, I do believe these convention-busting ideas about decentralized leadership, creative control, and autonomy are poised to influence all kinds of companies and consumers in the year/s ahead. This will be especially true as new generations of tech-native workers come aboard.

IN THE YEAR AHEAD:

Smart leaders will stay abreast of shifting cultural ideas about what constitutes a “company” and consider how the new thinking could inform their current organizations as well as spark new partnerships and ventures. 

A FEW EXAMPLES (AND MANY MORE WHERE THESE CAME FROM):

DECENTRALAND

The open-source 3D, virtual space was founded with the goal of “democratizing” the Metaverse. Decentraland was founded with a $24M initial coin offering, with all proceeds going back into creating the experience.

The co-founders famously forwent the traditional CEO role and instead serve as advisors to a community of stakeholders. When users purchase empty land parcels via MANA cryptocurrency, monies go into a community account to be redistributed, and all users who own MANA can vote on policy changes and land auctions.

Very recently legacy bank JP Morgan set up shop in Decentraland, betting that, decentralized or not, the Web3 space will need conventional services like credit, mortgages, and rental agreements. 

METAFACTORY

A retail marketplace for small-business entrepreneurs and creators who want to sell goods but retain ownership and control of their profits. The company sells “digiphysical” goods that connect multiple worlds via NFTs, embedded microchips and other formats.

Following the DAO model, it utilizes a decentralized leadership board. Creators exchange $Robot tokens as they produce or purchase goods and accrued $Robot rewards grant access and influence over the future of the MetaFactory.

VITA DAO

A slightly different take, Vita is a “Longevity DAO,” with the goal of democratizing the science of living longer.  It collectively funds longevity research and works to turn promising discoveries into biotech companies.

Members can join by earning VITA tokens – either through purchase or by contributing work or intellectual property. 

SHIFT #3 >>

NEW IDEAS ABOUT WHAT COMPANIES SELL

THE COVID SPARK:

We’ve already established that pandemic disruptions sparked new definitions of “real” and new ideas about how “real companies” operate. It is no surprise that assumptions about what things companies can sell were disrupted as well.

THE 2022 DO DIFFERENT:

Virtual goods and services are moving from a fringe experiment to a valued reality for a growing number of consumers. Importantly, this includes consumers outside of the early-adopter gamer audience. Shoppers currently spend over $80B in virtual goods, a number expected to climb to $100B in the next few years. 

In response, a growing number of companies (and individual creators via DAOs) are selling NFTs, avatars, wearables and digital experiences right alongside their tangible offerings. 

IN THE YEAR AHEAD:

Savvy leaders must think about what kinds of hybrid goods make sense for your organization. Again, the key will be to break down the binary between “physical” and virtual” and remember that consumers increasingly think of all of these things as “real.”

RECENT ENTRANTS AND ACQUISITIONS ILLUMINATE THE POTENTIAL:

RTFKT ACQUISITION

In December, Nike added this rising-star digital design studio to their stable of brands. RTFKT (pronounced ‘artifakt’) is best known for designing NFT versions of sneakers and other clothing that can be worn across online environments.

While their products don’t cross over into tangible goods, they can be collected, traded and sold just like conventional sneakers. 

THE GFT SHOP

A Metaverse-based commerce platform and retail store where shoppers can purchase the cheekily named “GFTs,” which are NFTs for gifting to others.

The purchased gifts use the Ethereum blockchain to transfer ownership and arrive in a recipient’s crypto wallet and a digital gift box.

First to launch will be a collection from Atari featuring 10 iconic product designs to celebrate the brand’s 50th anniversary. An interesting interpretation of what it means to “gift” in the 2022 world.

MCDONALDS VIRTUAL

McDonald’s recently announced plans to open virtual restaurants in the Metaverse. Interestingly, many see the opportunity here to be physical world delivery, NOT digital products.

In the not-so-distant future, consumers will have the ability to walk into a Metaverse McCafe and place an order for food that would show up at their physical world door, without ever taking off their headphones or leaving the space.

This one shows how the food category may test the limits of the IRL/URL blurring. However, it points to interesting opportunities in the virtual-to-delivery space.

SEE ALSO

Cameo launching an Etherum NFT Pass that works like a ticket to unlock exclusive celebrity experiences,

Explosion of virtual fashion, and art via Sotheby’s launch of the first NFT exclusive marketplace,

And entrepreneurial ventures like Art Blocks, plus more food explorations like this one from Chipotle.

COVIDOVATIONS 2.0 – LET’S GO

There is a long history of crises sparking new ideas. One case in point, I enjoyed this fascinating historical refresher about how the Black Plague launched the cultural renewal of the Renaissance. 

I find it exciting to be part of this wave of change and growth. The examples I shared will no doubt one day be looked upon as early experiments, and of course some have expressed skepticism and valid questions about many of these projects.

However I believe each shows how companies are challenging the “physical” vs. “virtual” construct to reflect our changing ideas about what defines a “real” experience, a “real” company, and a “real” consumer good or service. 

In many companies, the next best innovation may not yet be crystal clear. However, consumers are expecting trusted brands to push boundaries, and they are still showing patience with early movers when they do.

The second-mover advantage will go to those who test to learn today, so now is the time to get going.

In the months ahead, let us to let go of thinking of touch points as "real" or "digital" and boldly create in the uncharted middle.

Best wishes for a happy and innovation-filled spring ahead.

Work's Great Renegotiation

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF WORK?

In February 1966, Time magazine asked a group of “New Futurists” to share their predictions about how technological advances would shape U.S. culture in the 21st century. 

“By 2000,” they wrote, “the machines will be producing so much that everyone in the U.S. will, in effect, be independently wealthy. With government benefits, even nonworking families will have, by one estimate, an annual income of $30,000 to $40,000 (in 1966 dollars). How to use leisure time meaningfully will be a major problem, and Herman Kahn foresees a pleasure-oriented society full of ‘wholesome degeneracy.’” 

This optimistic vision hasn’t yet come to fruition, and in 2021 work is still the thing that fills most of our hours on most of our days. While technology has been chipping away at some workplace conventions for years, you could argue that the office of January 2020 didn’t look meaningfully different from the one in which those Time editors wrote in 1966.  

HOWEVER…

The Covid-19 pandemic created a truly disruptive inflection point. March 2020 and all that followed forced companies and their leaders to imagine a new way to work and test-drive it in real time. Sometimes in those early days, it felt like we were careening down the highway with the doors still open. But for better or worse, we tested many possibilities at scale. We emerged on the other side stronger, with an unprecedented opportunity to intentionally transform the future of work.

For the first time in a long time, we’re asking ourselves what is work? How is it evolving and how do leaders evolve to that? 

The Great Resignation
– Or Is It?

There is a LOT of cultural noise when it comes to this topic. One of the dominant themes depicts “the Great Resignation.” Some have taken the pandemic-induced pause as an opportunity to contemplate what really matters and how work should fit into their lives. People are leaving jobs that do not suit them in record numbers, downshifting, rightsizing, and pushing against the cultural convention that their work defines them.  

This has been especially pronounced among parents, particularly women, many of whom feel pushed to the breaking point by pandemic-driven childcare gaps. The “lying flat” movement, which calls for young people to opt out of conventional measures of success like home ownership and high-paying jobs, has captured imaginations on both sides of the Pacific and is a fascinating embodiment of the extreme edge of this trend.  

The “Great Resignation” may or may not slow as we settle into a post-pandemic routine. Economists say that, historically, workers who weather an uncertain macroeconomic climate – especially young people – often find themselves more likely to value financial security than meaning. Perhaps the next generation will be pragmatists who value stability and a steady paycheck above all? 

 No matter the trajectory of job quit rates, it is indisputable that we face a societal reckoning about the nature of work. But rather than the Great Resignation, I think it is more aptly called the Great Renegotiation, and I feel privileged to be a part of it. 

What is the Great Re-Negotiation?

In straightforward terms, a renegotiation simply means changing the agreed upon terms, or the rules of the game. This moment of Great Renegotiation is a dynamic conversation about how to change the conventions of the traditional workplace so that it “works” for everyone. The conversation has two facets, an internal and an external.  

The internal dialog is taking place within individuals, as they ask themselves how to create the right relationship between the important elements of their lives - paid work, passion work, time with people they care about, and in the places they care about. They are seizing this opportunity to reconsider (some even to overhaul) the way the “work” piece fits with the others. In the post-pandemic landscape, they feel more empowered than ever to ask for what they need from their employers to put these elements in harmony. 

The Great Renegotiation’s external dialog is taking place between employees and their employers as they work together to translate these collectively voiced aspirations into meaningful change. A new window has opened for leaders and organizations to work with their employees to renegotiate the rules of work, and I am here for it. As with any negotiation, there may need to be concessions for both sides. But the anchor point - a conventional work culture that allows both employees and employers to thrive - has been set.

I have been thinking a lot about what is around the next corner. What do I need to “see” to set my organization up for success with the next generation of leaders and beyond? 

 I discovered an interesting clue in an unexpected source: The World Happiness Report. The authors mined a vast amount of data (over 5 million responses) about employee happiness that was collected on the jobs website Indeed.com, starting in November 2019. The responses offer a unique, quantitative look at what it means to be “happy” at work and how that might have changed during the pandemic. 

The most interesting takeaway? Even during the tumultuous months of 2020, the top drivers of workplace happiness remained fundamentally unchanged: belonging, flexibility, and an inclusive environment. I find this list encouraging for two reasons. 

First, it reassures me that even in the most turbulent times, employee well-being and happiness depends on enduring elements. Some have suggested we need to “blow up” the structure of work to reap the true benefits of technology or respond to the post-pandemic mindset, but I do not think that is the case. Rather, we need to understand and satisfy the fundamental human needs that existed pre-Covid, which the pandemic pushed to the forefront of the conversation. 

Second, these foundational elements – belonging, flexibility, inclusivity – are achievable for any company or leader. They are not tied to whether we are “in” or “out” of an office; they do not require massive restructuring or large IT budgets. Rather, they ask us to lean in to understanding our employees as people and our organizations as important sites of collective progress. 

It’s About the People, People

I believe we are entering the era of the Human-Centered company. There is a new openness to seeing the person behind the employee – and to having meaningful conversations about how, where, and when we all work.  

Some may push back by saying that companies have cared about their employees as people for years. Aren’t there entire departments dedicated to “Human” Resources? But, have they really? The unrelenting conversation about burnout and the ongoing number of resignations say otherwise. 

Collective time spent working from home offered an unvarnished peek into the lives of our leaders, peers, and direct reports. It afforded a new, deeply empathetic understanding of the façade of “balance” in a tech-led workforce and the barriers to well-being at work. For many, it illuminated sacrifices and trade-offs we did not even realize we were collectively making. We cannot “unsee” these things, nor should we as we forge into the post-Covid workplace.  

When I peek around the corner to imagine what kind of meaningful change could result from Great Resignation conversations, I envision a flexible hub of belonging, where employees feel supported to perform as the best versions of themselves and licensed to draw boundaries between their personal and professional selves. 

