The Wrap #10 | News that made it past your radar undetected
The Wrap #10 | News that made it past your radar undetected
A shot of thinking fuel, brought to you each month by Futurestate Design Co.
What do an inflatable vest, a city of the future and a naked mole rat have in common? Not a whole heap, as it turns out, but these three news items do offer some smart thinking that can help level up your business thinking and strategy.
June, we’re ready for you.
Je ne regrette rien (except for missing that bill payment)
What’s going on?
Remember those memberships that required active renewal? Your roadside assistance that ran out the day before you found yourself sodden on the hard shoulder?
Well, expired subscriptions are about to become so much more critical: Klim, an airbag vest manufacturer, offers its $400 product with a subscription. Missed a payment? No problem: your safety vest just won’t inflate on impact.
Why it matters
Subscription-based services that provide enrichment of a physical product are a huge opportunity area for many companies, but the idea that safety could be ‘paywalled’ like this is really missing the point.
Maximising value for your product’s various benefits via a hybrid purchase + subscription model can be a great idea, but before you launch it as the next big thing, take a step back and think, ‘could this approach have ethical implications?’ If it’s not a 100% no, then don’t rush the decision to capitalise. That very modern business model that looks great on your P&L might inadvertently be your undoing.
Read the original article on vice.com
Here today, Tron tomorrow
What’s going on?
Toyota have prototyped its new ‘Woven City’ at the base of Mount Fuji, powered by hydrogen fuel cells and teeming with autonomous vehicles, and future stuff.
More than 3,000 people have applied for the city already, which will open in 2024 with a capacity of 2,000 inhabitants to start with, and more thereafter.
Why it matters
From a company that made its name creating steam-powered looms (the clue’s in the name ‘Woven City’), to making cars, and beyond, Toyota isn’t shy when it comes to diversifying their portfolio... all in the interests of the environment; more efficient, fit-for-purpose urbanisation; and to trail-blaze the brand into the future (in no particular order).
What this really hammers home, again, is how enthusiastically people will shift their behaviour, even their whole lifestyle, when something compelling is offered to them. It's one of our mantras writ large: design to create a new behaviour not fix a problem if you want to open up the really big new opportunities.
Read a summary on singularityhub.com
Why mole rats might tell us something – or nothing– about ageing and ideas
What’s going on?
Naked mole rat, Joe, is turning 40 next year, and scientists are exploring the species’ singularity when it comes to ageing, wondering how useful their relative longevity could be when explored under a microscope and translated to humans and other species. If at all.
Why it matters
The ageing population of consumers aside, what we enjoyed was the premise that good ideas don’t always translate. Here, because mole rats aren’t really comparable mammals – 'while a Tesla is a car, its spare parts won’t fix your cousin’s Ford Pinto. Maybe the really good stuff is built differently—and is irreconcilably untranslatable.’
In business, the same applies: because it works for a startup, it doesn’t mean it will work for you. Because someone else did it, doesn't mean it's a good idea for you to do it. Making the most of your own distinctive attributes, the things that make you unlike anyone else is where you'll find the gold.
We'll leave you with that pithy mantra: remember, don't try to be a naked mole rat. You're welcome.
Read a great summary on wired.com