The annual Flux Trend briefing – The State We’re In – has become the definitive executive summary of where the world is, and where it’s going. 

Using the acronym T.R.E.N.D.S. – representing six trend pillars that will shape how we will live, work and connect in the coming year – Flux identifies new, game-changing trends and tracks the ripple effects from last year.

For the past three years it feels like we’ve been trapped in this state of limbo:

from a global pandemic to extreme weather, to not one, but two wars spreading geopolitical uncertainty. Adding insult to injury, Generative AI has been unleashed reinforcing this hallucinatory state.  

The past three years have required endurance but South Africans have practically written the handbook on resilience. We have grown accustomed to aftershocks.

But acclimatisation is equally dangerous. It’s time to seek new perspectives.

“Resilience” erodes mental wellbeing and “endurance” depletes energy and focus. New mantras are needed: Recharging, not enduring. Rewiring, not enduring. Reinvention, not endurance.

The Great Unravelling creates a window of opportunity to reimagine and rebuild.

Mindful optimism is required. We are witnessing the death of old ideas and the birth of the new. There will be more aftershocks, but also new opportunities.

Here are some key trends that will be covered in this trend briefing:

• T (technology): Generative AI has evolved into Interactive AI – when AI meets robotics. This evolution is ushering in the age of Artificial Generative Intelligence which will continue to blur the line between reality and fabrication.

• R (retail): The nature of retail in the past three years has changed so rapidly  that we are moving from a focus on multinational brands towards more community-centric retail that caters to consumers in their own homes.

• E (economy): The aftershocks of the polycrisis are pushing governments and financial institutions to adopt policies that focus on reducing the risks to a country’s economy from more black swans or a buffer to volatile geopolitics.

• N (natural world): We unpack how businesses and governments are bracing themselves against “green swans” and how climate change continues to affect supply chain logistics as well as policies around food security, town planning and migration. 

• D (diplomacy): “The longest democratic recession” in three decades has pushed nations to lean into an “à la carte diplomacy” – i.e. approval of democracy in principle but cherry picking elements from other political systems. Coupled with the growing global civil displeasure and integration of Generative AI into politics, this year is set to be a political twilight zone like no other. 

• S (socio-cultural): Generative AI continues to change the landscape of society through relational experiences by using chatbots to fill the space of companionship. This brings into focus other issues about grief and AI relationships when a service is discontinued and individuals are left with broken hearts. 

We will unpack these themes and much, much more in this trend briefing.

This trend briefing will help you see that The Great Unravelling creates a window of opportunity to reimagine and rebuild.

Book this trend briefing to unpack the challenges as well as the opportunities that the aftershocks of this new era of uncertainty bring.

Death, be it of a dream, a career or a business, is one of the most traumatic things we face as a species. They say the only certainties in life are death and taxes.

Irrespective of your background, social or economic status – you will, at some point, face death. But even before that final goodbye, we will also inevitably all face “the end of life as you know it”, in one form or another.

This trend briefing will delve deeper into “the end of life as you know it” from a business perspective.

• The death of old ideas and the birth of new ideas

• When you business shows signs of “terminal agitation”

• Rewirement, not retirement

• Reframing resilience: recharging, not enduring.

• The great internal reset

And much more.

If you are a business owner you should be asking:

• Are you adequately prepared for uncertainty?

• What will you do if your career or business “dies”? 

• Do you have the necessary tools and resources to build something out of the ashes of the end of a chapter?

This trend briefing works best with our strategic foresight workshop/ world building workshop. Do not let uncertainty catch you unaware. Contact us to help your business now!

Before the pandemic hit, most businesses were focused on the challenges of digital transformation. But now, well over a year later, the pandemic has proved to be the proverbial “game changer” in many ways. 

It is widely acknowledged that technologies and concepts (like remote working) were accelerated by as much as five years in 2020. The impact on a company’s operating system has been disruptive, to say the least. Businesses lagging in digital transformation were forced to meet the velocity of change. But the ripple effect has only just begun.

Managing a remote workforce has forced business leaders to rethink their management style. Employees, in turn, have reassessed their priorities, shifting the goal posts in terms of rewards and benefits. Recruitment and retention of talent, now look very different to practices in 2019.

The fact that more Gen Zs are now entering the workforce adds another challenge to an already complex equation. A hybrid workforce (remote as well as in-office) combined with a hybrid generational workforce, plus new technologies dramatically altering old operating systems, points to a radical overhaul of the traditional HR handbook.