Four Key Ideas

 For me, this Great Renegotiation covers four key ideas:

#1: FLEXIBILITY:  

 Flexibility is by far the most important driver of workplace wellbeing for most employees. We see this writ large in the ongoing cultural discussion about return “to the office.”  

Importantly, though, flexibility goes far beyond “where” we work. We need to lead with empathy, to understand the true barriers to flexibility and continue to break them down. To enter a genuine conversation with employees to think about how to renegotiate the boundaries. Flexibility may look very different for someone just starting their career, versus a mid-career employee, or someone nearing retirement, yet the current options within work culture remain fairly one-size-fits all. Personalization has been a dominant consumer trend for more than a decade; how can we bring it to the workplace experience?  

#2: HUB OF BELONGING:  

Fresh research shows that “belonging” is not just about being welcomed or included, but also feeling that you are able to do your best work to reach a collective goal.  Here, we have an opportunity to renegotiate what the concept of “inclusion” authentically means within our organizations. More than ever, employees want their company to have a clear purpose, to feel a part of setting the organization’s goals, and to understand how they individually can help achieve them. How can we as leaders encourage that feeling of individual contribution to the greater good? 

 #3: SUPPORTED TO PERFORM AS BEST VERSION OF SELF:  

Without the physical office, we lose the “dual perspective” of others that motivates our best work. We need strong managers more than ever, and we need to help them transform their role from oversight to include connection and coaching.  

In this realm, Great Renegotiation conversations can help us think about how to push the playbook for the boss/employee relationship. Forward-thinking leaders will explore ways to bring elements of friendship and unstructured play into the culture of work. We know these enhance feelings of belonging and ultimately boost performance, but I see them as undervalued today. How can we do more to bake them into our cultures? (Some thought-provoking ideas here.) 

#4: EMPOWERED TO DRAW BOUNDARIES:  

The 21st century workplace is always “on,” with limitless possibilities. That is both its greatest promise and its greatest challenge. I thought and wrote about this while working in China’s WeChat culture, where the lines between private and professional lives are blurry at best and sometimes downright nonexistent. 

 I believe there are cross-cultural lessons to learn, which I wrote about back in 2019. Above all, I learned that tech makes the workplace of the future almost impossible to navigate unless leaders set the pace. Here, that renegotiation of the boundaries might mean empowering yourself and your teams to create tech-free zones: times of the day or week or month when it is permissible—even encouraged—to be “out of pocket.” 

Where From Here?

The future of work is not a hard reset. It’s a system upgrade to allow organizations to catch up with the direction tech-empowered workers were already headed. 

While we may never realize Kahn’s 1966 vision of a 100% pleasure-oriented society, we can certainly build human-centered organizations, where concepts like flexibility and belonging become lived practices rather than just buzzwords. This cultural moment has given us an opening to renegotiate the future of work. I hope you’ll join me in seizing this once in a lifetime opportunity. 

The Social Audio Decade: What do you need to know?

Voice-enabled tech has boomed over the past year and shows no signs of slowing down. Adoption of voice assistants, voice search, audiobooks, podcasts, voice retail, and banking via a virtual assistant is at an all-time high. We’ve even seen the comeback of the long-maligned phone call. Everywhere I turn, people are talking about the power of talking.

Amidst the voice tech chatter, I find the explosion of interest in social audio networks to be one of the most interesting topics. The Clubhouse app defined the social audio format about a year ago, igniting a flurry of innovation that many say marks the beginning of the social audio decade.

Even casual tech-enthusiasts likely already know the Clubhouse story. This invitation-only, audio social network app launched with a few thousand users in May 2020 and grew to 13 million by April of this year – in the process raising over $100M in venture capital and reaching a $4B valuation. Clubhouse users enter virtual spaces called “clubs” and “rooms” to participate in audio-only discussions that have been described as a mix between an interactive podcast and a cocktail party. The experience is customizable; users can “lean back” and listen or “lean in” to actively participate depending on their preference. 

I have personally enjoyed exploring Clubhouse over the past year, hopping into rooms in the evenings to join conversations about everything from Bitcoin and NFTs to the future of food and leaving feeling energized by the lively exchanges.

What’s the future of the voice-powered network?

While exploring Clubhouse, I have been intrigued by the simple idea underpinning this innovation: the shift from passive listening like podcasts to active participation via the power of interacting voices. 

Humans are innately social creatures; we are better together. I write and think about this often, but I still sometimes marvel at how much this simple truth underpins tech innovation. The transformative addition of participation gives social audio staying power. Tech gurus like Andrew Chen predict that audio will create the next generation of start-ups in social networking, social content, and publishing and will be embedded into a wide range of products and services. 

“The transformative addition of user participation gives social audio staying power.”

Thus, the most interesting thing about Clubhouse may be the burst of innovation it inspired. Currently all of the major players have launched social audio applications or announced plans to do so. This roll call includes: Twitter Spaces; Facebook’s planned trifecta of Soundbites, Podcasts and Live Rooms; Instagram’s audio-only chats; Reddit Talk; LinkedIn’s Audio Rooms; Discord’s expansion beyond gamers; Mark Cuban’s Fireside; and Spotify’s recent acquisition of The Locker Room. Smaller social audio upstarts like Cappuccino, High Fidelity, Telegram, and Forecast say they shouldn’t be counted out yet either. Some analyst estimates predict that the number of new social audio entrants will be around 100 by the end of this year.

Twitter’s quick move into this territory with the May launch of Spaces shows just how important social audio has become in a very short time. Their fast-follower offering, which allows users with 600+ followers to host audio-only rooms, provides a platform for interviews, panel discussions, music launches, and informal chats—all with ability to scale among Twitter’s established user base. The Spaces launch generated buzz around new functions like the ability to react with emoticons and to allow creators to monetize by charging for tickets and in the process showed how innovation in the social audio space is really just getting started. 

3 Themes Shaping the Social Audio Future

I can identify at least three themes that account for the growing appeal of social audio: Authentic Conversations, Serendipitous Access, and Time-Stretching Utility. 

Authentic Conversations

New research suggests that the voice, even more so than the eyes, may be the true window to the soul. Our voices transmit ideas and emotions with impressive speed and accuracy. When they are the only cue, voices are a powerful mode of empathy and a far more reliable predictor of intent and emotion versus reading faces or hearing voice + face together. (No doubt why Spotify is testing a feature that will recommend songs based on voice cues). Given this, it is perhaps not surprising to think that during a year when we found themselves ourselves physically apart, we gravitated to an app full of voices to feel more connected.

True, people first rushed to fill the isolation gap with video, but we found it too much. Too polished, too unnatural, and a real drain on brains that simply aren’t wired for so much disembodied interaction. The Clubhouse app (and later other social audio entrants) emerged as the “Goldilocks medium”; it offered just the right balance between flat text and taxing video. Users flocked there to enjoy the familiar cadence of informal conversations. The myriad rooms and clubs became a valued destination for lively exchanges between people with diverse ideas and points of view. 

Even as life opens up post-Covid, I think this insight about the power of voice holds the key to future innovation and growth around social audio. This platform allows for deeper and more meaningful conversations, and users benefit from hearing intonation, inflection, and nuance. Because the experience is live and dynamic, the conversations feel authentic. Participants in an audio chat can’t “fake it” with heavily edited scripts or filtered video reels. Social audio is a medium uniquely built upon ideas, and I think it has potential to fill a currently unmet need in the social media ecosystem.  

“Social audio is a medium uniquely built upon ideas, and I think it has potential to fill a currently unmet need in the social media ecosystem.”

Serendipitous Access

I have also appreciated the potential for social audio to bring together diverse viewpoints and facilitate unexpected connections. I’ve written before about the death of serendipity in culture and retail, as algorithms create filter bubbles that control more of what we watch, read, and consume. I love the idea that social audio could reinsert much-needed doses of serendipitous conversation back into the social graph. Sure the algorithms may influence what “rooms” or other virtual spaces users find, but their power stops at shaping the dynamic twists and turns of the live human conversations that ensue within them.

Time-Stretching Utility

From a practical standpoint, I love the idea that social audio can help people stretch their time, by plugging audio-only conversations into the cracks of other obligations and activities. Whether we are resuming commutes, walking for exercise, doing dishes, or decompressing at home, audio-only networks can upend the current constraints on when and how we converse with others.  This ability to stretch time by multitasking is actually a big part of the overall appeal of voice-tech, fueling growth of related tech like podcasts, voice-search, retail, and voice transcription. I am personally excited to think about ways I could use social audio to maximize time. The fact that I could join or host discussions without worrying about where I am or what I look like, possibly while doing other items on my to-do list really opens my eyes to the functional appeal of this innovation. 

Where Are We Headed?

Social Audio Opportunities
For Companies &
Their Consumers

Only time will tell which of the current social audio entrants might sustain for the long run, and I believe it is too early to make hard and fast predictions save one. It is safe to bet we will see social audio embedded into a wide range of apps and platforms in the coming years, similar to the way Snapchat Stories prompted the move to ephemeral video content across platforms. I look for social audio—and voice-tech overall—to add a unique, new dimension to the post-Covid connection landscape.  

The three themes — authentic conversations, serendipitous access, and time-stretching utility — will certainly guide innovation in the user space, and I’m keeping a close eye on what’s unfolding. 

They can also be springboards to help leaders think about how to pursue relevant social audio innovations within companies and among consumers. We’ve only just scratched the surface of applications in these realms, and I see many possibilities in this space. 

For Companies

As organizations explore new hybrid working models and learn how to manage a distributed workforce, I believe leaders can leverage the power of social audio to create new venues for deeper conversations and expand access to people and points of view.

• Could an enterprise social audio application provide space for richer, more nuanced conversations that currently simply don’t fit into most typical work days? 

• Could it bring together diverse viewpoints across teams that often (or never) communicate, breaking down silos and sparking unexpected ideas within the organization? 

• Could it help facilitate the informal dialog we now know to be absent on video but critical to healthy work cultures?

I have my eye on a few applications including Voiceroom, which is a spatially-aware voice platform that aims to bring the social and enjoyable aspects of physical hangouts into the virtual workplace. The Voiceroom interface recreates an audio-only version of the office kitchen table, where people can choose which parts of the conversation they want to join and also choose to break off into other separate discussions. Other apps like Chalk, Space Soft, and Slack’s Connect have similar goals.

Let us explore these, with an eye toward facilitating authentic conversations and access within our organizations and stretching employee’s time along the way. 

For Consumers

As we move into the metaverse, technologists predict that life will shift seamlessly between virtual and physical experiences, economies, environments, and ecosystems. The virtual world will be the actual world, and screens and scrolling feeds will occupy an even greater share of consumers’ daily lives. 

In this environment, I foresee a role for companies to use the “Goldilocks medium” of social audio to better serve customers and deepen customer/brand relationships. I think we will see innovative companies experiment with ways to use social audio to:

Listen to and learn from their consumers:

• Use Case: The Peloton Riders of Clubhouse group has 22,000 followers who avidly discuss all things cycling every Wednesday, with company execs and employees frequently dropping in to share information and establish themselves as thought leaders.  

