It’s here! Our 2017 Trend Report is ready for download. This year, the team celebrated the fact that this marks our seventh annual Trend Report. It feels like a landmark in a world where very little lasts. Because we focus on deep social trends that have the power to endure,...
General
Field Notes: What Successful People Know About Themselves
A few years ago, I bought a Nike Fuel band to help me with my fitness goals. I loved how it cheered me on when I hit a milestone. Wearing it 24/7 bolstered my identity as an athletic person. My current research on the changing relationship between ambition and identity...
The Ultimate Recipe for Top-Performing Teams
I remember the first time I designed a workshop for a client who wanted to encourage his team after re-organization. The company was poised for a renaissance, he said. If only he could make the new team configuration gel. A few jobs had been eliminated, so people were touchy. Teams...
The Road to Eureka!
It happens fairly often as I’m researching social trends. I’m faced with moments when I’m desperate for that really big eureka. I’m not talking about a run-of-the-mill “aha” moment. I’m talking about the kind of insight that blows the ceiling off a client’s conference room. When I need inspiration sometimes,...
As Simple Step to Better Thinking
Escapism. It’s a precious thing to be able to clear the mind. To sit quietly by yourself, in a place outside your comfort zone (by that I mean, not your local coffee shop… you know, the one with the free wi-fi, where you sit in that same spot by the...
The Wisdom of Self-Doubt
I’m writing a book. It’s taking forever. As I gaze across my writing studio, I see my stack of notes, a little over 3,000 pages last time I counted. Why is it taking so long? Well, I’m busy with client work, international travel, and, well, life. Excuses, excuses–the primary barrier...