Unlock the future, be provocative or sit it out.

This weeks quote: “I dream my painting and I paint my dream.”―?Vincent Willem van Gogh

Provocative

This week I've planted the word provocative in all of these updates. I want you to understand how important it is that we challenge the status quo in life and in business today. In most cases there is only one opportunity to act, craft and deliver the right changes. Waiting for better times to make these decisions doesn't work.

The next disruptive innovation

This week I presented to doctors. The subject was how to future proof their private practices. The beginning of the presentation started with identifying the one piece of technology that created a lot of new businesses and pushed innovation to consumers. The smartphone of course. And the presentation ended with the next innovation that will be as powerful as the smartphone as soon as they can decouple humans from computers and headgear. Clearly, I am referring to the Metaverse. Quietly, I have been studying the potential impact. I am not like some on social media who claim to be experts on this subject. The only real experts on this are those people who are involved in its skunk works development and that applies to 3D Designs, AI, machine learning and robotics just to list a few. Nevertheless, this will be the next disruptive innovation, just like the internet which was also disruptive by the way. The metaverse and our connection to it will have to be as liberating as the smartphone has been, in fact, perhaps more so and even provocative enough that it creates a great deal of change which improves our social and economic outcomes. History will show that the internet, e-commerce and the smartphone interconnected and created, greater innovation, convenience and speed of service. If the metaverse falls short of that it never meet its full potential. So far most technology has not created equality in society, it created less haves and a lot more have nots because technology didn't make everyone wealthy or economically better. The metaverse also needs to overcome things as well such as our provocative alter ego avatars that will be engaging in this new paradigm.

Retailing - Your retail DNA

On Friday the stock market showed some life and rebounded but hardly anywhere near where it was. The reason? Excitement that consumers are still spending and retail sales came in at +1.0% versus +0.9% in the US. However these sales as everyone knows are unadjusted for inflation. So the excitement is premature and certainly not provocative enough for all investors to dive back in the equities market. Our excitement about the current retail market should be about how effective we are with our strategies top grow sales. Our mindset should be based on real growth and it will take awhile before we hear how well retailers are coping, not only with the ongoing issues of supply chains but how effective they have been in growing marketshare even in this market. Retailers need to be provocative with their product lines, offers, ability to reach existing customers and attract new ones, this should be how we measure the success of a retailer or any business for that matter. That's retail DNA! We want to see how effective they have been at their economic and consumer shifts. And that will take a little work still. So pardon me for not getting excited with 0.1% difference versus forecasts, in an inflationary period of 9.1% in the USA and now Canada predicting the next report to show over 8.0%. Show me 3.0% inflation and 2.0% retail sales growth and I will be elated.

Subscriptions for car features

Okay let's be candid, who would charge to keep you warm in your car when its cold outside? Apparently BMW would. This is certainly a provocative move. It has although not been very well received. If this a prelude to more subscriptions this one has just come back to haunt every car manufacturer that's remotely thought about it. I am not sure who their customer experience, loyalty or futurist is but they are very very wrong. BMW makes great cars but when you turn the very thing that most drivers need into a subscription you are narrowing the field for who will want to buy or lease your cars.

The forever problem with climate change

This summer in my neighbourhood lawns are dying despite that some have irrigation systems. It’s not enough water to replenish the soil. In fact, it hasn’t rained sufficiently enough for over several weeks. Basically, we are being told it is the effects of climate change.?

Climate change is an issue! However, so is not managing the planet effectively. It is still exasperating the problem globally. Even the most staunch of non believers don’t like the impacts. Such as droughts, low vegetable yields, higher cooling costs and loss of potable water, especially for those who live off of wells. And if you own a farm with livestock it’s even more challenging.?

The UK today is bracing for a significant heatwave at 40c or higher.?Forest fires are raging in France, Spain and Italy, all related to heat waves. Ironically, scientists are telling us that we have 11 years to get emissions under control. But the problem is much needed industries that emit the most including gas driven cars. How do you change all that to avoid the disasters we are being told about and not economically hurt society?

A divided world. On one hand we need our old and sometimes polluting industries to keeping the world functioning and people employed. Which brings me to an important point as I close this thought with you. Perhaps those who don’t believe in climate change are afraid of that other impact caused by climate change. The loss of jobs and livelihoods. Perhaps we should work on that as much as we need emissions to be lowered. I have yet to hear any governments, country or industry share their provocative visions on how everyone will benefit economically from reversing climate change. That vision is missing and it should be more inclusive, it needs to be shared. Because the majority of us?haven’t heard it and that is the biggest road block to progress. ?Perhaps we need a planet management group that also owns the vision?

Economics - A picture is worth a 1000 words

I thought I’d keep this short and allow the image to speak for itself.??Why are there two different provoking messages? One from industries and another from central banks? There is tug of war going on with consumer psyche and it could be our biggest risk of all. How can you have a healthy retail sector when consumers are overpaying and buying the simplest of purchases, such as a pair of jeans on debt? It’s not sustainable. And yet on one side we have financial institutions telling consumers that they have a lot of credit available to them and to unleash their savings. And yes credit card limits are being increased. Of course don’t forget “buy now pay later” schemes which are provocative lures to not stop shopping. The stacking of payments on top of payments has its eventual psychological effects. The contradictions are obvious and loud! My view is that all of this messed up and consumers will eventually take a vacation from spending. They have to because debt is funding most vacations and all other purchases with 60% of the population living pay check to pay check. Having credit available makes many feel good but it’s only good when you can repay in full or service the debt.?

Preventing digital marketing atrophy?

The pandemic rushed many into investing in websites, social media accounts and digital advertising. Is it enough to keep consumer facing businesses with store fronts visible and engaged with their customers? Is it enough to build a business? I will venture to say it is marginal. The lack of continuously improving a brand's?competencies and capabilities is an age old problem. Businesses large and small to take a much harder look at their digital capabilities internally and externally to ensure that they are playing in the long game. The Long Game means what it suggests being active and proactive in the marketplace identifying what works for your brand and learning to tap in deeper into the analytics and what they can teach you about gaining more customers and sales. It sounds simple. But digital marketing atrophy will be one the biggest problems in retailing over the next two years. For that reason hire and partner with the right third parties. One obvious problem, yup there is that word again, a lot of the advertising isn't provocative enough to grab attention. Atrophy sets in when we lack the courage to be provocative in marketing and in this day and age boring is out.

Personal Log: Reimagining everything

Technology and Science are important parts of human development to explore the unknown, uncertainties and develop solutions. Just this week we've learned that AI can predict heart attacks up to 10 years in advance read more imagine! Technology can do so much more if we allow ourselves to breakaway from perceived comfort zones and be provocative enough to challenge the status quo. Risk taking is being provocative, as is taking on the old associations and governing bodies that are in the way of progress. The tried and proven is not necessarily the right solution any longer. Besides the problems posed by bureaucracy we need to unleash the technology that prevents illnesses, improves the quality of life and even extends life naturally. For that we may need to provoke the old guard to wake up! Technology can also improve social inequalities by providing more access, for example to qualified educational programs for a lot less money. That will allow individuals develop skills and find work and improve their own economic condition. To get there from here we must reimagine everything, that would be very provocative!

Until next week.

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