This trend briefing covers the following areas, which are all potential blind spots for any business:

• New industries and new operating models: understanding the velocity of change and matching the ever-changing skills sets needed

• A hybrid remote workforce – adjusting to the new normal (it’s here to stay)

• The ripple effect of the pandemic on staff wellbeing and prioritising new benefits

• Creating a post-pandemic company culture that focuses on diversity and inclusion

• Managing a multi-generational workforce, as Gen Z increasingly enters the workforce

• Why upskilling your current workforce is the new CSI

This trend briefing is specifically designed for businesses which recognise that the post- pandemic workplace is in uncharted waters, but that action is needed now.

Business leaders, senior managers and especially HR practitioners will be able to explore their blind spots regarding recruitment and retention of talent.

The biggest ah-ha moment of 2020 was the separation of “work” and “place of work”. 

It kick-started a flurry of new business trends, which are destined to forever change the workplace environment. There is (quite literally) no going back.

For employees, WFH (work from home) was an eye-opener, sparking an existential crisis in many people’s lives. Workforces around the world got a taste of the flexibility they had been yearning for all along. Unshackled from tedious commutes and the outdated concept of a 9 to 5, forty-hour workweek, they proved to their employers that helicopter management was unnecessary.

For employers, it was a steep learning curve. Managers were pushed into uncharted waters dealing with a remote workforce, while CEOs grappled with retaining a cohesive company culture in cyberspace, not to mention the nagging question of pointless office overheads.

There are pros and cons on both sides, but the shift is irreversible – the trajectory of new workplace trends is already visible. Personal life audits have manifested in trends like Semigration, The Great Resignation and new priorities about rewards and benefits.

The long touted “future of work” has been brought forward. It must be dealt with now, before the world eventually recalibrates, when the pandemic subsides.

This trend briefing covers the following areas which all require attention in order to reframe and reinvent the future of work and the workplace:

• Managing and coordinating a staggered or hybrid workforce

• Re-thinking office design and employer UX

• Office real estate: what happens when “work” is permanently decoupled from “place of work”?

• Creating a new company culture: humanising your business and managing with empathy 

• Rewards and benefits: the pandemic changed the priorities of a workforce 

• Navigating contentious issues: vaccine mandates and health and safety protocols

• The new C-suite positions your company should be taking onboard 

This trend briefing is specifically designed for all business leaders (CEOs to COOs), senior managers, administrators and HR practitioners who are planning for a post-pandemic world of work.

2020 was a watershed year: it cleaved a divide between our pre- and post-pandemic lives.

Everything changed. Irrevocably.

Psychologists say that it takes us just 21 days to adapt to or embrace a new habit. If that’s the case, then a year of lockdown has cemented new behavioural patterns in almost all of us.

In the midst of the global lockdown, the Financial Times observed that “many companies have little choice but to begin some revamping of their business models: the pandemic has made sure that either their customers are no longer where they were or have no need of what they are selling”. 

That sentence alone should send a shiver down any retailer’s spine.

As we cautiously emerge into a post-pandemic world (at Flux we call it The Great Staggering), business owners will have to reassess, reframe and reimagine their business models.

To assist that process, Flux Trends is launching a new edition of our popular “Tribes” series that looks at new tribes that were spawned during the pandemic, with special attention given to post-pandemic youth tribes.

The “Class of 2020” is a broad description of a youth demographic whose lives were altered and derailed by the pandemic. These could be young people who were transitioning from secondary to tertiary education, or undergraduates who were meant to finish their studies and embark on a working career. Either way, the opportunities lost, the absence of crucial social interactions and the devastating economic impact on these young lives will leave a deep impression during these formative years, which will shape their outlook and future mindset.

But it’s not just about youth tribes. Our post-pandemic Tribes edition will also assist retailers and business owners understand the fundamental shift in consumer behaviour which will directly influence their businesses.

In this Special Edition some of the new tribes you will meet include:

• Life Interrupted: a new wave of young adults forced to “boomerang” (living back with their parents) 

• The Hustlers: young entrepreneurs who delve into new areas of business like virtual fashion design,  eco product development and “white label” e-commerce.

• K.O.L.s (Key Opinion Leaders) or Activist Influencers who champion causes like climate change and clean energy rather than promote retail brands.

• Pet parents: the global spike in pet adoption during lockdown adds exponential growth to the already booming pet industry, which will have a ripple effect for the next decade.

• The Patriots – citizens fed up with a lack of service delivery who take over municipal roles.

• The Isolationists: post-lockdown tribe members who embrace solitude rather than confront “re-entry anxiety”.

Who should attend?

• Any business owner who has felt the seismic shift of the pandemic impact their business model and feels an urgent need to keep up with the velocity of change.