• Look for: Social audio to become a new channel for structured insights research, informal consumer listening, troubleshooting, new product testing, and real-time customer service.

Build brand equity by deepening conversations: 

• Use Case: Burger King’s parent company RBI hosted “The Open Kitchen,” an hour-long chat with company executives the day after reporting 2020 earnings. This was an interesting way to lean into the participatory nature of social audio to have a more nuanced conversation with stakeholders and stand out in a crowded, competitive category. 

• Look for: More companies to lead and join conversations about the topics to matter to their brand consumers and stakeholders.

Reimagine marketing

• Use Case: The voice ad market is expected to grow to $19B by 2022. Instreamatic is piloting software that can insert interactive voice ads into an audio stream. The ads ask questions, understand the intent and tone of a consumers’ natural responses, and take follow-up actions. For example, a demo Uber Eats ad asks if you are interested in having lunch delivered. If you say “no,” the ad pivots to remind you the service offers dinner delivery as well. The company says average engagement can reach 12%, increasing the industry average for mobile almost ten-fold.

• Look for: Continued innovation to redefine the sophistication and customization of interactive advertising. 

Social Audio
For All of Us

Mark Twain wrote that there is no such thing as a new idea. “It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations.”

I love the idea that the social audio innovation comes out of this ever-turning kaleidoscope—remixing the ancient tradition of spoken language, call-in radio shows, podcasts, and social media networks into a new medium that feels just right for the current moment.

I look forward to “hearing” what you think about this emerging addition to the social media landscape. Find me on Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces, or maybe on an emerging platform that is coming to a speaker near you.

Earth Day Reflections: On Minding Our Food Choices and Making an Impact

“All people have the right to an environment capable of sustaining life and promoting happiness.”

With these words, the Santa Barbara Declaration of Environmental Rights helped plant the seeds of the world’s first Earth Day. The date, January 28, 1970, was chosen to coincide with the one year anniversary of a massive oil spill off the California coast. Just months later, what started with a small but committed group of activists—from students to senators—blossomed into a global call to action. A recognition that the way we treat our planet has an impact on our lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren. 

51 years on, we have succeeded in elevating environmentalism in the public consciousness and pushing it to the center of public policy. As a result, on the whole, our water is cleaner. Our air is fresher. Our communities are less polluted. But one challenge few foresaw in 1970 has become the defining issue of our time: climate change. 

Obviously, climate change is a complex problem that will require solutions on multiple fronts, from how we transport people and goods to how we make cement and steel. But one area I am particularly focused on is agriculture and the food we choose to put on our plates. 

We may not immediately think about food choices as being on the front lines in the fight against climate change. But, consider this: our global food system is responsible for over 25% of Earth’s total greenhouse gas emissions, with farmed livestock accounting for the majority of that share. The roughly 13.7 billion metric tons of CO2 required to produce our food annually are equivalent to annual exhaust emissions from every car, train, ship, and plane in the world. 

While some might find this daunting, I find it encouraging. Why? Because it points to an opportunity. Changing our diet to include more plant-based foods is a meaningful step every one of us can take to do better by our planet. In fact, many scientists say reducing consumption of animal proteins is the single most impactful thing any one person can do to help protect Planet Earth. That’s right, simple mealtime choices can be more impactful than forgoing air travel for a year or driving an electric vehicle. Our individual steps can add up to significant collective progress.

On the eve of Earth Day 2021, I am celebrating the power of plant-based protein to help change our world for the better, and this post will tell you why. I urge you to join the movement. Let us lead the change we wish to see.

But first, let us answer three questions: What is meat? Do people even want an alternative? And if so, how do we provide it?

What Is Meat?

From an innovation standpoint, plant-based proteins answer a provocative question: what if we could create something consumers view as “meat” without involving animals? 

An article in The Economist got me thinking about this, pointing out that the concept of “meat” is first and foremost a sensory experience. Meat as we know it is created when proteins, fats and sugars interact after cooking to create a particular bite, texture, and umami flavor. Recreating this experience without the carbon-intensive process of feeding and slaughtering animals could be a huge win for eaters and the planet.

Do People Want an Alternative?

Let’s say we could recreate the “meat” experience. Would people even be interested? The answer seems to be: very. 

As a lifelong vegetarian, I am accustomed to browsing a limited assortment in a single section of the grocery store to find plant-based products. However, a couple of years ago I started to notice a change, where in almost every category I was seeing plant-based product disruption – from milk, to cheese, to meat, to sauces. At the same time, I could now sample plant-based burgers and meatballs at previously unlikely locales like Burger King, KFC, and even Ikea.

My retail brain celebrates this eruption of innovation. It is incredible to think grocery sales of plant-based alternatives to conventional meat, dairy, eggs and seafood reached $5 billion in 2019, an 11.4% increase from the year before. On U.S. restaurant menus, plant-based options have grown 328% since 2018, and 20 major chains added meatless options in 2019. (Globally, countries in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region are seeing similar trends).

The consumer advocate in me is equally encouraged, because I think this innovation reflects a true cultural change. In North America, the number of vegans, vegetarians, and flexitarians is steadily growing. 

It is this last group that I think are driving the biggest change. Currently, around 44% of Americans identify as “flexitarians” who are looking to reduce their overall meat consumption and add more plant-based foods to their diets. This is even higher among younger Millennial and Gen Z consumers who are coming of age in terms of their purchasing power. 

Flexitarianism is driven by two factors. First, a growing awareness that plant-based diets are associated with better heart health, better digestion, and even thought to reduce inflammation. And, second, the burgeoning understanding that greenhouse gas emissions from plant-based foods are dramatically lower than those created by animal meats. Ultimately, Flexitarianism is an expression of the mainstream ethos of “conscious consumption,” whereby people genuinely want to make choices that are better for their health, for animals, and for the planet.

How Do We Provide Alternatives?

So, if we know what makes meat “meat,” and we know people are looking for alternatives, how do we meet (see what I did there?) the demand. 

Thus far, innovators have tackled the challenge in two unique ways. The first involves an elegant manufacturing solution that breaks down plants and re-assembles them to create the nutrition profile, texture and sensory experience of conventional meat. 

While working with the Beyond Meat team on the recently formed PLANeT partnership, I learned that their burger is made by putting ingredients like pea protein, coconut oil, canola oil, and water through a heating and cooling system that CEO Ethan Brown compares to "cow’s stomachs and muscular system." A cow takes plants and makes muscles that we eat; his lab takes plants and knits them together to look like those muscles. His team (comprised of scientists, engineers, researchers, technicians and chefs) is constantly tweaking the use of ingredients like beetroot to give the patty a reddish hue or “bleed” when bitten and bits of coconut oil and cocoa butter that produce a marbling similar to the fat in a beef burger.

Further afield, the so-called “3rd generation” of plant-based meat and dairy alternatives are being created in labs where scientists are learning to grow meat, milk, and cheeses from cells and yeast – a different path to the same end goal of cutting out the animal entirely. This type of cellular agriculture is being explored as a nascent field of science with new discoveries emerging every day.

Some analysts predict that by 2024, over one-third of all meat consumed worldwide will be cell-based, and if the current pace of innovation and VC funding continues, I will not be surprised to see that come to fruition. 

Dozens of firms are experimenting with new ways to create plant or cell-based meat; here are a few that have been on my radar recently:  

At New Culture, a New Zealand-based company that recently relocated to Silicon Valley, the team is working to create plant-based cheese by using biotechnology to grow the main ingredient: milk. 

Israeli meat producer Aleph Farms recently announced they have created the world's first slaughter-free ribeye steak through cell cultivation and 3D bio-printing. 

Berkeley-based start-up Eat Just won approval to sell cultured chicken nuggets in Singapore under the Good Meat brand. Their process starts with a single cell of chicken that is fed nutrients like those found in soy and corn, before being left to mature in a large-scale steel vessel.  

Ripple Ice Cream, also based in California, is developing dairy-free milk that is high in protein, low in sugar, and tastes like real milk.

An Ohio company called Good Catch seafood is selling frozen plant-based seafood like New England-style crab cakes, Thai-style fish cakes and fish burgers.

I cheer the many innovators around the world who are currently trying to solve this critical problem. Experts working on the forefront of plant-based meat innovation have an open runway, with the opportunity to continually modify and improve their offerings in the years ahead. There are new techniques, new protein sources, and new technologies to be explored, all of which can give increasingly conscious consumers more choices, help reduce pressure on the planet, and encourage healthier lifestyles – without taking “meat” off the menu.

An Idea Whose Time Has Come

When thinking about the journey we’ve taken to reach this point, I’m reminded of a quote from the French author Victor Hugo. “There is one thing more powerful than kings and armies.” Hugo wrote. “The idea whose time has come.”

The more I have learned about the urgent need for food system transformation, the more I am convinced the time for plant-based proteins has come.

Industry data shows that 80% of consumers are aware of plant-based proteins, while only about 10% have tried them. I think this points to the exciting growth ahead. I will relish the opportunity for my industry to inspire new trials of plant-based foods and support consumers’ growing desire to eat more of them.

On a personal level, I take heart that each of us can advance our collective progress by simply increasing the amount of plant-based proteins on our plates. My younger vegetarian self marvels to think about how choices have exploded over the past 20 years. I look forward to the next decade of innovation and growth – one that I believe will move us closer to the vision of those early Earth Day activists in Santa Barbara and usher in a healthier, more sustainable future for us all.   

One Year In: What I've Learned: 10 Insights About Leading Through Crisis (Reprint)

APRIL 2020 BLOG RE-PRINT: This time last year I was over a month into helping my global team navigate the unfolding Covid-19 crisis. In that moment, I captured 10 Insights About Leading Through Crisis.

Reflecting today, I believe my list will outlast the crisis and serve my team well in the months ahead. I am re-sharing on this anniversary of sorts in hopes that it might help others too.

Among the ideas, Number 10 especially resonates >> Practice Humility to Continually Learn From Others.

My greatest hope is that we can retain the spirit of empathy and collaboration that have sustained us as we GROW FORWARD into the next normal ahead.

Read my original post in it’s entirety below.

10 INSIGHTS ABOUT LEADING THROUGH CRISIS - ORIGINAL POST APRIL 2020

Global pandemic. Unprecedented crisis. These are big and scary words with no obvious solutions, but they are drastically changing daily lives around the world.

For better or worse, I’ve had a vantage point on the fast-changing situation for several months as my teams experienced the Covid-19 crisis unfold across the globe. 

Every situation is a chance to learn and grow, and in that spirit I’d like to share some of the leadership lessons I’ve learned along the way.

I’m writing while sheltering in place on the East coast, and I hope you are reading from a place of health and optimism also.

LEARNING FOR LEADING YOUR PEOPLE

#1: Practice Empathy

Far and away the most important job of a leader in crisis situations is to take care of your people, making their wellbeing your top priority. 

It is all too easy to default straight into a robotic crisis mode at the beginning of every meeting or conversation. Starting every interaction with a straightforward, three-word question can help avoid this. Simply ask, “Are you ok?” 

