The Wrap #21 | Commitment-phobics unite!
A shot of thinking fuel, brought to you each month by Futurestate Design Co.
This month we cover a couple of great examples of why getting ahead before market pressures force you to is so important, and we take a step back in time to some research that’s becoming increasingly important again.
An interlude to mention that our CEO’s book, Futurestate Design is starting a lot of conversations, including an interview with Mark on Business Leader’s podcast. Oh, and did we mention that we’re now offering a range of stand-alone futurestate design workshops? More on that below.
Now read on for an edition that covers a lack of cars, a fear of commitment and the benefits of multilingualism. Happy Tuesday.
Lend me your keys?
What’s going on?
The likes of Hertz, Europcar and Avis are having trouble building their fleets back up to pre-pandemic levels after their sell-offs saw them lose more than 30% of their vehicles. The car rental industry is arguing that because of global supply chain issues, chip shortages and price inflation they are struggling to meet consumer demand like they used to.
It’s not going to get easier, either. Because of this, ahem, ‘unprecedented’ demand, car manufacturers no longer have back-logged stocks of cars they are willing to sell at a discount. Getting your hands on a brand new car is harder than ever, leaving the car rental industry with an interesting dilemma.
Why it matters
Regular readers will know that we’re big on inventing what comes next before someone else does. Where an industry sees no brand new cars, we see the 40 million cars already on the road in the UK, many of which are not used very often. This is exactly where a handful of start-ups are beginning to grow – in the cracks of conventional thinking – by creating car-sharing platforms akin to an airbnb model.
This isn’t a win or lose battle for the industry, this is healthy innovation.The mainstay companies shouldn’t shy away from the opportunity, they should embrace it, leveraging their infrastructure to create a new generation of car rental services, both traditional and peer-to-peer. Build for future-consumer behaviours, don’t build for short-term constraints.
Read on at WIRED
Le cerveau bilingue
What’s going on?
Ok, so. We know this isn’t exactly ‘this month in business’; it’s an article originally published in 2008 covering new research into the neurobiology of bilingualism that’s becoming powerfully relevant again. Basically, research showed that being fluent in two languages, particularly from early childhood, enhances a person’s ability to concentrate (it might also protect against age-related cognitive decline). The more diverse the brain’s tools are, the better we can think.
Why it matters
You only need to look as far as Matthew Syed and his book ‘Rebel Ideas’ to understand the power cognitive diversity can have in the creative problem solving process. Cognitive diversity isn’t simply about having different people in the room; it’s about each of those people having as diverse a range of perspectives, ideas and experiences that they can apply to a problem.
Matthew Syed himself is part of a board of advisors for English football that includes educational theorist Michael Barber, serial entrepreneur Manoj Bedale, cycling coach Dave Brailsford and Sandhurst’s first female commander Lucy Giles. Not a football ‘expert’ in sight.
Cognitive diversity isn’t a guaranteed route to easy answers: it’s a route to different answers and connections that otherwise would not have been made. Sometimes those will lead you in unexpected directions and generate real breakthroughs. And that’s got to be worth your time in any language.
Read a summary of the research here
Our relationship with subscriptions is changing
What’s going on?
You might be asking yourself why we’re writing about the changing nature of subscription services again. Well, we can see that there’s a tipping point looming and it needs to be front of mind for every business. A recent survey has found that a third of UK consumers would cancel their Netflix subscription if it became ad-funded (i.e. cheaper or free)... at a time when Netflix is laying off staff en-masse because the credit crunch is causing consumers to cancel their premium subscriptions at an alarming rate. A story of growth has rapidly become, somewhat alarmingly, a story of decline.
Why it matters
Change begets change. The problem with subscriptions isn’t subscriptions. It’s a combination of commitment and inflexibility. Economic downturns often start with downward pressures on consumer spending, then ripple through the economy as business customers inevitably ask similar questions about spending as consumers. One-dimensional business models, which subscription businesses often become, give very little room to adapt and if you wait until things start going down hill, it may, as Netflix customers are telling them about that low-cost ad-supported version, be too late to react.
Read the original on Campaign Asia