• Any B2C business leader who needs to understand the altered consumer mindset and the importance of defining these tribes, in order to engage with them, meaningfully.

• Anyone who is busy formulating a new business or marketing strategy catering to a niche audience.

• Anyone who works in brand management, retail marketing, media and the service industries.

The Boomer Economy: Marketing to the Amortalists

“OK, boomer” is a humorous or ironic catchphrase, often used to call out or dismiss out-of-touch or closed-minded opinions associated with the baby boomer generation.

The catchphrase is frequently used by Gen Zs who blame the baby boomers for the mess the world is in now. There is some truth in this, in terms of generational ideology. But, at Flux we always see the world differently.

While we focus on the future, what’s new and what’s disruptive, we are also always on the lookout for blind spots. The “boomer economy” is one such blind spot.

While South Africa is a country with a large youth demographic, Stats SA announced this year that life expectancy for South Africans was on the rise (62.5 years for males and 68.5 years for females) and noted that these figures have been steadily climbing over the past decade.

In a world obsessed with youth, disposability and transience we’re noticing a counter trend. It’s under the pop culture radar but that doesn’t mean it’s insignificant.

In fact, it is a huge blind spot for brands and businesses.

Consider this extract from a report by consultancy The Innovation Group entitled, The Elastic Generation – The Female Edit:

“A recent report by Coniq for Property Week based on three years of data found that the over 50s spend 42% more on retail goods than other age groups, and 66% more than millennials. The group aged 50-64 are the top spenders in a host of categories: from food to clothing; from household goods and services to new cars; from hotels abroad to eating out.”

And yet advertisers & marketers and many businesses themselves, overlook this demographic. So much so that most people over the age of 50 feel that the advertising industry only cares about young people. The disconnect between consumer spending power and advertising focus is clear – yet it is entrenched.

According to the Havas Group, a multinational advertising company, only 5% of advertising in the US is aimed at people over 50. It’s likely this is also true in South Africa.

It is a “golden” opportunity that’s being missed.

This trend briefing will unpack the following insights:

• The Amortalists (aka those who want to live for longer): the generation by numbers and why differentiating physical age from numerical age should matter.

• Never retire: the impact and opportunities for businesses as well as the rise of the older entrepreneur aka the “senior start-ups”

• The Big Spenders: what this demographic spends money on and how to market to them.

• The Silver Surfers: not only the new technologies designed for this market but also the new products and services aimed specifically at this generation.

• Bridging the generational divide: innovative programmes to pair young and old for mutual benefit.

• Future outlook: by 2030 the oldest millennials will be turning 50…

The pandemic and the turbulence of 2020 has forced many businesses to reframe and reinvent their business models. This is an opportunity to reconsider the boomer economy

This trend presentation is a must for any brand or business which is rethinking, recalibrating or reinventing itself and its business offering.

Retailers, brand managers, anyone in advertising or marketing, specifically, should take note. This is an opportunity to tap into a long-ignored demographic, and therefore a revenue stream.

Contact us if you want to know how to tap into the Boomer Economy!

“The Great Staggering” is a term coined by Flux Trends to describe the period of the global lockdown from March 2020, to whenever the “better normal” is going to be fully in place.

While many have viewed the lockdown period as “life in limbo”, forward thinking companies have seized this window of opportunity to rethink, reframe and reengineer their businesses, knowing that a post-pandemic landscape is going to be very different from the world we left in 2019.

While the world was dealing with the devastating effects of COVID-19, trends that were bubbling under the radar before the pandemic hit, have now reached a tipping point and are causing unexpected (and additional) disruptions across all industries.

This trend briefing takes a two-pronged approach.

Firstly, we examine what has changed during The Great Staggering: from the rise of a contactless economy to the very real impact of the existential crises most people experienced as a result of prolonged lockdowns, and the tragic loss of life. 

These changes affect all businesses internally as well as externally.

The second part of the presentation looks at the challenges that all businesses will have to face as we emerge from The Great Staggering. It is not only the logistical complexities of moving a hybrid workforce back into the office, but also acknowledging the changed priorities of that workforce to ensure a new company culture can emerge. Ignoring these seismic shifts will be detrimental for any business leader.

The trend briefing ends with practical solutions on how to create an enabling environment for innovation to flourish and so that a “better normal” can be implemented.

Re-imagining your business model has never been more important, or urgent.

Who is this trend briefing designed for?

• Business owners and business leaders who understand that the pandemic has fundamentally changed everything and that simply trying to continue where we left off in 2019 will be detrimental to the business.