This deeply human query is an authentic way to open the dialog. It makes us emotionally available as leaders and opens the door to engage in a dialog about what is going on in employees’ lives.

When this crisis abates, leaders who invested the time to take care of those around them will emerge with a stronger, more cohesive, and more focused team that is and ready for whatever comes next.

#2: Communicate, Communicate, Communicate 

The time-tested adage that “knowledge is power” is never truer than in a crisis. One of the most difficult things about the situation is the uncertainty about what the future brings. The more your team understands about what you do know, the more empowered they will feel to go through their own decision-making processes to assess and act. 

Keep in mind, that as crisis leaders we don’t need to have all the answers. The simple act of sharing what you know along with what you aren’t sure about can be deeply comforting. 

#3: Keep your Calm

During the first 90 days in China, I thought about how to serve as a reliable port in the storm. The key is to maintain a balanced outlook that is neither too negative, nor overly optimistic.

I recently enjoyed a TED talk with psychologist Susan David, who explained that when we focus exclusively on positive emotions (like happiness), we fail to leave room to explore negative but also useful ones like fear or anxiety.

The same applies to leading teams through this crisis. It is equally important to celebrate good news and victories, while also acknowledging tough choices and untenable situations. 

#4: Internalize, Reflect, Then React Decisively

In crisis time, each day can feel like an endless cycle of issues that require quick solutions. I found that a really simple process can lighten the mental burden. 

First, internalize the decision by giving yourself time to take in all that you know. Then reflect, exploring the various options and visualizing their impact. Finally, react decisively, so that you and your team are clear about what comes next.

In his book Ricochet, Nick Tasler points out that the word “decide” comes from a Latin root that literally means to “kill” or eliminate other choices. 

I find this empowering. The best we can do in a situation when we have imperfect knowledge is to reflect on the choices we have, eliminate the lesser options and decide – moving forward with the strongest choice.

LEARNING FOR LEADING YOUR ORGANIZATION

#5: Understand Where You Are in the Journey 

Within your organization, it is important to keep in mind that this crisis is a journey with daily twists and turns, not a destination. 

A leader’s best first step is to make sure your team is clear about where you are in the 4 stages of navigating this journey.

            Stage 1: Recognizing there is a crisis 

            Stage 2: Preparation to respond

            Stage 3: Response

            Stage 4: Recovery

Using this roadmap as a mnemonic will will serve as a litmus test to ensure any planned actions are correct for the stage you are in. 

Also, keeping a steady eye on Stage 4 (recovery) is a great reminder to plan for what life will look like when you emerge from crisis mode.

#6: Identify the Biggest Problem to Solve

Being in “crisis mode” creates a feeling of urgency to act NOW. My experience in China underscored the importance of stepping back to first identify the biggest problem that the organization needs to solve. For example, if you are a retailer, do you have a demand problem or a supply problem? 

Stating the problem clearly in your own mind and organizationally provides a set of guardrails to help define what you need to tackle over the next 30-60-90 days. 

#7: Don’t Think Iteratively, Think Transformative

If there was ever a time to throw out your previously created plans – this could be it.  

As leaders, we must carve out precious minutes to re-imagine how life will look on the other side of the crisis. Then, we can imagine how our organization will fit and what transformative moves we can put in place to get there. 

In doing so, make sure you don’t fall into the trap of imagining the current state as the future state. I recently heard a futurist noting that any time a new change is foisted upon us very quickly, there is a bias to thinking that the “new present” is the future. That, she stressed, is almost universally never the case.

I can already see this playing out in China. As life slowly turns to the recovery stage, consumer behavior is certainly changed. But, life over the next 12-18 months is going to look very different from the way it looks today. 

Transformational thinking requires putting yourself in the shoes of consumers to understand how the crisis will fundamentally change their lives and behavior.

This might be obvious in some industries, like healthcare or education, but it applies equally to every category. I’m fascinated with this topic and collecting tidbits for a future post…Send me yours, and let’s think about what the “next normal” looks like for consumers across the globe.

LEARNING FOR LEADERS THEMSELVES

#8: Earmark Time to Organize

We are hearing a lot about finding the right cadence as many of us adjust to working remotely from home. 

One practice I highly recommend is to reserve a calendar slot for “crisis organization” each day. Take this time to create a daily ritual. First standardize inputs from the frontline, asses them, and then organize outputs that will go from the center back out. 

Visualize this how you like; I’m partial to post-its on my whiteboard. The important thing is to carve out space for amalgamation and reflection amidst the noise of your day. 

#9: Take Time to Emotionally Recharge

Flight attendants advise parent travelers to “put on their oxygen masks first,” and with good reason. A few weeks operating in crisis mode quickly taught me that if you do not prioritize your own emotional wellbeing, you will have little to offer your team in the way of guidance and support.

 Our daughter being home and working remotely with our dog have given me moments to reground and relieve stress. My advice to others is to identify a few anxiety-releasing activities and build time for them into each day.

#10: Practice Humility, to Continually Learn From Others

Nature magazine recently reported that global quarantine efforts have literally caused the earth to move less. That awe-inspiring tidbit can only invite a moment of humility in the face of this situation.

I wholeheartedly believe that the best among us will use this crisis as an opportunity for learning and growth. Let us seek feedback and identify our weaknesses and areas where we can improve. When the globe goes back to humming at its regular speed, we will be thankful we did.

Finally, through all of this, be prepared to be inspired and humbled by the best of humanity that comes to the forefront during a crisis like this. I know I have been, watching the medical workers at the frontline and our #Pepsico team members rise to the challenge. 

In 2021, Don’t Ask What Will Return. Ask What Lies Ahead

The English naturalist Charles Darwin famously helped us understand that the survival of any species – including our own – hinges precariously on the ability to adapt. 

In 2020, this innate capacity to respond to our changing environment was on full display. We adapted across almost every aspect of culture, creating a watershed moment for tech innovation along the way. I cheered the many (and ongoing) advances, counting them as a silver lining amidst the pandemic’s difficulties. I love the word “tech-celeration” to capture this period of innovation.

In the wake of such forward progress, I find it ironic to encounter so much discussion about which parts of post-covid life will return in 2021. Will workers return to offices, will shoppers go back to stores, will people gather IRL again?

I see these as false choices and indeed the wrong questions to guide leaders into the year ahead. Instead of thinking about when and how life will return “back” to normal, let us look forward to consider the new options created by pandemic tech-celeration.

We must leave behind binary questions and instead participate in building a less neatly categorized, but wholly more exciting post-covid world.

Allow me to tell you about five new fusions I see and provide some innovation sparks that illuminate the possibilities.

fusion one/
CONNECTION

People won’t be together or apart; they will seamlessly blend their physical and virtual worlds 

The pandemic taught us we could easily, virtually connect with our friend across town and our favorite musician across the world. In the year ahead, we will retain the expectation that any place or occasion can be accessed through a screen. 

“Zooming” is now an eponym, and we will continue doing it for social, medical, educational, and professional occasions. Most if not all live events will retain a virtual component. Innovators across the landscape will continue to explore ways to re-invent IRL experiences for virtual participants. 

As people gain comfort with virtual interactions, they will want more sophisticated avatars and consume more virtual goods. Gaming platforms will emerge as an influential backdrop for corporate and cultural interactions. And, the appetite for immersive tech (AR & VR) to feed virtual experiences will grow, fueled by its movement from clunky glasses to smartphone screens. 

Implication

2021 ushers in a mixed reality world. People now see a blurry (eventually disappearing) boundary between virtual and physical places. Companies must do the same. 

Innovation Sparks

1) Bigscreen TV VR Co-Watching 2) Direct to Avatar Economy 3) James Beard VR Dining Experience

fusion two/

HOMES

Homes won’t be sanctuaries or proxies for third spaces; they will continue to do it all

During the pandemic our relationship with “home” was fundamentally altered. For many, our dwellings ceased to be a just a landing place and became for a time our whole world.  

There were two meaningful sides to this shift. On one hand, people developed a new appreciation for an organized and comfortable home, reflected in a resurgence of domestic endeavors. On the other, they adapted their understanding of what a home is for and transformed homes into proxies for third-spaces like schools, restaurants, gyms, and spiritual centers. 

Even as people spend more time out in the world, they will continue to call on their abodes to be both sanctuary and third space stand-in. This will create new consumption behaviors and needs that will be an innovator’s paradise. Some of the current offerings around meals, décor, cleanliness, and wellness are the low-hanging fruit, but these likely only scratch the surface.

Implication

Every company should invest time and resources to understand how the post-covid home impacts their business. What home-related goods, services, and experiences can you provide to meet emerging needs? 

Innovation Sparks

1) Tempo Fitness Studio 2) Just Kitchens Cloud Kitchen 3) Return of Weekday Breakfast

fusion three/ RETAIL

Shoppers won’t choose online or in-store; they’ll blend the best of both formats

We saw eCommerce soar amidst pandemic-driven shutdowns, and experts expect the momentum to continue. Notably, 70% of U.S. consumers who tried a new online shopping behavior during the pandemic say they intend to continue it. However, retailers also anticipate a return to stores in the year ahead. So, what gives; how will consumers toggle between their online and offline shopping worlds? I maintain that they won’t. Rather, they will expect to blend the best of both formats.

When it comes to eCommerce, this will manifest as a rejection of the online shopping grid and a desire for more engaging virtual storefronts. And, it will mean a growing appetite for innovations like livestream shopping, personalized video shopping, AR experiences, and social retail.

In the physical world, shoppers who invest the time to visit a store will enter with high demands. They will look to retailers to integrate data to provide a personalized experience. They’ll expect burgeoning innovations like touchless retail, decentralized POS, and augmented merchandising to mainstream quickly. And, they’ll appreciate expert human service and an element of retail serendipity as icing on the cake.

Implication 

Retailers should focus on how to cross-pollinate their best practices in 2021. How can you create richer virtual shopping experiences, while bringing the best of pandemic-driven tech innovation into physical stores?

Innovation Sparks

1)  Showfields Magic Wand Mobile App 2)  Canada Goose VR Store 3)  Beautycounter Hybrid Stores

fusion four/ WORK

Work won’t be at the office or at home; it will be everywhere

In 2020, employees worldwide pivoted to work from home in the face of office closures. Amidst this massive HR experiment, many organizations saw productivity and satisfaction soar. Today the genie is out of the bottle, and most companies foresee a lasting shift to remote work. However, the time apart also highlighted limitations of remote work and reaffirmed that most organizations do need IRL spaces for collaboration, training, and relationship building.

 This creates an historic opportunity to reimagine a hybrid work world. Managers can offer employees an unprecedented amount of choice about where and when they work. Concurrently, they have a blank slate to re-create the office of the future. 

In the year work officially escapes the confines of the office and spills into every part of life, leaders will also have new responsibilities to help employees maintain balance. I experienced this future while navigating China’s WeChat work culture and logged some lessons learned. In a nutshell, setting boundaries, naming priorities, and prioritizing relationships will become more important than ever.

