The Backlash Has Begun

What am I always saying? We won't be able to enjoy all the new innovation until we start investing in improving human relations. The growing division inside and between countries will continue to disrupt supply chains and development, and have a negative impact on business in general.

Here are two examples -

Oatly

After becoming a darling among alternative milks, the oat milk backlash has begun. This article from Eater.com is about the rise and fall of environmental and health concerns regarding oat milk in general, and the Oatly brand in particular.

What have I been saying? Consumers are very fickle now and companies need to have a better understanding of what drives their thinking, decision making, behavior and actions.

What have I been saying? Consumers are very fickle now and companies need to have a better understanding of what drives their thinking, decision making, behavior and actions. The things that may have glued them to a brand in the past may no longer have the power to do that.

"In 2022,?hot girls drink cow’s milk, an outcome that seemed unfathomable just a few years ago." Eater.com

Self-Driving Cars

Even After $100 Billion, Self-Driving Cars Are Going Nowhere Bloomberg

When it comes to electric cars, the backlash seems to have begun before they're even on the market.

Thanks to Tom Goodwin for posting this great excerpt of machine against nature -

"People driving down a city street with a few pigeons pecking away near the median know (a) that the pigeons will fly away as the car approaches and (b) that drivers behind them also know the pigeons will scatter. Drivers know, without having to think about it, that slamming the brakes wouldn’t just be unnecessary—it would be dangerous. So they maintain their speed"

When Will We Be Able To Enjoy The Innovation?

Once we understand the purpose of all these changes, where they are directing us to go - then we'll make the correct shifts and be able to enjoy all this innovation. But as long as we haven't made any headway in solving the rifts between us, the longer we'll have to wait to reap all the benefits from automation and food tech. We'll reap all the benefits and won't be concerned about our future role in all this - everything will be very clear.

What Companies Do

Let's assume we're talking about brands that have done all the right things according to the latest advertising, marketing and PR trends:

? Their innovation is good for the environment and our health/wellbeing

? They treat their people well

? Packaging, production and distribution is eco-friendly

? They donate money and volunteer their time

What Companies Need To Do

What is missing from the above list that would allow consumers to sense real value beyond all the traditional marketing tricks? The new value people are looking for won't come from material or technical things like new features or fancy announcements. It will come from feeling genuine human warmth and caring radiating from a brand - what I've been saying all along. And as I've also been saying all along, none of this will come naturally. We're going to have to consciously invest in making it a top priority.

So instead of producing fancy CSR reports using superficial image bank photos, we're going to produce many types of media promoting the power of connection - inside the company and beyond. That's what we have to look forward to in the new era.

Actual Examples

A company like Oatly has so much real estate for getting important messages out to consumers all over the world. But instead of "donating" it to the common good, it mainly uses that space to promote itself and its philosophy - just like any other purpose-driven business. Ideally they would put the top management through a process to experience the integral method. But even if the only thing they agreed to do at the moment was to change the design on their cartons - if done correctly, it could generate a very significant positive shift in the world. There could even be special messages for war-torn areas where people really need guidance. And by taking this simple step - it's simple theoretically, but a lot of extremely talented high-level people would have to put their ego in their pocket to make it a reality - they would actually be solving many of the problems plaguing the brand.

We have to see that there's higher a purpose for taking our hands off the wheel. We have to sense there will be a lot of adrenaline involved. We have to know how to get past the human ego that's always trying to isolate us from others.

Electric car companies such as Tesla also need to think far beyond tech and features. They need to actively promote the benefits of human connection if they want to get rid of all the obstacles preventing the launch of these cars. So when it comes to electric vehicles, we shouldn't promote people sitting in cars together with their earphones on, or sleeping. Part of the electric vehicle experience promoted could be people enjoying an exciting new type of interaction. Imagine the car being an interruption free zone where all the focus is on taking advantage of their time together to strengthen their connection. Riders would have the ability to select a topic and automatically be given the correct framework/workshop for their session. We have to see that there's higher a purpose for taking our hands off the wheel. We have to sense there will be a lot of adrenaline involved. We have to know how to get past the human ego that's always trying to isolate us from others.

Trust me when I say, we'll look back and realize that we didn't really understand what we were dealing with. We didn't really understand the powerful grip the human ego has on the mind and heart. Once we'we willing to accept this fact then we'll already be far closer to our better future.