• Companies that have been forced to find new ways to rebuild a decimated business landscape or are trying to adapt to the changes that took place during lockdown.

• Businesses that were looking for innovative ways to pivot their existing business model before the pandemic, and now realise that this is a rare window of opportunity to do so.

• Companies that are facing the monumental task of adapting to a post-pandemic workplace, where everything has changed, and the need of a new rulebook is urgent.

Diversity is about who is in the room. Inclusivity is about what each person does. In South Africa, we’ve managed to embrace diversity, but we have a long way to go to be fully inclusive.

The steady rise of identity politics has escalated issues of diversity into a demand for inclusive diversity. Social movements such as #blacklivesmatter, the #metoo and #femicide movements have, and will, continue to alter the way in which businesses function and interact with employees and consumers.

As brands prepare to engage with a more socially conscious and influential younger generation – who double up as consumers and employees – businesses will need to be mindful of the expectations, specifically of Millennials and Generation Z, with regards to inclusive diversity.

To put it simply, it’s not enough to have a representative workforce – what is important is what positions they hold. As the world of work evolves, so too will employee expectations rise, in terms of how companies embrace and recognise gender, race, ethnicity and other frames of identity and belonging. This will become pivotal in terms of luring and retaining the best talent for your workforce.

This Flux Trends trend briefing – The Importance of Inclusive Diversity in an era of Identity Politics – tracks the impact of identity politics on brands and businesses, and more importantly, why inclusive diversity is essential for the increasingly complex interpersonal dynamics of a future workforce. Businesses will no longer be able to just tick the diversity box and call it a day. They will need to ensure that their stance on diversity in the workplace is inclusive and impactful.

The Trend Briefing will expand on:

• Political Tribes and the social movements they spawned.

• Embracing a workforce that includes people with physical differences and fluid gender identities.

• Future Market: why inclusive diversity issues can make or break Gen Z and Gen Alpha brand loyalty.

• Why representative marketing matters and the dangers of “Woke Washing”.

• The impact and cost of diversity without inclusivity in the workspace.

• The pitfalls of AI bias, when your business adopts machine learning and relies on algorithms.

Who should attend:

• Anyone who understands that trends today inform business strategy: this includes executive leadership, management, marketing, media and service industries.

• Companies that search for new ways to navigate the increasingly disrupted business landscape and understand that today’s socio-cultural issues have become pivotal to business.

• Brand managers as well as PR and communication strategists.

• Anyone in HR, or heads of diversity & inclusion departments – and if your company does not have this role or division, then that’s enough reason to attend.

Aren’t you curious to see where your business fits in?
– Looking at Trends as Business Strategy-

“How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked.
“Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.”

The above dialogue is from Ernest Hemmingway’s novel, The Sun Also Rises, written in 1926.

In 2017, the premise remains unchanged. Today many companies are finding themselves on a slowly-burning platform which suddenly ignites into a relentless, devastating furnace. The flames emanate from many sources: if it’s not a technological disruption, then it’s a sluggish global economy or an ever changing consumer base that comes with a complex and challenging omni-channel engagement, which the digital era demands.

Simply quelling the flames and keeping your head above water is achievement in itself – but it’s not enough. Looking at future strategies might seem to be a luxury, but it’s the only way to avoid being on a burning platform: hence the ubiquitous search for innovation.

Innovation is the lifeblood of any company in an era of disruption, and the new currency of customer loyalty. But not many companies get it right. Only a handful do.

Earlier this year, Flux founder Dion Chang, embarked on a tour of the most innovative companies in NYC – across multiple industries. The only thing linking them was that they were at the top of their game: all were innovators and game changers within their own industries.

Flux has distilled these findings and have packaged them into a new presentation which aims to help companies – seeking the holy grail of innovation – to find ways and means of creating an enabling environment within a company to ignite the innovation process.

Our findings will surprise you.

If your business is searching for innovation, then consider this:

• The badge of honour of being a legacy company, has now become a liability. The quest to become “agile”, and therefore innovative, is proving challenging for lumbering corporate behemoths.

• Agile companies require a workforce with hybrid skills. Corporate companies still revere academic credentials, whereas the need has shifted to employing “makers”, people with chameleon-like skills who are able to cross-pollinate ideas.

• Ironically, an innovation hub can sometimes be counter-productive to the innovation process of a company.

• The decision makers within a company – those demanding innovation – are more often than not the obstacle to their well-intended dreams and aspirations.

• Who is this presentation designed for?
  Any company that is looking for innovation to take their business to the next level, or those who are sniffing smoke and understand that their platform could soon be engulfed in flames.