Implication

Leaders should shift their focus from where work gets done to think about how it gets done by a hybrid office team. What tech and training tools do you need to support collaboration? How do you attract and retain talent no longer bounded by zip code? What kind of physical office spaces foster wellbeing and strong relationships?

Innovation Sparks

1) Miro online whiteboard 2) AI tools measure remote employee satisfaction 3) Gather game-based office platform

fusion five/ LEADERSHIP

CEOs won’t focus on profit or purpose; they’ll pursue both with equal rigor

 In 2019 the WEF declared that “Profit with Purpose” was set to become the new business norm. That very same year, the Business Roundtable released a statement signed by 181 CEOs redefining the purpose of a corporation to promote an economy that serves all its stakeholders, and companies have since been taking incremental steps to make this a reality.

However, I believe the pandemic increased our shared sense of responsibility and hastened the urgency to act on a wide range of issues. In the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer, 86% of consumers said they expect CEOs to take action to tackle challenges around Covid, diversity, and the environment in year ahead.

This presents both an opportunity and a mandate. Leaders will continue to pursue profits, of course. But we must strengthen our resolve to tackle social issues with the same tenacity. 

Examples of how this looks in practice abound. One close to my sphere is PepsiCo’s path-breaking Winning with Purpose initiative, which focuses on accelerating the company’s growth by making a difference in our society, including recent commitments to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, reduce single-use plastics and lead plant-based protein innovation. Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon used this year’s CES platform to highlight his company’s tech initiatives to combat diversity. And at Davos, the WEF launched their “Partnering for Racial Justice” program to drive meaningful workplace change. 

 Implication

Speaking in Davos, Dan Schulman called the idea that purpose and profit are at odds “ridiculous,” and I couldn’t agree more. This is the year to shift from concept to practice. What meaningful steps will your organization take? 

 In the year ahead…

I believe the most exciting possibilities lie not in looking backward to consider when normal life will return. Instead, we will find them when we set our gaze forward to explore the exciting new options around how we live, work, learn, and consume in the post-covid world.

Let’s retain the adaptive mindset we have honed over the past months to grow and flourish FORWARD.

12 Days of Virtual Holiday Retail (and what innovators can learn from them)

It is clear that the Covid-19 pandemic has irreversibly altered the way people holiday shop – in the U.S and around the world. This year, Single’s Day, Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday sales all smashed eCommerce records. For the first time, more U.S. customers intended to holiday shop online than in stores, and U.S online holiday sales will grow an incredible 33% – two years’ growth in one season. 

Yes, the primary site of holiday shopping has officially shifted from the store to the screen. Amidst this disruption, retail leaders have needed to think (quickly) about how virtual retail can provide the experiential, engaging experiences that typically fuel holiday sales. 

While innovation on this front was already underway, the pandemic-driven shift pushed many companies to move digital retail innovation from an experimental line item to a priority for Holiday 2020 survival.

Future holiday seasons might see a larger number of shoppers return to physical stores, but I believe the virtual store will endure as an important site of holiday (and all-the-time) retail. 

Read on to discover 12 Holiday Virtual Retail Experiences that have caught my eye this year, and the innovation insights I glean from each. These, and many other bold initiatives, have inspired me to imagine what the next holiday season will look like in a squarely digital-first retail world. 

#1:

Taobao Live + Single’s Day

Single’s Day kicked off the global holiday shopping season with record sales, doubling last year’s total. One standout was Livestream eCommerce, which is experiencing explosive growth in China, especially during the pandemic. 

The livestream shopping shows hosted in China’s online malls have been aptly described as part infomercial, part variety show. Celebrity influencers demonstrate products, explain features, take questions, and entertain shoppers along the way. More than 17,000 brands started livestreaming during this year’s Double 11 Festival, and over 39% of China’s population viewed a shopping livestream.  

The “Lipstick King” Li Jiaqi livestreamed for more than 6 hours, drawing 36.83 million users. Beauty tech unicorn Perfect Diary sold out of cosmetics co-branded with The Discovery Channel in record time. In a session that offered a discount on cars, 55 vehicles were sold in just 1 second.

INNOVATION INSIGHT: With fewer shoppers going to physical stores, livestreaming is emerging as an engaging way to bring the shopping experience to them. I look for more Western brands to experiment with this channel in coming years. (See: Amazon’s Prime Day livestreams.) While Western livestreams are currently focused on gamers and entertainment, China’s diverse breadth of content shows the potential for this retail channel to extend to new categories and consumer groups. 

#2:
Charlotte Tilbury’s
Holiday Beauty Wonderland

This holiday-themed interactive VR experience seeks to surprise and delight. An avatar of founder Tilbury guides visitors through a 3D-version of the holiday store, where they can explore lights-bedecked beauty zones, shop customizable beauty kits, join live events, and view recorded tutorials. Virtual customers can even invite friends to shop right along with them. 

INNOVATION INSIGHT: Online shopping is historically transaction-based, but it can evolve to be multi-sensory, fun, and even social. A new generation of VR technology facilitates this kind of feature-rich online retail experience via desktop and mobile, without requiring shoppers to be tethered to clunky, expensive glasses.

#3:

Best Buy + Instacart

Electronics retailer Best Buy partnered with Instacart to allow shoppers to order from most U.S stores and receive items via same-day delivery. The “certified delivery” feature allows customers to track orders with high-value items and confirm receipt. Best Buy deftly marketed the service as a sure way to score one of the season’s popular gaming consoles that were only sold online this season.

INNOVATION INSIGHT: During the pandemic, tech-supported logistics advances have intensified consumers’ expectation for near-instant retail delivery. In future holiday seasons, I believe shoppers will continue to show willingness to pay a premium to skip the lines and receive sought-after items from the comfort of their own home.

#4:
Ralph Lauren Virtual Holiday Stores

The Ralph Lauren Virtual Store allows shoppers to navigate a cinematic digital version of 7 of the brand’s flagship locations, from Beverly Hills to Hong Kong. The company sought to reinvent the holidays through a digital lens, right down to the music playing in the background. Virtual shoppers can explore rooms with lavish holiday displays, click any item to purchase, or schedule a virtual appointment with a sales associate. 

A range of social media channels create multiple paths to engagement: a Snapchat lens to try items in the virtual dressing room; an online shopping game played via Facebook Messenger; Twitch to watch influencers play the game; a What’sApp gift concierge.  

INNOVATION INSIGHT: The strongest virtual retail experiences leverage the unique strengths of various social media platforms to create a true omni-channel experience. For established brands like RL, an engaging virtual storefront paired with social media innovation is a path to engage and convert new, younger shoppers.

#5:

Amazon
Explore

On Black Friday, Amazon shined a light on their paid interactive shopping experience, Amazon Explore. The Beta service provides live virtual shopping experiences at boutiques and markets around the world. One-way video and two-way audio stream lets customers see a host who can find and show items, ask store associates questions, and purchase products to be shipped to the virtual shopper.

INNOVATION INSIGHT: During the pandemic, consumers learned to experience many things virtually from the comfort of home (work events, concerts, travel destinations, even weddings). Why not shopping? I see an opportunity for other companies to use streaming video to deliver customized shopping experiences to a larger global footprint of customers.

#6:
Bustle
Holiday Bazar

This ski-style chalet features a VR-created holiday pop-up shop with seven digital “booths” from retailers like GAP, Carolina Herrera, and Samsung. It is a great example of how to reinvent previously IRL events for the virtual retail world. The always-on event features DJs, a photo booth, livestream events, curated gift picks from Bustle editors, and use of the “drop” model to debut new products. 

INNOVATION INSIGHT: “Drop model” product innovation leverages an algorithm to mine social media trends and quickly create and ship products to match. Fashion and cosmetic brands like those in the Bustle chalet are using the digital foot traffic to aid near-instant innovation. Can brands in other categories (like CPG) also employ this approach?

# 7:
Sam’s Club National Lampoon’s Christmas House

Rather than bring shoppers into a virtual store, Sam’s Club leveraged VR to recreate the Griswold’s storied holiday home. Including music, décor, shoppable scenes, and fun movie send-ups like a squirrel in the Christmas tree, a trip through this holiday home evokes holiday cheer and nostalgia. 

INNOVATION INSIGHT: VR is not just for clothes and cosmetics but can also elicit sensory cues to inspire holiday food and beverage purchases. This festive home also provides inspiration about how virtual retail can trigger impulse CPG buys that are less common online but a key part of holiday shopping revenues. Shoppers wandering these inspirational holiday rooms are sure to pick up items they didn’t even know they needed.

#8:
Kohl’s
AR Virtual Closet

The NRF reports that 21% of retailers expect to invest in augmented or virtual realty in the coming year – up from 8% in January. Retailer Kohl’s provides an example of this trend with continued testing of their AR Virtual Closet. Shoppers can use the Snapchat app to virtually try on clothes through the new Selfie Lens feature. Then, buy their selections without ever leaving the app. Holiday Snapchatters who need a break can personalize their own greeting cards with faces of friends and family. 

INNOVATION INSIGHT: Historically, AR efforts felt more focused on the tech than the consumer need and often fell flat with shoppers. Amidst the pandemic-driven shift to virtual retail, AR provides a true benefit by marrying the functional ability to test products without setting foot in a store with much-needed doses of holiday shopping escapism. I look for AR-powered retail experiences to grow across categories in future years.

#9:
Fred Segal
Live Shopping Experience

LA-based retailer Fred Segal is hosting an eight-week livestream shopping experience themed around the “Power of Diversity.” Each weekly installment features collaborations with black-, women-, and minority-owned small business owners showcasing a curated product selection. Using the Talkshoplive platform, customers can tune in to explore products and purchase with one click. 

INNOVATION INSIGHT: This is a great example of an experiential retailer bringing the serendipity of shopping their physical locations to their virtual storefront. I predict we will see further collaborations of publishers, brands and experience providers to create streaming shopping experiences to engage Western audiences.

#10:

Neiman Marcus Holiday Perks

Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus took extra steps this year to facilitate personal selling in a digital way. Their offer includes a virtual gift concierge service via a network of 5,000 digital-only sales associates. The associates engage via text or video to help clients find the perfect gifts. Then, ask Santa to deliver them curbside. Post-purchase, shoppers receive mail delivery of champagne and signature NM cookies; a great way to remind loyal customers about the joys of the holiday season.

INNOVATION INSIGHT: Not only will 1:1 consultative selling endure in the virtual retail world, text and live streaming platforms will make it more accessible to mainstream and budget shoppers across categories. This should be a site of virtual experience innovation in the lead-up to Holiday 2021.

#11:
London AR
Art Festival/
Virtual-Only Goods

“Virtual-only goods” are predicted to grow in share and influence over the next 3 – 5 years. These are purchases that live only in the digital world, for which there is no physical counterpart. This holiday, Acute Art produced London’s biggest public festival of AR Art, noting that in a year when the pandemic forced widespread closure of cultural sites, we need public art spaces more than ever. Closer to retail, Samsung is marketing digital art subscriptions for their Frame TV, while luxury fashion brands like Louis Vuitton are selling virtual goods for eSports games, which players must purchase with IRL cash. 

