The Next Big Thing

Happy New Year, everyone! We hope your 2024 is off to a great start — and that you’re drinking more water, making progress on that passion project, hitting the gym, or keeping whatever resolutions you’ve made.?

To kick things off this year, we’ve asked some industry leaders to gaze into their crystal balls and tell us about the trends and innovations they expect to emerge in marketing, tech, healthcare, and more. We’ve asked execs like Kristin Sverchek , the President of Lyft , and David Ko , the CEO of Calm , along with workplace gurus like Stanford B-School professor Bob Sutton , to share their thoughts on what 2024 has in store.?

So without further ado, clear away the last of the champagne flutes from your New Year’s Eve festivities and join us for a trip into our collective future…

Kristin Sverchek, President, Lyft

A greater focus on hybrid workspaces. The first few years of the pandemic were all about remote work arrangements, and 2023 was all about returning to the office. But as we've all seen, this doesn't mean a return to the past. By and large, employers haven't demanded that employees come back five days a week. Rather, we've seen hybrid, remote, and in-person experiences become the norm, and employers will need to continue to grapple with how to make the in-office experience inviting and exciting while balancing the needs of the remote workforce, ensuring that no matter where you're physically located you experience a sense of belonging.

Robert Sutton, organizational psychologist, Stanford University

Strategic slowness will be the key to success for innovative leaders and companies in the coming year. So many fiascos fueled by hurry sickness — the? rash and failed decision to fire Sam Altman at OpenAI, the unethical choices made by convicted felon Sam Bankman-Fried and his colleagues at FTX, the string of impulsive missteps by Elon Musk at X that have destroyed more than 50 percent of the company’s value, Elizabeth Holmes’ conviction for fraud at Theranos — will finally convince investors and leaders that they need to become more adept at hitting the brakes. Knowing when and how to slow down and fix things is the path to enduring financial success, to building healthy workplaces, and staying out of jail, too. This is one of the main insights in my new book with Hayagreeva Rao , The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder.

David Ko, CEO, Calm

It has been encouraging to see organizations answer the U.S. Surgeon General’s call to action to play a significant role in employee mental health. In 2024, workplaces will start to provide mental health training that empowers employees to talk about their state of mind, particularly managers. Data shows many managers don’t know how to have mental health conversations. Training will teach them how to approach subjects like stress from a heavy workload and how to get employees to the right resources when struggling. When mental health becomes a priority at every level of the organization, workplaces will see change.

Alexandra Amouyel, President and CEO, Newman's Own Foundation

I’m excited about reclaiming philanthropy and celebrating the everyday philanthropist. When we think of philanthropists, we tend to think about the billionaires who create large foundations, many of which don’t allow unsolicited applications. But the most generous Americans on a percentage basis are in fact those making $50,000 a year or less who give away 8 percent of their income, versus an average of 2.1 percent. New innovative models and organizations are helping to tap into the collective power of small donations and to move decision making to communities, and I can’t wait to see more of these in the years ahead.

Devika Mathrani, SVP, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital

Storytelling has always been a part of healthcare marketing, but we’re starting to see it happen more authentically. Social media has accelerated a culture of people wanting to share their most vulnerable moments. Patients are becoming more forthcoming about navigating the emotional journey of the “before, during and after” of health challenges or crises — often to say thank you to their care team or support others facing a similar challenge. Patients are engaging directly with each other and building peer communities. This is another form of education and knowledge, which in our world creates empowerment, comfort and empathy.

Catherine Fisher, LinkedIn Career Expert

A.I. will unlock new possibilities at work and beyond. If you’ve seen the headlines, then you know: The era of A.I. at work is here. Despite its newness, I couldn’t be more excited to see how its impact spreads across industries and jobs in 2024 and the possibilities that come with it. One aspect I — and many U.S. workers, according to our recent data — love is the time you get back as you start using A.I. to assist you. With this new tool, they’re excited to focus on what they enjoy more, find better balance, learn, and connect more. And that’s enough cause for an exciting new year.?

Cori Davis, Chief People Officer at Genentech

Employees increasingly expect employers to take a stance on sociopolitical and geopolitical issues. Acknowledging issues and events that affect employees is important, as is giving people an inclusive and safe space to express their concerns. However, it can be challenging to navigate what people expect and need given the complexity of national and global issues. Leaders must grapple with tough questions: What’s our company’s role in taking a stance on issues? How can we best support our diverse workforce across the wide variety of events that could impact them? What responsibility do we have to our external stakeholders?

There's more where that came from: Check out insights from Olivier Bogillot , the Head of U.S. General Medicines at Sanofi ; Ryan Close , the CEO and founder of Bartesian ; and other professional heavyweights.

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