The New Abnormal

Series ThreeThis episode of #TheNewAbnormal podcast features Jan Oliver Schwarz, professor of Strategic Foresight & Trend Analysis, and head of the Bavarian Foresight Institute at the Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt.  He's also known for his work on business wargaming, a dynamic simulation that helps leaders and organisations anticipate the future competitive dynamics in their industry, as reflected in his dynamic book 'Winning the Uncertainty Game'. His most recent book, the newly published 'Strategic Foresight' is grounded in theoretical foundations of the subject, reflects the latest academic research and explores its practical applications in different contexts. We therefore discuss all of the above in the interview, which draws on Jan's two decades of specialist experience in the area.

Series Two In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal I interview Randell Beckford, Senior Strategist at the dynamic independent creative agency Atomic London.  (She previously worked at Spark44, Redwood BBDO, TBWA Toronto and DDB Toronto.)  We discuss her views on a range of topics, but in particular her perspectives on how to build a brand that won’t get cancelled, at a time when the culture wars show no signs of dissipating. This, of course, links directly to a business-context in which brands are having to adapt to consumer attitudes and behaviour as a result of an increasingly demanding society.  So, Randell explains the actions that organisations can take in order to both build a brand that resonates, and in doing so, mitigates the risk of cancel culture. This, essentially, is based on three key principles: 'Get You / Like You / Trust You'.  Hence she outlines the 'why & how' of having clarity, relevance and consistency.  Finally, and as she says 'when in doubt, ask for advice' in an era when the solution to many brand-issues resides outside the echo-chamber of adland... 

Series ThreeThis episode of #TheNewAbnormal podcast features Thierry Malleret, the co-author of both the international best-seller 'The Great Reset' and the newly published 'Great Narrative' which he wrote with Klaus Schwab, the Founder and Exec Chairman of the World Economic Forum.Thierry is the founder and managing partner of #MonthlyBarometer. Its eponymous flagship monthly 'predictive newsletter' is Thierry’s brainchild and the product of his innovative and exacting approach to research and analysis.  Thierry possesses decades of unique professional experience spanning investment banking, being an economist at the EBRD, think tanks and academia in the US and UK, and Govt including a three-year spell in the Prime Minister’s office in France. At the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Thierry founded and headed the Global Risk Network and led the programme team for the annual meeting at Davos.  Thierry also founded the #SummitOfMinds -  a series of high-level meetings that combine hard thinking on major macro issues and the importance of personal wellbeing and the power of nature. We discussed all of the above in the interview, so I hope you enjoy listening to the podcast as much as I enjoyed recording it!

Series ThreeIn this episode of #TheNewAbnormal, I interview Frank Spencer, Founder & Creative Director at TFSX (Foresight, Innovation, Strategic Design and Learning). TFSX, based in Florida,  help their clients to thrive in a world of complex ideas and practices, uncover emerging trends on the horizon that will impact their business, and discover unseen opportunities for strategic advantage and development. Frank holds an MA in Strategic Foresight from Regent University, and has worked on strategic foresight projects for numerous major companies. He's a prolific speaker, having delivered keynotes in Atlanta, Buenos Aires, London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Shanghai, Melbourne, Washington, New York City, Singapore, Mumbai, Wellington, Moscow and San Francisco, on topics such as leadership development, futures thinking, creating environments of foresight in organizations, identifying unseen opportunities, reaching preferred futures, and social innovation.So, we discuss all of the above, in what I hope you'll agree is a really interesting conversation, during which Frank gives a real masterclass in 'futures thinking'.

Series ThreeThis episode of #TheNewAbnormal podcast features Tim Stock, Global Cultural Foresight Leader at ScenarioDNA, who are experts at analysing trends and developing frameworks for understanding how & why culture is changing. He's also an Associate Teaching Professor at Parsons School of Design - The New School, one of the world's leading art and design schools, committed to inspiring society through inquiry, radical ideas, iterative experimentation and creative collaboration. We discuss a wide range of suitably catalytic ideas and viewpoints in this interview, including areas such as trend forecasting, consumer anthropology, applied semiotics, design research and risk assessment. So...enjoy!

