The Future Report

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. 

As the times continue to change, expectations among consumers are shifting. Our research shows that people want to know what positive differences organisations are making. Enter social impact. Social impact is more than describing the activities an organisation does. It is the outcome of that work, and the changes that have occurred because of it. While 'social impact' isn’t a new term, we have noticed an increase in organisations and particularly not-for-profits responding to it. In today’s episode, our host, Ashley Fell sits down with fellow McCrindle colleagues, Shannon Wherrett and Sophie Renton to delve into what social impact is, why it is important and how organisations can utilise it, to engage with their stakeholders.

When you think about executive boards and governance, what do you think?  As our world becomes more complex, organisations are navigating changing social attitudes, demographic shifts, and technological disruptions. Boards play an important role in guiding the future of an organisation, and there's a shift happening with Millennials coming through in senior leadership roles. To discuss this important topic, our host, Ashley Fell sits down with McCrindle’s Director of Strategy, Grant Dusting. 

For a long time, the term “Millennials” was synonymous with young people. However, today these ‘young people’ are well into their 30s, having children of their own and emerging as leaders as they gain experience in their careers. In this episode, we delve into Millennials (also known as Gen Y) and their career expectations, how they differ from older generations, the challenges they face in the workplace, and advice about creating engaging workplaces. Joining our host, Ashley Fell is HR Expert, Shelley Johnson. Shelly is a sought-after HR consultant, and she is also the co-host of the My Millennial Career podcast. 

There is no doubt that the experience of the last two years has been transformative. Looking to the year ahead, we foresee important demographic, economic, social, technological, environmental, and political shifts to take place. As futurists, we believe that it is essential that leaders are equipped with an understanding of how to spot the trends, and what those trends are. So, what can we expect to see and change in the year ahead? Our host, Ashley Fell sits down with social researcher, Geoff Brailey to share our predictions for the top trends of the year ahead.