The Wrap #14 | There’s more to this than meets the eye...
The Wrap #14 | There’s more to this than meets the eye...
A shot of thinking fuel, brought to you each month by Futurestate Design Co.
This autumn we’re thinking about how to make smart decisions based on patchy (and sometimes incorrect) information; what the future holds for bricks-and-clicks service provision; and how getting to work may or may not help us come up with the ideas that will help define the future.
‘In God we trust. All others bring data.’
What’s going on?
VCs note the only slight changes to the world of healthtech investments following the Theranos debacle. One bad egg hasn’t meant problems with the rest of the roost, it seems. It’s BAU for this significant growth area.
Why it matters
Whether exploring investments, business strategies or tech architecture, the lesson’s clear: if you’re not an expert in the area, be wary of how suggestible you are to ‘perfect’ propositions.
It’s true that we can’t arm ourselves completely against mistakes and, anyway, being overly cautious and cynical can make us miss out on innovative opportunities completely, but it’s also important not to believe in the possibility of absolutely anything.
Theranos was a great example of a simple lack of deep interrogation. Remember that asking questions makes us seem more, not less intelligent and gets us closer to the information we need to make smarter choices. You can only be as discerning as your information is solid. Ask more questions, even the stupid ones.
Read the original on Fast Company
Let’s get, err, ‘phygital’
What’s going on?
In a post-pandemic world, much of the retail industry is trying to figure out its next steps: go all-in on digital, or gamble on a sustainable business from the pent-up demand for physical experiences.
Brands are universally advised to create a cohesive experience across their customer interactions, enhancing the bricks-and-mortar experiences that customers couldn’t otherwise get online.
Why it matters?
Offering your customers access to your brand however it suits them makes sense: no dead-end journeys, serve them where they want to be served, make everything easy.
But that means resources for stores, call centres, apps, AI chatbots – the whole hog. Instead, we believe retail needs to be more considered: how can you make all the experiences you choose to offer as positive as possible? Distinctiveness counts more than ever so don’t just follow the herd.
Always, always, think and plan your proposition holistically. Loyalty to a brand is only as strong as the customer’s weakest experience so, as ever, perhaps you need to do less but do it better.
Read the original on Forbes
Commuter says no
What’s going on?
A study at Harvard has shown that longer commutes impact individuals’ creativity. According to the researcher, Andy Wu, this doesn’t necessarily mean remote working, with no commute, is therefore better. He instead supposes that a shorter commute enables more time in the office, collaborating with your team, which is what enhances creativity.
Why it matters?
A long commute can be tiring so it’s easy enough to believe it could hamper creativity. Except, for us, it’s not a question of its duration, or pitting remote and face-to-face work against each other. It’s a question of sameness.
The secret to creative thinking has always lay in variety and diversity. A hybrid week, as we do here, seems to be the ideal workplace approach to achieving that. Being able to give more time to life at home improves the work/life balance, overall happiness and energy levels of a team, and a twice-weekly commute – even when long – can in fact enhance creativity. And of course a 4 day week buys you that extra time to consume and think in a different mode.
So don’t do the same of anything is our guidance: sometimes the best ideas crop up in the in-between spaces.
Read the original on Harvard Magazine