Hey, happy Monday, we have to celebrate today!
This is not only the No.50 note but also the first anniversary of STRTGY.
Twelve months ago I sent the first email. Every week since then, I sit at my computer and share my notes with those who, just like you and me, feel that it is necessary to work in a radically different way.
The prototype of a new decade.
That was the title of the first note I published. At that time the situation was quite stable, I could never have imagined all this.
I remember looking very carefully for the word that I thought would characterize this 2020: prototype.
Today I really think that what we experienced was the prototype of a new way of living, working and making sense of things.
I understood the prototype not so much as a design artifact, rather as an attitude to life itself.
To react quickly to changes. To give up perfectionism in favor of understanding. To trade the fear of making mistakes for the benefit of learning. Mitigate emotionality with objectivity from measurement.
You can read them all at this link. It is 50,000 words at your disposal. Monday after Monday, each Note is a testimony to a world that will never be the same and contains the seed of what can be.
Reconnection
STRTGY came about because of a problem of connection. Between what you need to do and what you actually do.
The ease of use and affordability of the tools available meant that too often we found ourselves in meetings in which everything had to be ready for yesterday without having clear direction.
Strategy disconnected from budgets, budgets disconnected from products, and, most important, people disconnected from each other and from the organization itself.
I tried mapping this disconnect into the now famous STRTGY Maturity Index (available for free in the file section of our Facebook group, here is the direct link) where one can make a self-diagnosis of one’s degree of strategic maturity, understand one’s organizational condition (static, reactive, proactive or innovative) thus quickly identifying priorities.
Remember to download it and connect the dots (literally) if you are planning your initiative agenda for 2021.
A new compass
You can draw a map only when you have reached your destination, and as far as I know no one has yet returned from the future (except in the movies).What we can do, however, is try to build a compass to orient ourselves.
Every year I put together the things I have learned, the signs I have interpreted, and the most authoritative reports on innovation trends. I hope they can come in handy for you, too.
The 3 most important trends
➀ Computational design.
That is, the ability to design products that adapt in real time and at scale to people’s lives.
The most recent example is Apple’s new headphones whose audio is not simply the sound signal transmitted as it is but is processed in real time to adapt it to the external environment and head position.
As artificial intelligence and machine learning become more accessible, designers will no longer have to design interfaces but algorithms that modify user behavior (for better or worse).
➁ Ethics
The crisis has created a sharp division of organizations into two distinct groups: those who will treat people and employees well, and those who will take advantage of them.
From using algorithms to controlling the supply chain, 2020 was also the prototype for Responsible Capitalism and its global impact. In 2021, the challenge will be to maintain reputation and profitable companies simultaneously.
➂ Physical world
We are forced to rethink physical contact from relationship opportunity to danger with significant consequences in retail, tourism, and food service.
One’s smartphone will be the remote control to touch the various touchpoints from a due distance, even when one is back “safely.”
4 Processes to be connected
➀ Strategic Process
Where do you want to go and when?
What is happening that is important that should not be underestimated?
What numbers change your decisions?
➁ Budgeting Process
Are resources (time and money) linked to strategy?
What are the checkpoints at which they are prioritized?
➂ Cultural Pocessus
How do people contribute and adapt to the strategy?
Is the incentive system linked to the goals and new behaviors, required by the strategy, that need to be promoted?
➃ Design Process
What is the role of Design?
What data affect it?
What signals make it validated?
The most authoritative reports
Looking to the future
- Trends 2021: Three Scenes from the Future, Frog
- Trends 2021, Fjord
- Trends 2021, Wired Italy
- Think Forward 2021 – The Social Reset, WeAreSocial
- Top 10 Strategic Predictions for 2021 and Beyond, Gartner
- Technology, Media & Telecommunications Predictions 2021, Deloitte
- Global Marketing Trends 2021, Deloitte
- The New Agenda, Financial Times
- Top trends for the future of travel, Booking.com
In retrospect
Focus on Italy.
See you in 2021!
Good work!
Make yourself heard.