INNOVATION INSIGHT: Virtual-only goods represent an entirely new category, and now is the time to consider how your brand could participate.

#12:
Macy’s
Santaland

Many have done great job bringing the classic Santa experience to life virtually this year. Macy’s version includes a personalized digital journey, a tour of Macy’s New York flagship village, and a selfie with Santa. Along the way visitors can explore branded experiences, like decorating a Balsam Hill tree or sampling Entenmann’s treats. 

INNOVATION INSIGHT: Any experience, no matter how storied or iconic, can be recreated for the virtual world. It just takes a good mix of tech innovation and good, old-fashioned imagination. I daresay one pandemic silver lining is that this and other holiday experiences are more affordable and accessible to consumers across the world than ever before. 

Where From Here?

HBR writes that the pandemic has “supercharged all things virtual,” and IBM estimates that digital acceleration has jumped 5 years in the span of a few months. These changes are clear in retail, where the rapid growth of eCommerce has prompted a fundamental rethink of what “online shopping” can really be. Clearly the focus on speed and efficiency will need to remain. But, forward-thinking retail leaders must broaden their definition to the broader category of virtual retail. This includes a shift from:

• Purely functional TO emotional experiences

• Planned transactions TO surprise and delight

• Clunky equipment TO anywhere access via laptop or mobile

• An experimental channel TO a hub of brand experience 

Next holiday season will surely look different, but will build on this year’s unprecedented tech acceleration. Now is the time to begin test-to-learn efforts for Holiday 2021 and beyond.

Happy holidays and an innovation-filled new year!

How To Thrive In The “Digital” Next Normal? Let’s Understand, Imagine, Then Lead

How to Thrive in the “Digital” Next Normal?

As we emerge from the earliest months of the global Covid-19 crisis, leaders at companies of all sizes are looking ahead to the “next normal.” What will life look like for our customers and our employees? How do we plan, prepare and lead to succeed?

If there is one inescapable word permeating this period of reflection and planning, it is DIGITAL. We know that, worldwide, time spent online and digital commerce greatly accelerated during the pandemic. Daily, we read about the digital-led recovery, enterprise digital transformation, the rise of the Digital Strategy Officer, and a surge in the use of digital platforms and applications among our consumers and colleagues.

Increasingly, digital is not a place or a descriptor. Life is digital and digital describes our lives; the two concepts are inextricably linked. (For some fun, anecdotal evidence, check out Elon Musk showcasing his brain-machine implant, Neuralink.) 

For business leaders, the logical extension is that digital strategy is business strategy and vice versa. The two can no longer be separated or disconnected – in our minds or within our organizations.

This shift was well underway pre-pandemic. In January 2019, seven of the ten most valuable companies globally were digital platform business models, the likes of Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alibaba. For several years, business analysts have used words like “seamless” and “frictionless” to describe the future.

Image Source: The Innovator

Undoubtedly, the pandemic has accelerated the seamless assimilation of digital and physical life to warp speed. By some estimates, consumers have vaulted 5 years forward in digital adoption in a mere 8 weeks. For certain sub-groups like seniors or rural consumers, that leap was likely much larger. 

 The “next normal” is undoubtedly the “Digital Next Normal,” and it is here for every organization. The question facing leaders is how to help yours not only survive but thrive. How to see around corners to spot new opportunities before others do and even create them where they may not inherently exist?

For me, this challenge feels most approachable if it can be broken down into discrete, actionable parts.

Here are 4 guiding principles on my mind as we head into the last quarter of what will undoubtedly be remembered as an historic year.

#1: Understand how your consumers have transformed…

THEN PUT THEM AT THE CORE OF ALL YOU DO.

We hear so much about digital transformation; I think it is easy to lose sight of the underlying cultural transformation that is powering it. 

Across the globe, people’s daily lives have changed in significant ways. In the U.S., the average adult now spends an incredible 16.6 hours per day with digital media; e-commerce sales climbed 25% in the first two weeks of March and continue to grow at a staggering pace. Digital tech supports a myriad of activities that have been shifted to the home.

 A recent Fast Company article dubbed this growing, cross-generational psychographic of digital-first consumers “Generation Novel” (Gen N), writing that companies paying attention will “source the insights necessary to transform and enhance operational and business models, products and services, and customer experiences.” I wholeheartedly agree.

 In this moment, “Job One” for leaders is to understand that the pre-Covid customer you think you know is very likely not the same person powering growth today. This reality calls us to update long-held ideas about our customer, rather than falling back on legacy data – especially when it comes to digital attitudes and behaviors. 

At the end of the day, the most transformative digital leaders will start by understanding and championing how consumers themselves have transformed.

Fuse data-driven consumer insight…

WITH FORESIGHT.

#2: Fuse data-driven consumer insight with foresight

Henry Ford is famously attributed with saying that if he had asked consumers what they wanted they would have gotten a faster horse. Of course they got the Model-T, and the rest is innovation history. We can apply this sentiment to the present to highlight the fact that following the data can only take us so far. It tells us what consumers know they need today, but what about the unmet needs they will discover tomorrow (and the day after that)?

“Foresight” was an innovation buzzword several years back, but interest in imagining the future has more recently given way to innovation powered by data analysis, addressable audiences, and predictive algorithms. 

While these tools remain critical, this moment also requires us to invest the time to employ a healthy dose of forward-looking imagination. We need to anticipate the needs and wants on our consumers’ digital-first horizons, then develop thoughtful offerings that meet them where they are headed.

I see a few glimmers of this mindset on the landscape already:

• Peloton, imagining that some will never return to the gym is expanding their offer of live fitness content and integrating with platforms like Apple’s GymKit to reinvent the idea of the workout facility. 

• Travel purveyors, understanding the pandemic will change nearly every aspect of their industry are imagining door-to-door solutions, including biometric airport check-ins, hygiene-class airline tickets, hovering suitcases with no wheels to touch the dirty ground, and robotic hotel maids to provide contactless cleaning services.

• CVS, imagining that safety concerns will finally nudge U.S. consumers to adopt the contactless payment systems used widely in the rest of the world, is leading the way to roll out Venmo and PayPal in retail stores. 

• Lowe’s, envisioning that homeowners will be reticent to allow outside contractors inside for years to come, is piloting an augmented video chat tool that allows them to conduct virtual visits and provide plans and materials lists without ever setting foot in a space. 

I wholeheartedly believe that companies who imagine quickly and well will be the winners as we proceed into the Digital Next Normal. I am urging my teams to dedicate some time each week to envisioning what “could be” in the next 60, 90, and 365 days.  Won’t you join us?

3. Create hypotheses about your digital company of the future…

THEN BUILD IT.

#3: Create hypotheses about what your digitally-enabled company of the future looks like, then build it.

In some ways it feels like a lifetime since I attended Davos 2020, but one of the themes that has stuck with me is the idea that we can create the digital-first future of our company (and our world, for that matter) by creating hypotheses about what it could look like.  

A key action item for leaders is to envision what your company could look like in the next 5, 10, or 20 years and identify the pieces you need to get there.

As one starting point, we know that shoppers are adopting ecommerce faster than ever during the pandemic. We expect them to retain many of their online shopping habits, with an increased emphasis on safety, personalization, and speed. But, what are the second- and third- order implications of this shift?  

Does your organization need to accelerate testing or adoption around:

·      Touchless Payment: see Alibaba’s “smile to pay”

·      Contactless Delivery: see Covid robot boom and Wal-Mart’s on-demand delivery drones

·      Re-purposing Physical Space: see Best Buy turning stores into delivery hubs

·      Cloud Computing: see explosion of Google Cloud and Berkshire Hathaway’s buy-in to Snowflake

·      Supply Chain Agility: see 4th IR Tech Solutions

·      AI Tech for In-Store Personalization: see “Magic Wand” mobile shopping tool at NY Retailer Showfields 

Have you done enough to break down internal silos that hamper truly seamless digital experiences?

Do you have the right partners to win in the future? Would many have predicted a few months ago the partnership between Accor & AXA to provide medical care to hotel guests? Or Delta & Lysol to innovate on travel hygiene?

On the precipice of the Digital Next Normal, we must diverge in our thinking and honor the tenet that no idea is too far-fetched. If your team is not evaluating at least a few ideas that scare you, I’d venture you aren’t looking far enough down the road! 

4. Create a fail-forward culture…

TO GROW INTO THE DIGITAL NEXT NORMAL

#4: Create a fail-forward culture to grow into the Digital Next Normal

Within my organization, the crisis showed us we can move with speed and agility that would have seemed daunting a few months before the pandemic, especially when it came to digital transformation. This was the true embodiment of the “Fail Forward” culture that is easy to espouse but often difficult to practice in non-crisis times. 

One of my key takeaways is that you really do have to think like an attacker all over again. Even if you were the incumbent, even if you were the leader before this pandemic, you’re now the attacker, so you must take the steps that attackers take.

Over the past six months, we have attacked by creating new global capabilities and rearchitecting processes—from net revenue management, to marketing as a function, to direct business models—with a focus on delivering our products to market with greater speed, agility, personalization and precision than ever before. 

The next challenge is to figure out how to embrace this approach even when the urgency has receded. In my company, this means experimenting with new digital working and training practices, reimagining physical spaces from the factory to the grocery store. And, evolving the roadmap for unconventional partnerships and acquisitions. What does the freedom to fail forward look like for your team?

What’s next…

IN THE DIGITAL NEXT NORMAL?

What’s Next in the Digital Next Normal?

I had a chance to live the prequel of this journey in China, where the 2003 SARS outbreak (among other things) is credited with pushing the county to the digital-first future into which the rest of the world is now embarking.

Thinking back on it, I am reminded that life in that future is dynamic and invigorating. It is full of chances to chase down new ideas, nimbly pivot, and continuously improve along the way.

I am optimistic about the opportunities to re-imagine and re-engineer. Please join me, and let us share successes and leadership learning along the way.

  

What I've Learned: 10 Insights About Leading Through Crisis

Global pandemic. Unprecedented crisis. These are big and scary words with no obvious solutions, but they are drastically changing daily lives around the world.

For better or worse, I’ve had a vantage point on the fast-changing situation for several months as my teams experienced the Covid-19 crisis unfold across the globe. 

Every situation is a chance to learn and grow, and in that spirit I’d like to share some of the leadership lessons I’ve learned along the way.

I’m writing while sheltering in place on the East coast, and I hope you are reading from a place of health and optimism also.

LEARNING FOR LEADING YOUR PEOPLE

#1: Practice Empathy

Far and away the most important job of a leader in crisis situations is to take care of your people, making their wellbeing your top priority. 

It is all too easy to default straight into a robotic crisis mode at the beginning of every meeting or conversation. Starting every interaction with a straightforward, three-word question can help avoid this. Simply ask, “Are you ok?” 

This deeply human query is an authentic way to open the dialog. It makes us emotionally available as leaders and opens the door to engage in a dialog about what is going on in employees’ lives.

When this crisis abates, leaders who invested the time to take care of those around them will emerge with a stronger, more cohesive, and more focused team that is and ready for whatever comes next.