Series ThreeThis episode of #TheNewAbnormal podcast features Katharina Michalski, who is a 'Change Explorer, Navigator & Curator' with the dynamic Foresight Folk. Based in Berlin, the platform is dedicated to fostering foresight to enhance decision-making. On their learning journey, they speak with some of the brightest minds in this area about practising and implementing foresight in their professional and everyday lives. They also explore different tools that help us think more clearly, creatively and strategically about the future. In this interview, we therefore discuss her background and approach to working at the intersection of foresight and strategy, all of which was sparked by a early moment in her career, when she decided to 'follow her curiosity'...

Series ThreeThis episode of #TheNewAbnormal podcast features Martin Lindstrom, founder and chairman of Lindstrom Company, the world’s leading branding & culture transformation firm, which operates across five continents and in more than 30 countries, serving the "who’s who" of Fortune 100 companies.Martin has been featured as one of the world’s top 50 business thinkers for eight years running by the prestigious Thinkers50 list. TIME Magazine has named him one of the “World’s 100 Most Influential People.” He's delivered keynote addresses to Google, Kraft Heinz, Disney, Amazon, LEGO, Unilever, Hallmark, Adobe, UBER, Mattel, the World Business Forum (WOBI) and the World Economic Forum.Martin is a NYT and WSJ best-selling author whose books have been translated into 60 languages, his writing has appeared in all major US publications, and he's currently a columnist for the FT and Management Today. So...you won't be surprised to hear that he was a suitably dynamic guest! I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed talking with him.

Series ThreeThis episode of #TheNewAbnormal podcast features Lasse Jonasson, Director & Futurist at the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (CIFS) where he also heads their advisory service. CIFS is a global leader in applying futures studies methodologies to solve strategic challenges within organisations. Their core advisory offerings include megatrend analysis, scenario planning, risk assessment, innovation processes, and strategic foresight. The Institute is a truly global entity, working for and with public, private, and academic organisations around the world. This includes governments and Fortune 500 companies, to startups and NGOs, on a strategic level. Therefore, and as you'll hear, we discuss a wide range of subjects, ranging from the Crisis of Democratic Capitalism to the Future of HR, alongside issues such as navigating complexity and the dynamics of change. And, of course, some implications of OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Bard and Baidu's Wenxin Yiyan/Ernie get highlighted...

Series ThreeThis episode of #TheNewAbnormal podcast features the dynamic Alison Taylor, who works on challenges at the intersection of corporate integrity, risk and responsibility. She's the Executive Director of Ethical Systems, which is part of NYU Stern School of Business and is a collaboration between leading academics working on behavioural science, systems thinking and organisational psychology. Currently writing a book for HBR Press on how the landscape for business ethics is transforming, she's also an Adjunct Professor at NYU Stern School of Business, where she teaches professional responsibility and leadership to undergraduate, MBA and Executive MBA students. Alison holds Senior Advisor roles at BSR and Wallbrook, is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Transparency and Anti-Corruption, and is a member of the UK government's Business Integrity Initiative expert panel.She has a long track record of consulting for large multinational companies, on strategy, sustainability, political and social risk, culture and behaviour, human rights, ethics and compliance, stakeholder engagement, ESG, and anti-corruption.  So, we cover all of the above in what I hope you'll agree is a fascinating discussion! 

Series Three This episode of The New Abnormal features the dynamic Jon Alexander, author of "CITIZENS: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us".It's a book that seeks to reframe the moment in time we're living in as one of huge civic opportunity, not just crisis and collapse, and in doing so opens up a world of possibility for organisations and leaders across sectors and across the world.Jon is co-founder of the New Citizenship Project, a strategy and innovation consultancy that aims to shift the dominant story of the individual in society from Consumer to Citizen. (NCP is a certified B-corporation). Having begun his career with a decade in the advertising industry at agencies including BBDO and Fallon, Jon is increasingly active and visible politically; as a Fellow of the Young Foundation and the Royal Society of Arts, and a member of the OECD's Innovative Citizen Participation Network. So, in this episode, we discuss all of the above, but with a core focus on his excellent new book, where he describes in detail why he believes we need a new thinking framework - and a new set of ideas...I hope you enjoy listening in!