Series Four 

This episode of The New Abnormal podcast features Jan Berger, the Founder & CEO of Themis Foresight. 

Based in Berlin, his company anticipates economic, technological, social and political drivers of future change. He and his team are driven by the conviction that outstanding futures research is key for the strategic direction of Europe's business and entrepreneurial elite. 

Jan's academic training was in Modern & Contemporary History and Slavic Studies, which led him to take an MA at Lomonosov Moscow State University. He's lived and worked on four continents, and has held leadership positions in corporations and startups. 

So...we discuss all of the above in what I hope you'll agree is a dynamic conversation!

Series Four

In this episode of 'The New Abnormal' I interview Nils Muller, CEO & Founder of TrendONE - a specialist agency that's a market leader in identifying key trends in fast moving branches of business. 

In our discussion, Nils discusses their methodologies and approach to working for clients such as BMW and Airbus, his viewpoints on developing 'Brand Germany' and takeouts from the Dubai Future Forum - having just returned from a hot and sunny UAE to a cold and snowy Germany. 

Hence, we discuss a range of topics covered at the forum, including Future Generations,  Future Education, and the Future of Nature regarding Planet-Centric Innovation.  Along the way, we also cover issues such as the latest thinking around Foresight, Strategic Growth, Collaborative Approaches and Futures-Literacy regarding Complexity, Experimentation and Anti-Fragility. 

So, I hope you enjoy listening to Nils as much as I did!

Series Four

In this episode of The New Abnormal, I interview Chris Arning, Founder of the boutique consultancy Creative Semiotics Ltd, co-founder of Semiofest, and course leader of 'How to do semiotics in seven weeks'. 

He works with best-in-class virtual teams to analyse brands in order to make them more coherent and true to themselves, more distinctive within their category and sector, and more resonant and relevant within the prevailing (and ever changing) culture. 

The outcome of his work is new pack designs, communication strategies, new systems for content creation and better equipped, more confident brand teams. He does that via semiotics: an evidence based technique rooted in academia via the premise that preference is driven by the intangible aspects of brands that activate associative thinking. 

Chris has a stellar reputation in his field, and in this interview he gives a brief masterclass in his specialist subject(s). So...enjoy!

Series Four

This episode of The New Abnormal podcast features Michael Beverland, Professor of Brand Strategy, Strategy & Marketing, at the University of Sussex Business School.

He's an innovator in marketplace authenticity and strategic design research, as well as cultural marketing insights.

Michael is also the author of 'Building Brand Authenticity: Seven Habits of Iconic Brands' and 'Brand Management: Co-creating Brand Meaning'. (Which provides an overview of the controversies and debates, leading thinking and enduring challenges in brands and branding, including historical context, cultural & critical perspectives).

We discuss all of the above, therefore including issues such as classic and leading-edge thinking relating to branding / strategy / marketing, along with how these subjects are currently taught in business schools. Michael is an expert in his field, so I hope you enjoy listening to (and learning from) him as much as I did!

Series Four

This episode of 'The New Abnormal' podcast features Phil Balagtas, author of the superb new book 'Making Futures Work'.

Phil is also a former Design Director at McKinsey Design and General Electric (Digital & Aviation) with over 20yrs of experience as a Digital Interaction Designer and Design Leader working across sectors inc aviation, aerospace, airlines, advertising, retail, utilities, and public sector. 

He's also a Facilitator, Futurist and Founder of the Design Futures Initiative (a nonprofit based in San Francisco), the Speculative Futures network and PRIMER conference - initiatives dedicated to the education and advancement of Futures Thinking and helping organisations develop business and product strategies for the near and far future through Strategic Foresight and Speculative Design. 

In this fascinating conversation, we discuss all of the above. So...enjoy!

Series Four

This episode of The New Abnormal podcast features Matt Boffey, Chief Strategy Officer at Design Bridge and Partners. He’s part of its Senior Leadership Team and Executive Committee, managing a business of nearly 300 people in London, where he leads a strategy team of ‘the brightest and best brand & design thinkers on the planet’! 

