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"Big business today is under scrutiny like never before. Trust is flaky. Consumers are cynical. Many companies talk about playing a role in society—through philanthropic giving and environmentally sustainable practices. But few have defined their ambitions for life. Companies have a phenomenal impact on how people feel—our wellbeing. Yet there has been a deafening silence from the private sector about the central purpose of human existence. In our turbulent world of change, we desperately need a more human form of capitalism that places people at its heart—whether that's farmers supplying raw materials, factory workers creating goods, or shoppers buying and consuming products and services. We need business to embrace a wellbeing purpose with an audacious ambition: to make life feel better."
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"Consider how our smartphones, social media platforms, or even search engines alter the pace, pattern, and scale of our daily activities. Think about your own process for selecting restaurants, documenting moments, and sharing your thoughts with others and the role that your media plays in these activities.
Next, consider pictorial representations of data, or data graphics as a medium. How have data graphics proliferated their presence in our everyday life? Navigation systems guide us from one location to another through narrated directions accompanied by digital maps, annotated with points of interests like the nearest coffee shops, shoe stores, or art museums as alternative pathways to peak our interest and reroute us from our original destination. Aside from navigation aids, data graphics accompany news reports, research findings, and advertisements as both supporting evidence and alternative narratives. [...]
[...] When used with integrity and purpose, data graphics have the potential to help us, as humans, make sense of this intensely data focused world. Yet, the current state of data graphics is that they are often overused and underwhelming."
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"Innovation has moved from a distant abstraction in the business world to a front-and-center deliverable that is expected to show evidence of impact. But there is no guaranteed formula for finding ideas and executing on them for sustained impact. Users and buyers set moving expectations, investors are demanding and unforgiving, and society expects companies to contribute beyond the bottom line.
Change makers operate within the polarities of innovation—innovation is cool yet threatening, inevitable yet unpredictable, attractive yet avoided—and remain undeterred. They want to solve real problems by getting stuff done, even with the uncertainty, unpredictability, and ambiguity that defines their journey. They are guided by purpose, and are driven to create value benefiting investors and employees, users, buyers, partners, and the broader community in which they exist. They don't accept the status quo. They operate with urgency, and speed their progress by rolling up their sleeves and learning on the fly."
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"We often look towards established business leaders when seeking out new ideas to inspire us. Their advice and stories re-energize us, bringing the hope of discovering a greater awareness of where our careers can evolve to, or how our businesses can operate with fresh approaches to drive growth. We dig to uncover nuggets of wisdom from these well-known leaders to embrace and adopt into our everyday lives. But perhaps there's an unexpected type of leader to draw inspiration from.
Have you ever looked at the way bands and music artists operate—at various levels of success—and found parallels to the ways that businesses need to constantly innovate, grow and empower their teams to get the best out of them? Or how the power of listening can open up new and unexpected opportunities?
As a former professional musician turned technology executive, I've seen and lived these parallels between the stage and office and put them into practice. There are more connections than you may think."
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"In 1968, Andy Warhol proclaimed, 'In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.' With the advent of memes and viral videos, we now live in that future—one in which any trending joe (or his grumpy cat) can make a quick buck. So why is all this short-termism leaving so many of us feeling shortchanged?
We now live an increasingly short-term world, one where the products we buy often outlive the brands that make them. It's not just the inherently trendy brands. All brands are equally susceptible to the traps of short-term thinking. In the face of change, short-term thinkers see a fork in the road—choosing to either cling to what worked in the past or abandon it in an effort to reclaim the spotlight. Therein lies the key difference we at The Legacy Lab have observed between short-term thinkers and their long-term counterparts: The former focus only on their immediate circumstances—their 15 minutes of fame. The latter aspire to a lifetime of significance."
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