The Future Report

Thankyou™ is an organisation founded in Australia that seeks to serve people living in extreme poverty by redistributing wealth, from consumer spending. Thankyou provides consumers with alternate product choices for body care and baby care.

When people purchase these products, it allows shoppers to purchase products that have a positive impact for those living in poverty. If you live in Australia, then it's very likely that you've seen Thankyou's products on the shelves of your Coles and Woolies for a number of years now.

We are delighted to have Co-Founder and Managing Director at Thankyou, Daniel Flynn to share insights into this incredible social enterprise, their workplace culture, phenomenal growth, and dedication to their mission. 

While most people have an interest in the future, educators have a direct role in shaping it, as they educate and equip the emerging generations. Importantly, this impact is recognised and appreciated by students. Our research shows that 70% of students can think of at least one teacher who has made a massive, positive difference in their life.

Yet, amidst this positive student feedback, the waves of change impacting the sector are perhaps unequaled. Educational communities bridge the widest generational gaps in our society, connecting grandparents to those aged four and five who are on the innovative edge of coding, robotics, IT, and all things cyber. They also have the pretty big task of preparing the next generation for the future and their working life.

From demographic trends to technological transformations catalysed by the pandemic, the education sector continues to have a lot to respond to, and so this is where future analysis is most needed.

That is why we have conducted research to provide insights into the current context of Australian education with a forecast of what to expect as today’s students emerge into the workforce over the decade ahead.

So, joining our host, Ashley Fell, is McCrindle’s Managing Director and author of our latest Education Future Report, Sophie Renton.

If you know anyone born between the years of 1995 and 2009, then you know a Gen Z. Gen Zs are digital integrators who have been shaped in an era of social media and digital technology.

While this generation are our high school students of today, the oldest of them are approaching their late twenties. Many of them may be in leadership roles in their workplaces and some even parents!

In this episode, not only are we going to discuss some of our research about Gen Z, but our host, Ashley Fell sits down with a wonderful Gen Z member of our team who can speak about the research, and also her own experience and interpretation of it. 

Workplace culture is so important, yet it can be hard to define and measure. It can be an intangible thing, but something that impacts almost all aspects of an organisation, from productivity to employee satisfaction and retention. It is intrinsically linked to an organisation’s ability to succeed.

In this episode, our host, Ashley Fell will be speaking to another thought leader in this space about his new book on culture, Shane Hatton.

Shane is an author, trainer, coach, and speaker on the topics of leadership and culture.

For the last two years, our lives have been significantly interrupted. We didn’t go out. We didn’t socialise much. We mostly interacted through a screen. Similar to the atrophy of muscles when underused, recent lockdowns and restrictions have impacted our social stamina and social fitness.

Understandably, as the world opens up, we’re now having to use social skills that we haven’t had to use in a while. 

Our host, Ashley Fell sits down with social researcher, Mark McCrindle to discuss this trend of HOGO (hassle of going out) and relational fitness, or a lack thereof. 

A fundamental human need that we all have is a place to call home. While the Great Australian Dream of home ownership is still alive and well among the emerging generations, it seems incredibly unattainable due to a combination of demographic and social trends. In this episode, host Ashley Fell sits down with Geoff Brailey to discuss the fading dream of home ownership.

Workplace culture can be complex to define and measure. There are many terms that stem from the word 'culture', anthropologists use the term to describe how people live.

As social researchers, we define culture simply: ‘It’s how we do things around here.’ It’s the character and personality, the procedures and values, the purpose and ambition, the structures and traditions, and the pattern of behaviour of the people in an organisation.

In a workplace, culture is the environment that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, is created for workers. Simon Sinek said: ‘Culture = values × behaviour. A culture is strong when people work with each other, for each other. A culture is weak when people work against each other for themselves.’

Joining our host, Ashley Fell, to discuss the importance of a workplace culture is Sophie Renton, McCrindle's Managing Director.

We are living in an age of digital disruption, in what we call ‘The Great Screenage’, where we now spend more time on our devices, than we ever have before.

In these technologically integrated times, our attention spans are short. In times of message saturation and information overload, if you have important data to communicate, it can be harder than ever to cut through the noise.

We know the importance of good communication: instead of excel spreadsheets, we use infographics. Instead of words, we use icons.

Joining us on this episode is Ben Duffin, our Team Leader of Design (and also the brains behind all our visual outputs and the production of this podcast).

When you think of great leaders, who do you envision? Martin Luther King? Mother Theresa? Greta Thunberg?

Author John Maxwell gave a helpful definition of leadership when he said, ‘Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.’ Because everyone has a level of influence, it can be argued that everyone is a leader in one context or another. The challenge is in both how we wield our influence and how we develop our leadership capabilities.

Just as we are all leaders, so we are all followers. You may lead your family at home for example, but have a boss that you follow at work. You may captain a netball team, but you are subject to the rules of the game.

Leaders today need to be responsive to the changing cultures, generations, backgrounds, and expectations that comprise workplaces, teams, communities, and families.

In today’s episode, we’re going to look at how leadership has changed over time and what will be important for great leaders in the future. To discuss this great topic, our host, Ashley Fell is delighted to welcome back Mark McCrindle to The Future Report podcast.

This week, people all over the world are celebrating International Women’s Day, a global holiday celebrating the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women.

In celebration, our host, Ashley Fell is sitting down with a woman who many of our McCrindle team respect and look up to, Richenda Vermeulen. Richenda is the founder and CEO of digital agency ntegrity. She is also a mum and an incredible leader. 

In this episode, we discuss how women rise at work, the future of women in the workplace, and how workplaces can benefit from helping women reach their potential.