#2: Communicate, Communicate, Communicate 

The time-tested adage that “knowledge is power” is never truer than in a crisis. One of the most difficult things about the situation is the uncertainty about what the future brings. The more your team understands about what you do know, the more empowered they will feel to go through their own decision-making processes to assess and act. 

Keep in mind, that as crisis leaders we don’t need to have all the answers. The simple act of sharing what you know along with what you aren’t sure about can be deeply comforting. 

#3: Keep your Calm

During the first 90 days in China, I thought about how to serve as a reliable port in the storm. The key is to maintain a balanced outlook that is neither too negative, nor overly optimistic.

I recently enjoyed a TED talk with psychologist Susan David, who explained that when we focus exclusively on positive emotions (like happiness), we fail to leave room to explore negative but also useful ones like fear or anxiety.

The same applies to leading teams through this crisis. It is equally important to celebrate good news and victories, while also acknowledging tough choices and untenable situations. 

#4: Internalize, Reflect, Then React Decisively

In crisis time, each day can feel like an endless cycle of issues that require quick solutions. I found that a really simple process can lighten the mental burden. 

First, internalize the decision by giving yourself time to take in all that you know. Then reflect, exploring the various options and visualizing their impact. Finally, react decisively, so that you and your team are clear about what comes next.

In his book Ricochet, Nick Tasler points out that the word “decide” comes from a Latin root that literally means to “kill” or eliminate other choices. 

I find this empowering. The best we can do in a situation when we have imperfect knowledge is to reflect on the choices we have, eliminate the lesser options and decide – moving forward with the strongest choice.

LEARNING FOR LEADING YOUR ORGANIZATION

#5: Understand Where You Are in the Journey 

Within your organization, it is important to keep in mind that this crisis is a journey with daily twists and turns, not a destination. 

A leader’s best first step is to make sure your team is clear about where you are in the 4 stages of navigating this journey.

            Stage 1: Recognizing there is a crisis 

            Stage 2: Preparation to respond

            Stage 3: Response

            Stage 4: Recovery

Using this roadmap as a mnemonic will will serve as a litmus test to ensure any planned actions are correct for the stage you are in. 

Also, keeping a steady eye on Stage 4 (recovery) is a great reminder to plan for what life will look like when you emerge from crisis mode.

#6: Identify the Biggest Problem to Solve

Being in “crisis mode” creates a feeling of urgency to act NOW. My experience in China underscored the importance of stepping back to first identify the biggest problem that the organization needs to solve. For example, if you are a retailer, do you have a demand problem or a supply problem? 

Stating the problem clearly in your own mind and organizationally provides a set of guardrails to help define what you need to tackle over the next 30-60-90 days. 

#7: Don’t Think Iteratively, Think Transformative

If there was ever a time to throw out your previously created plans – this could be it.  

As leaders, we must carve out precious minutes to re-imagine how life will look on the other side of the crisis. Then, we can imagine how our organization will fit and what transformative moves we can put in place to get there. 

In doing so, make sure you don’t fall into the trap of imagining the current state as the future state. I recently heard a futurist noting that any time a new change is foisted upon us very quickly, there is a bias to thinking that the “new present” is the future. That, she stressed, is almost universally never the case.

I can already see this playing out in China. As life slowly turns to the recovery stage, consumer behavior is certainly changed. But, life over the next 12-18 months is going to look very different from the way it looks today. 

Transformational thinking requires putting yourself in the shoes of consumers to understand how the crisis will fundamentally change their lives and behavior.

This might be obvious in some industries, like healthcare or education, but it applies equally to every category. I’m fascinated with this topic and collecting tidbits for a future post…Send me yours, and let’s think about what the “next normal” looks like for consumers across the globe.

LEARNING FOR LEADERS THEMSELVES

#8: Earmark Time to Organize

We are hearing a lot about finding the right cadence as many of us adjust to working remotely from home. 

One practice I highly recommend is to reserve a calendar slot for “crisis organization” each day. Take this time to create a daily ritual. First standardize inputs from the frontline, asses them, and then organize outputs that will go from the center back out. 

Visualize this how you like; I’m partial to post-its on my whiteboard. The important thing is to carve out space for amalgamation and reflection amidst the noise of your day. 

#9: Take Time to Emotionally Recharge

Flight attendants advise parent travelers to “put on their oxygen masks first,” and with good reason. A few weeks operating in crisis mode quickly taught me that if you do not prioritize your own emotional wellbeing, you will have little to offer your team in the way of guidance and support.

 Our daughter being home and working remotely with our dog have given me moments to reground and relieve stress. My advice to others is to identify a few anxiety-releasing activities and build time for them into each day.

#10: Practice Humility, to Continually Learn From Others

Nature magazine recently reported that global quarantine efforts have literally caused the earth to move less. That awe-inspiring tidbit can only invite a moment of humility in the face of this situation.

I wholeheartedly believe that the best among us will use this crisis as an opportunity for learning and growth. Let us seek feedback and identify our weaknesses and areas where we can improve. When the globe goes back to humming at its regular speed, we will be thankful we did.

Finally, through all of this, be prepared to be inspired and humbled by the best of humanity that comes to the forefront during a crisis like this. I know I have been, watching the medical workers at the frontline and our #Pepsico team members rise to the challenge. 

Davos Reflections: Tech Transformation and 4 Steps to Get There

 I’m happy to be home from a whirlwind trip to the World Economic Forum, where it was my privilege to meet and hear from thought leaders who are the shaping the world across different walks of life. Things have been hectic since my return, and I appreciated the opportunity of the long President’s Day weekend to reflect on my experiences.

During my three days, I packed in 27 sessions, multiple dinner discussions, 1 creativity retreat, and countless captivating conversations. One of my highlights was a dinner with 3 Nobel Laureates – Joseph Stiglitz, Robert Shiller, and Brian Schmidt. What an incredible brain trust! 

Across my interactions, a single recurrent word stuck with me: TRANSFORMATION.

Below, I’ll dig into that and share my Davos-inspired Transformation Roadmap for 2020. 

TECH LEADERS MUST THINK TRANSFORMATION, NOT PROCESS AUTOMATION

“We live in a world of disrupt or be disrupted.
Every CEO has an obligation to become the chief transformation officer.”

This exhortation from Salesforce CEO Keith Block kicked off a lively discussion about the role of leaders in the 4th Industrial Revolution. “Transformation” is a lofty word, so let’s break it down. 

The WEF introduced the term “4th Industrial Revolution” (4th IR) in 2016. (See my recap here.) It describes the fusion of our physical, digital, and biological worlds, a process that started around the turn of the millennium. This fusion has undoubtedly increased over the past few years, as showed by a couple of statistics that jumped out at me in Davos:

By 2022 60% of the global GDP will be digitized.

Further, 70% of new economic growth will come from digitally-enabled platforms.

These numbers are striking if you pause to reflect. We live in a world where an overwhelming number of new sources of value (over two-thirds of them) are digital. This might be something we know, but what does it mean? 

It means that every leader in every organization is by default a tech leader. Further, it requires us to understand that tech leadership is not about automating existing processes or making sure we have the fastest network or the right new software systems. Rather, it is about having the foresight to understand how the 4th IR will disrupt our organization and transform it accordingly.

My interactions at Davos suggested a few strategies for success, which I highlight in my Tech Transformation Roadmap below.

Step 1: THINK ABOUT THE SHIFT FROM PRODUCT TO PLATFORM

In the 4th IR, every company must become a digital platform to survive. Platform companies, by the Davos definition, are organizations created by common sets of utilities and data that adds value for customers. PayPal and Venmo are great examples of how a digital platform can disrupt a brick and mortar industry. 

Shifting from physical company to digital platform can be a daunting step. In Davos, I was reminded that going back to the basics and asking a few simple questions can help companies successfully transition. Fundamental questions, like: “What business are we really in?” “Why do we deserve to exist as a company?” “Where can we add the most value for digitally-enabled consumers?”

In one of my sessions, I enjoyed hearing Stephanie Linnartz talk about her company’s journey from hotelier to platform. Marriot invested in consumer data to create a digital offering to compete with Expedia & Airbnb, understanding that their value comes from experiences not physical hotel buildings. They have assembled an array of villas and homes for rental via their website. And, they are looking at expanding to offer home sharing, food service, and credit via 3rd party partners. Viola, a simple recognition of their true business offer sparked the beginning of the journey from company to platform.

Step 1 Takeaway: To drive transformation from conventional company to platform, ask what business you are really in. 

Step 2: CONSIDER HOW TECH CAN PROPEL YOUR PLATFORM

Every company is swimming in data, and my Davos sessions hummed with the buzzwords: quantum, edge, cloud computing, 5G. The common thread was that all of these innovations these are converging to provide 5G-driven connectivity. Tech is facilitating a faster-better-deeper understanding of the world for companies across industry. 

Amidst this revolution, an interesting Davos insight: business leaders aren’t doing a great job harnessing the power of tech. Only 10% of companies investing in new technology are getting ROI. Why? Because the use cases are not well defined, and there is too much emphasis on process automation vs. transforming the business. 

As leaders, we can’t necessarily predict where tech will be even 1 year from now. We can, however, be more strategic by stepping back to think about what our organization needs to do better-faster-smarter and how tech can help facilitate. We can then prioritize so that execution follows a broader transformation strategy.

At PayPal, I learned this means using real-time data to identify underserved financial deserts and make small business loans in minutes vs. the weeks required by traditional banks. For a CPG company, it might mean using data to drive innovation. Davos fun fact: did you know 1 pack of milk generate 170 MB of data? Imagine what that data could do in the hand of an AI-enabled innovation team!

Step 2 Takeaway: What business needs can your company use technology to address? What do you need to do smarter, faster, and in a more connected way? Start there with tech efforts and dollars.

Step 3: THINK CRITICALLY ABOUT THE ROLE OF AI

There was no argument among Davos attendees that Artificial Intelligence is emerging as a powerful tool. Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai expressed the view that it’s impact on humanity will be “profound,” possibly as disruptive as the invention of fire. 

For leaders, the point around AI-enabled transformation goes back to the need for a high-level vision. A recent HBR article noted that only 8% of firms engage in core practices that support widespread AI adoption. Most have run only ad hoc pilots or apply AI in a single business practice. It’s not surprising, then, to learn that most organizations have had limited success, with AI initiatives failing to show ROI or scale. 

I appreciate the simple and straightforward process Bain proposes to change this, which goes something like: (1) Explore potential use cases. (2) Test scalability and potential value. (3) Select 2-3 to solve the most business urgent needs and start there. It is one I am continuing to advocate and guide within my own organization. 

Step 3 Takeaway: To develop an AI action plan that will return investment and scale, identify 2-3 important business needs and explore how your data can help solve them.