We discuss a range of career highlights (so far) including how he authored transformational brand strategies for the likes of Adidas and Deliveroo, developed world-famous global creative campaigns for Nike, and originated the much-imitated ‘Good Food Deserves Lurpak’ campaign. 

Elsewhere, Matt outlines the latest issues impacting the world of agencies, and how to encourage and enable a dynamic internal agency culture. He’s a really dynamic thinker, so I hope you enjoy listening to his viewpoints as much as I did. 

Series Four

This episode of The New Abnormal podcast features the brand innoventor & commercial strategist Stephanie Vilner-Sheppard, who consults globally on strategy to help clients innovate and futureproof their P&L (for people and planet). She’s a problem solver for brands and businesses, through a lens of planet-centred design-led thinking.

That problem solving might mean creating innovation pipelines or setting short-, mid- to long-range strategy, or pointing out white space that’s harder to see once you’re in a company obsessing over short term results. It will likely mean bringing in insights from seemingly far afield and disconnected to a particular industry vertical, pulling on deliberately disparate insights. 

In this wide-ranging interview, she explains how to see opportunities before others, her experience at the G20 where she was elected ‘Lead Delegate’ by EY, how she advised the Mexican President on futureproofing education, and why L’Oreal offered her any job in the company.

She’s deep multi-sector / multi-market experience, and so we discuss all of the above, and more, in this dynamic conversation. 

Series Four

This episode of ‘The New Abnormal’ podcast features the strategic psychologist Dr Max McKeown - a writer, consultant & researcher specialising in innovation strategy, leadership and culture. He’s written a series of influential books and conducts research with Warwick Business School.  

An advocate of innovation culture, he also argues that failure can be positive for progress if it is viewed as part of learning. He makes a distinction between change and progress, "change is inevitable but progress is not". 

His book on strategy was one of the winners at the Chartered Institute of Management's Book of the Year Awards, Max argues that "strategy is about shaping the future" and approaches the subject as something that people do, both as style of thinking and the combination of actions taken along with their consequences. 

So, we discuss the above and his viewpoints on those including Sartre and de Beauvoir along with topics including satisfaction, dissatisfaction, radical freedom, progress, and the illusion of stability.

Finally, he also gives us advanced notice of his next book 'Super Adaptability'.

Series Four

This episode of 'The New Abnormal' podcast features the political scientist and university professor Sohail Inayatullah, who is the inaugural UNESCO Chair in Futures Studies at the Sejahtera Centre for Sustainability & Humanity, and instructs at the Metafuture think tank. 

He helps individuals and organisations create alternative and preferred futures, theorises how the future is constructed, and develops futures methodologies. 

Editor in Chief of the Journal of Futures Studies, he's also contributed to the Macmillan Encyclopedia of the Future, the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and the Oxford Encyclopedia of Peace. 

In this fascinating interview, he explains his renowned approach to 'Futures Thinking' and whilst doing so discusses the Futures Triangle, S-Curves, Causal Layered Analysis, and the Six Pillars approach...

The conversation also includes references to those such as Dator, Marx, and Hegel, whilst linking to issues such as Spiritual Cities, Poverty v Abundance, Wants vs Needs, Used & Disowned Futures, and Population Dynamics. 

So...I hope you enjoy listening to Sohail as much as I did!

Series Four

This episode of the New Abnormal podcast features Toronto-based Alexis Tennent, who is an innovative leader, design & foresight strategist. She firmly believes that foresight should not be confined to the realms of academia, politics, or privilege; rather, it should be an opportunity accessible to all. 

That's why Alexis aims to inspire inclusivity in foresight work, fostering empathy for those who engage in it voluntarily, despite how much it asks of us intellectually, psychologically, and emotionally. 

We discuss her work, including how she initiates the establishment of futures-oriented cultures within large-scale organisations, instilling a forward-thinking mindset across all levels, fostering innovation and adaptability. 

To do so, she leads cultural transformation, integrates innovation and design principles, and directs innovative programs. A current example of this is the work on which she's currently collaborating to 'Future with Nature'. 

Finally, we also discuss her MA project, where she explored memory, conceptions of time, and plurality in futures narratives...