The Future Report

How does anyone predict the future? Well, we have some tips up our sleeve. In this episode, our host, Ashley Fell, sits down with futurist, Mark McCrindle to share the tricks of the trade with you and what 2022 might look like. 

In the first episode of season 2, we're talking all things Generation Z and what the future of work will look like for today's school-leavers. Joining the conversation about this emerging generation is the generational expert, Mark McCrindle.  Gen Z describes those born between 1995 and 2009, so today they are in their mid-late teens and mid-late twenties. 

For the final episode of Season 1, we are talking all things Christmas! Our host, Ashley Fell is joined by McCrindle's Managing Director, Sophie Renton to discuss our research on the best and the worst Christmas gift-givers, how younger generations plan on celebrating this Christmas with some unconventional celebrations and consumerism during the festive season. 

As the clock ticked over to 2021, many people looked forward to putting a pretty chaotic year of 2020 behind us. While it is good to have hope and optimism for the future, 2021 probably didn’t pan out as many hoped. With the Delta strain of the Coronavirus sending countries around the world into lockdown, and Australia navigating quite a different experience than that of the year before, 2021 posed its challenges. But while a lot of the year was impacted by COVID-19, other things happened too. From demographic change to political events. From social trends to consumer shifts and technology trends. We are discussing all of this in our episode today as we review the year that was and how we can prepare for what’s next.

Can you remember a time in your life when someone showed you an act of kindness? How about the last time you showed kindness to someone? It is universally acknowledged that it is cool to be kind, and there are lots of encouraging quotes about it.  From the ancient Greek philosopher, Aesop, who said "No act of kindness is ever wasted" to Mother Teresa who said, "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless", have you ever thought about why kindness is so important and how you can be more kind? In today's episode, our host, Ashley Fell sits down with McCrindle's Research Lead, Steph Razey to discuss what the research says about how kind we actually are, why kindness is so important, and what acts of kindness we want to see more of in our lives.

A major event like a pandemic can cause a reassessment of life. From the 'Great Resignation' that we discussed in our last episode, to our relationships to our job, where we choose to live, and of course what we consider to be important, many aspects of our lives are being reassessed. In today's episode, our host Ashley Fell sits down with Social Researcher, Mark McCrindle to discuss what people are reevaluating in light of the pandemic, why a major event causes us to reevaluate things in our life, and how a greater sense of meaning can impact wellbeing and mental health and the future generations.

When was the last time you used cash to pay for something? Were you able to save money during the pandemic? And if so, what do you plan on doing with it? Did you perhaps buy a few too many packages online during lockdown? Will you be partaking in this year's Black Friday sales? These are some of the questions Ashley Fell will be discussing in this episode and sharing the latest research, with McCrindle's Managing Director, Sophie Renton. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, for many, working from home has become the 'new normal'. And while it can have its challenges, the benefits seem to outweigh them. So, if people love working from home and want to continue working this way into the future, where does that leave the future of the office? In today's episode, our host, Ashley Fell, asks Mark McCrindle if the office is dead, what role it plays in the future of work, and what this means for CBDs. Mark and Ashley also discuss the 'Great Resignation' and what leaders can do about it.

Ever heard of a 'Sea Change' or 'Tree Change'? It refers to people moving out of the big cities and into coastal or rural areas. While we were seeing this trend prior to the pandemic, COVID-19 has accelerated this in the last two years, as people increasingly work-from-home and reprioritise what is important. In today's episode, our host, Ashley Fell, sits down with McCrindle's Director of Solutions, Geoff Brailey, to discuss what is driving the rise of the regions, where people are moving, what this means for our cities, and whether it is here to stay. 

Have you ever heard the phrase "culture eats strategy for breakfast"? It's a quote made famous by management guru, Peter Drucker, who was communicating the importance of workplace culture. While he wasn't saying that strategy is unimportant, he was saying that an empowering and engaging workplace culture is a surer root of organisational success. While we believe in the sentiment of this famous phrase, we have our own, slightly nerdier version, which is, "research eats strategy for breakfast". In today's episode, our host, Ashley Fell sits down with McCrindle's founder and principal, Mark McCrindle to talk about our adaptation of that famous phrase, why research is so powerful, how data can help us make decisions, and how to lead with data-driven insights.