Step 4: HONE HUMAN LEADERSHIP TRAITS TO LEAD TRUE TRANSFORMATION

As I mentioned, one of my Davos highlights was a dinner discussion with 3 Nobel Laureates from the fields of economics and physics. A peek at my notes is revealing and maybe a little surprising for it’s lack of technical ideas or disciplinary terms…

1. Always important to experiment and be OK with mistakes

2. Make time for self-learning

3. The essence of learning is making new connections

4. Some ideas take a long time to gestate; remember science advanced one atom at a time!

5. Create the future by creating hypotheses about what it could look like; in this process multi-disciplinary teams provide fresh perspective and new ideas

While these luminaries come from fields quite different than my own, it was reinvigorating to discover an overlap in leadership values between their worlds and mine. Intellectual curiosity, love of learning, cultivating a diverse perspective, and accepting a few mistakes around the way. These principles have served great leaders throughout history and will continue to guide us into the heart of the 4th IR.

As we continue down the path of re-imagining our organizations for the digital age, let us take our cue from the Laureates and hone time-tested leadership qualities to help us. May we grant ourselves time for new learning and dot connecting and the courage to embrace a fail-fast approach along the way!

AI IS DISRUPTING EVERYTHING, BUT HOW? 3 IDEAS TO INSPIRE INNOVATION

THE PACE OF AI INNOVATION IS RAPIDLY INCREASING 

Artificial Intelligence is clearly having a watershed moment, driven by the fast digitization of everything, movement in machine learning technology and a growth of data.  A new KPMG study notes that AI has quickly moved from a “technology to watch to a technology to deploy.” And, just last week Tech Republic declared, “AI will determine if your company is a winner or a loser.” (No pressure, right?)

Some telling numbers back these assertions; only 17% of the large cap companies analyzed in the KPMG study are currently using AI applications at scale, but HALF expect to do so within 3 years. Further, leaders in these organizations predict that investment in AI-related talent and infrastructure will increase between 50 to 100% in that same timeframe. 

The time to get serious about AI investments is now, and the advantage will undoubtedly go to the early movers. I find that learning about real-world applications fuels my imagination. We may be all-too familiar with how Netflix is using AI to conquer the world, but what else is out there? What tangible applications emerging right now can inspire the test-and-learn style innovation every company should be pursuing? 

“The time to get serious about AI investments is now, and the advantage will undoubtedly go to the early movers. I find that learning about real-world applications fuels my imagination..What tangible applications emerging right now can inspire the test-and-learn style innovation every company should be pursuing? ”

 AI “WINNOWS” THE OPTIONS TO HELP US FIND WHAT MATTERS

As I started to look for an answer to this question, a theme emerged from the heavens. Sort of. It began with a fascinating article from Scientific American. 

The piece describes how AI is sparking new breakthroughs in astronomy, a field in which a deluge of data has had the counter-intuitive effect of stifling progress. Machine learning is “winnowing potential signals from torrents of noise-filled data so astronomers can focus on the most tantalizing targets for discovery.” 

That sentence really got my brain going.

The concept of winnowing so aptly describes how AI is driving innovation in how we communicate, consume, and seek inspiration. Here are a few au courant examples that have me thinking about potential applications to help focus the “torrent of noise-filled data” in my own world. I hope they spark some thoughts for you as well.

“The concept of winnowing so aptly describes how AI is driving innovation in how we communicate, consume, and seek inspiration. Here are a few au courant examples that have me thinking about potential applications to help focus the “torrent of noise-filled data” in my own world. I hope they spark some thoughts for you as well.”

#1: COMMUNICATING ON NEW MEDIA PLATFORMS

AI is ushering in new social media channels and digital platforms to deliver hyper-personalized content with no-to-little effort required on the part of users. 

TOUTIAO is the first “intelligent content distribution app,” and it’s use has exploded in China. In part, I believe, due to the fact that it is completely frictionless for users. Unlike Facebook, it doesn’t rely on the social graph (connections between people) to generate and serve content. Rather, it passively analyzes user behaviors: what they click on, how far they scroll, what type of story, and what time of day – ultimately using AI to narrow the vast universe of available content and serve up a hyper-personalized feed of articles, videos, and ads. Touitiao (and sister site TikTok) lets social media users “lean back” and consume exactly the content they want to see. No friending, liking or sharing needed.

Touitiao

Uses AI to deliver hyper-personalized content with no effort required on the part of users.

THE INNOVATION IMPLICATION: How can AI empower your business to cut through the content clutter and serve up more personalized everything? 

#2: PERSONALIZING CONSUMPTION IN BRICK AND MORTAR RETAIL MODELS 

Retailers know the name of the game is “experience.” Big data is helping them fine-tune these experiences by using AI to capture trends and identify the right products to put in the hands of the right consumers at optimal times.

B8ta, a “retail as service” company, touts the ability to give consumers the chance to touch and interact with brands that are not typically sold in brick and mortar stores. The growing concept is getting press for turning the “showrooming” trend on its head. 

The less-written about foundation of this innovation is its AI-driven technology. B8ta offers a unique system of cameras that track shoppers in-store, replicating the way cookies learn from online shopping behavior. In the simplest terms, B8ta turns the retail environment into a trackable canvas, just like a website. Their data dashboard feeds data back to manufacturers, who are then able to adjust inventory, in-store communications, and even pricing in real time. 

B8TA

Uses AI to feed companies shopper data in real-time.

THE INNOVATION IMPLICATION: How can AI equip your business to use real-time data to optimize your offerings?

#3: MINING PREVIOUS WORK FOR NEW INSPIRATION

Another emerging application springs from AI’s the ability process large amounts of data to find and create novel new patterns. Creators are leaning on this to help infuse new thinking into the R&D process—and quickly.

In the FOOD category, a system called Gastrograph AI uses machine learning to model consumer flavor preferences and predict how well they will respond to new tastes. The data can even be segmented into demographic groups to help inspire new products for very specific audiences. Companies large and small are piloting this application. For example, I recently read that Mexican-based Bimbo bakeries is testing the interface to tweak products for markets outside of Mexico. (Read here for other great food innovations related to sorting, supply chain, safety and grocery shopping, and tackling food waste.)

Gastrograph

Uses machine learning to help inspire new products for niche audiences

In the BEAUTY space, Olay launched an online “Skin Advisor” that can create personalized product recommendations based on AI-driven analysis of a selfie. It has proven to be the brand’s biggest launch in 10 years. Olay has doubled its sales conversion rate for shoppers using the application and increased average basket size by 30%. Investing in this shortcut for consumers to find hyper-personalized product recommendations has paid off immensely for the Olay brand. Inspiration indeed.

And, in PHILANTHROPY, social scientists are using AI technology to develop predictive models that serve up new ideas to help overloaded public health officials. For example, a newly invented Google Maps-like program points individuals to the best available health resources in their area.

THE INNOVATION IMPLICATION: How can AI help you mine and recombine existing data to spark fresh thinking and better serve the customer?

So,

LET’S GO FORTH AND WINNOW

I recently read a retail industry report in which the closing page implored readers to remember that AI is a “disruptive factor” that gives every company a new starting point.

This is an exciting challenge, and I am excited to continue exploring how AI applications can help cut through the noise and clutter to let users – be they social media users, shoppers, or innovators – home in on what really matters.  Let’s go forth and winnow.

3 Lessons From Working In A WeChat World: Reflections On Tech Leadership

Large companies with strong leadership promoting the innovative use of technology are more profitable, have higher revenue, and are more likely to lead their industries, according to a recent MIT study.

Tech leadership means something different in every organization, and I’ve been thinking recently about my own leadership in this area.

In China, embracing the innovative use of technology means jumping into the ubiquitous world of WeChat. I wrote last spring about how this mega-app is becoming an indispensable part of daily life. WeChat helps over 1 billion users buy almost anything, accomplish most daily tasks, and move with ease between their phone and the physical world. 

It feels inevitable that such a powerful platform would creep into the workplace. Nearly 90% of Chinese workers say the app is their top choice for daily workplace communications, and the time an average employee spends in WeChat is increasing dramatically every month. 

Combining text- and voice-messaging, document transfer, voicemail, and videoconferencing into one easy-to-navigate ecosystem, WeChat provides the same seamless utility in the workplace that it does outside of the office. The business card is a barely-remembered artifact at this point, and a typical business meeting wraps with plenty of time for exchanging WeChat QR codes. 

I’ve been challenged to think about how to evolve my leadership style for a WeChat-mediated workplace.

I don’t know if my teams would quite call me a native user, but now that I can hold my own, I can take a minute to reflect on what I am learning from the experience. 

#1:

WHEN TECH BLURS THE LINES, WORK HARDER TO DRAW BOUNDARIES BETWEEN PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL TIME

Seamless. This word is inescapable when describing WeChat’s appeal. The app’s messaging feature makes it fast and easy to communicate with anyone across an organization (or outside of it for that matter), at any time. 

Chinese companies overall have fewer “standard procedures” about how to communicate across titles and levels, and conversations tend to unfold at all hours with healthy doses of emojis, GIFs, and slang. 

This is great because it facilitates quick action and organic conversation. But, it also contributes to an entanglement of work and home life. Unlike in the West, there are no separate accounts, no sending work calls to voice mail or taking an email break during vacation. There is simply WeChat, and it is “on” all the time.

This means employees at all levels feel growing pressure to make themselves available anytime a message comes through. They never shut their work brains “off,” and so miss out on the many ways that time spent out of office recharges and feeds creativity.

If my life as a leader has taught me one thing thus far, it is that we all need to find ways to disconnect and take a break. It is better for health, better for long-term happiness, and ultimately, better for long-term job retention and productivity.

 My Takeaway: In a tech-mediated world, leaders need to set the pace. This means empowering yourself and your teams to create tech-free zones. Times of the day or week or month when it is permissible—even encouraged—to be “unreachable.” 

#2:

HARNESS THE EFFICIENCY OF TECH TO DO A SELECT GROUP OF THINGS BETTER

WeChat makes countless tasks easier and more efficient. And, I have found that it enables me to build deeply personal relationships at scale. 

It’s easy to fall into the trap of putting the time WeChat saves toward similar tasks on the seemingly endless to-do list of today’s leader. Answering one message begets another and another as we strive to move with strategic speed and efficiency. 

Thinking back on my experiences over the past couple of years, it strikes me that there is a more enlightened way to repurpose this time. Accomplishing some tasks quickly leaves mental bandwidth and calendar space to prioritize things that will benefit from deeper thought and in-person interaction.

My Takeaway: Be diligent about identifying key initiatives, so that the “found time” created by technology can be reinvested wisely rather than sucked back into a black hole of endless daily tasks and checklists.

#3

MAKE TIME TO MAKE AN IMPACT

Over the past few months, there has been a healthy dialogue around the now infamous “996” culture associated with China’s tech industry. In it, employees wear working from 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week, like a badge of honor.

In my opinion, this conversation around the quantity of hours misses the much larger point. At the end of the day, it is the quality of the relationships we build that counts.

I venture to say that when our former bosses and co-workers struggle to remember how much we worked or what exactly we did, they will vividly recall the impact we had on them as people.

 A couple of years into enjoying the efficiencies of the WeChat workplace, I am reminded that no amount of voice-messaging or collaborative document sharing can stand in for the genuine connections we create through real-world conversations.

My Takeaway: Lean on the power of tech to drive office efficiency, but remember to form quality relationships with the humans behind those blinking message icons.