• Leaders and managers who expect their teams to innovate and come up with that silver bullet that will transform the fortunes of the company.

• Anyone who understands that modern business is no longer about “big vs small” but rather “fast vs slow”, and that innovation is the accelerator.

The retail industry is under threat. Big name, long-established stores are closing shop.

Although South Africa is building malls at a record pace, the retail apocalypse has begun and the casualty count is mounting.

However, with a radical shift in thinking away from the old way of doing retail, new possibilities are emerging.

Destruction needs disruption which will, ultimately, lead to resurrection.

It’s an exciting opportunity for dynamic change, and Flux Trends is tracking the new rules of retail.

In this presentation we’ll explore pointers and directions for the retail road ahead, which will include:

• Altered and enhanced consumer experiences. “Experiential” does not necessarily mean entertainment. We’ll explore the nuanced layers.

• The impact of the on-demand economy: extending a stores’ function as well as uplifting service levels.

• The changed consumer mind set and how that, in turn, has altered communication channels and platforms.

• A spotlight on the food retail category, why it’s emerging as a significant growth area and which companies are leading the way and how they’re doing it.

• The New Shopping Tribes: who’s shopping online, offline and somewhere in between.

• The rise of the Township Economy and the technologies that are democratising that supply chain.

This trend presentation is a must for retailers, property managers, letting agents, mall managers, marketers, advertisers, restaurateurs, construction companies – in fact the entire retail-wholesale supply chain.

The presentation will keep you abreast of the options, solutions, concepts, and paradigm shifts which are redefining retail.

In an era of disruption – and now, especially for a post-pandemic world – every company is looking to reframe and innovate. I’ve always questioned why innovation fails or succeeds in the corporate world. I’ve attended innovation tours (of the top 50 performing companies in NYC) and an Innovation Masterclass in Silicon Valley. Every time I delve into what fuels innovation, one thing becomes clear: CEOs and business owners often misunderstand the innovation process. Almost all view it as a technological challenge, whereas my findings point to a more fundamental shift: the redesign of outdated corporate business models. I understand trends but that also means I understand what doesn’t change.

This presentation is designed specifically for the C-suite and anyone in a leadership role grappling with change. The following threads are explored and woven together:

• The intersection of inevitable disruption all companies face, the skill sets needed to meet disruption and the necessary changes needed in the company’s operating system to become more agile and adaptive.

• The irony of change. Without a plan you can’t execute, but when you execute, the plan changes. What is your company’s appetite (and capacity) to continually evolve the plan, or shift goalposts

• Reinventing “failing fast”. How leadership should respond to failure. Failure reminds us of what matters most, rather than what went wrong.

• People with no experience, innovate because they don’t have institutional baggage. Is there anyone who thinks differently missing from your company’s departments? Should your company still be operating in silos?

• All together now. In many cases getting employees “onto the same page” is more about getting management onto the same page. The communication disconnect is usually both vertical as well as horizontal.

• The business of Identity Politics. Diversity is about who is in the room, inclusivity is about what each person does. Diverse experiences and opinions provide “eyes of a child” – the lifeblood of innovation.

An Executive Summary.

1.What is the essence of this presentation?

While companies understand the essence of disruption, they misunderstand the tools and dynamics needed to meet that disruption (ie innovation) and therefore are unable to scale or implement the innovation process.

2. What gives me the credibility to talk about this?

I give a Futures/Trends as Business Strategy module for various business schools (GIBS, Duke CE, Graduate School of Business @ UCT,) mostly to senior management or executives, and am frequently invited to speak to excos and boards of directors, specifically to shift their thinking, and perspectives.

3.What is the most inspiring takeaway for the audience?

The Activist CEO now has a pivotal role to play in an emerging new world order. They mould and inspire a company culture that is vastly different to the corporate template spawned in the 20th century.

Aren’t you curious to discover what is preventing your company from innovating?
– Looking at Trends as Business Strategy-

When it comes to ideas around behavioural change, surgeon Maxwell Maltz applied the principles acquired in his line of work to change his habits. He realised that 21 days was sufficient time to create an awareness to shift behavioural patterns.

The lockdown period has spanned 24 months and has had a similar effect. Some habits have evolved so much that they form an integral part of how the post-pandemic workforce lives and works. This coupled with the tragic loss of life and/or income has created an existential crisis within the workplace that cannot be ignored or wished away.

Immediate trends from this crisis are semigration, revenge travel, the great resignation and the anti-work movement.

But these are just the tip of the iceberg. 

A workforce revolution is upon us. Leadership principles from 2019 are not going to cut it.