Hope & Possibilities: A Love Letter to The Future of Work

Hope, in it's simplest form, is the acceptance of possibility. -Matt Haig        

Instead of a word for the year, I've decided 2025 is going to be the year of questions.

When there is so much change and uncertainty, no one has answers but many people will try to convince you they do. Asking better questions becomes the priority. So I'm going to reboot this newsletter, change the name and set the intention to explore what the future of work can be if we ask the right questions. The old name of the newsletter was The Throughline Project but I found that the focus was really about me connecting the dots between my previous work to the consulting work. I want to shift the focus to be more audience-centric and questions are a great way to make that change. The new name will be Hope & Possibilities: A Love Letter to The Future of Work. The kite emoji will be the symbol I use for this - I've added it to my LinkedIn headline. I like the idea of a symbol for hope & possibilities. I'm going to work this into comments. Can you actually attract like-minded people with a symbol? How does this drive community?

Last year, I reached a huge milestone with my podcast Hybrid/Remote Centre of Excellence - 100 episodes. #100 was an interview with Milly Tamati who recommended that I read a book called A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger. Such a powerful book. I loved it.

What is a beautiful question?

“An ambitious yet actionable question that can shift the way we perceive or think about something—and that might serve as a catalyst to bring about change.” - Warren Berger
        

Questioning is a superpower.

It's not just for work but also in life. I'm interested in blending business knowledge and pop culture. The same people who show up to work are the same people that engage with viral social media trends, watch movies and TV and listen to music. Art fuels resilience. Questions drive engagement. One of the easiest and most relatable ways to explore this is through music. This year, I'll be highlighting songs that pose questions in a way that make you think and building out a list that will live on my website www.nolasimon.com. It's easy to limit yourself to songs with questions in the title but I've found that songs with questions in the lyrics are interesting as well.

As for the podcast, I've previously announced that I won't be having guests this year. I'm going to be reviewing my past episodes and exploring the content I already have. Likely I'll only do 12 episodes this year. I'm interested in deep dives into different aspects of work, pop culture and how we can create a future that feels healthy and exciting. My current focus? Boy bands.

If you know anything about me at all, you know that I adore George Michael. Wham! was a boy band. Liam Payne of One Direction died in October 2024 at the age of only 31 and Robbie Williams' comments caught my attention:

"I'm sure things will be done in his name to make things better. What they are, I don't know yet, but I'm in. It's very difficult [and a] grey area to put things into place, to look after people properly. I know there are talks about what to do and how to facilitate this, but [that] comes with already having money in place. That negates the young manager and the young band that are doing everything out the back of a Transit van – who don't have the money in place to facilitate it. So there's all of these grey areas. It needs addressing and there needs to be a think tank by creative people, like myself and others to get together and figure out what's the best way to tackle this problem for our entertainment industry."         

A petition called Liam's Law was created by fans but is this really what's needed to effect change in a global industry? What responsibility do reality TV shows like X Factor, American Idol, The Voice etc. have to artists? Even in the face of calls for reform, a new show was announced less than a month after Liam's death, a partnership between Blake Shelton and Tyler Sheridan, creator of Yellowstone. Is it about developing musicians and supporting them well or is it about TV success for the creators?

Music is interesting because although it distributes digitally and facilitates remote work, there is a huge focus on in person experience. Several tours have surpassed half a billion dollars in gross revenue, most notably Harry Styles (he was in One Direction with Liam Payne), Beyonce, Coldplay and Taylor Swift. It's big business with huge potential but also brutal and harsh. What can we learn from the music industry that helps us create belonging and engagement? The same people who refuse to commute to the office will fly to another country to attend a concert. Why?

Social Media

This year, I'll be focusing on newsletters, the podcast and long form, long tail content in general. I'll be building an email list and revamping my website. I'm going to be focusing on platforms that feel safer to me and that I own. LinkedIn, Substack, Pinterest are at the top. Although I'll leave my accounts in place to prevent anyone from co-opting my name, I will be weaning myself from Instagram, Threads and TikTok. I've never really used WhatsApp and I've had my Facebook account hibernated for almost 2 years. The best way to contact me or hire me is via DM on LinkedIn or via email [email protected] or my website.

I will also be experimenting with an annual fee for services. More to come on that. I will no longer be available for free chats with former employees of Manulife unless you are a personal friend. You can book me if you want but there will be a fee for the call. This is not a line of business I'm interested in developing - it's more about setting boundaries.

As always, I'm interested in suggestions and feedback. I'd love to hear your comments and questions.

Don't look back, you can never look back. - Don Henley        

You don't need to know the future to be hopeful. You just need to embrace the concept of possibility. - Matt Haig