intro

As the global economy becomes more intangible (and creative), how will talent thrive during the greatest industrial revolution of human history?

strategy

1. (Mis)Adventure Becomes a Project

Though it started as a short road trip, life on the road quickly became the new normal, and somewhat serendipitously, an ambitious greenfield research project on the future of the creative economy. As creative professionals with ever-evolving careers and new opportunities on the horizon, we realized the need for a thesis on the future of work and life.

2. Orienting to a New Market

As a greenfield research project with five areas of focus, the Future of Creativity is designed to curate a collective vision on the future of the creative economy. The intersection of creativity and culture inspires ideas, catalyzes innovation, and drives new products — benefits instrumental to human development. Given that independent workers are the world’s largest workforce, we invested time, resources, and relationships to more intimately understand how individuals — and their work, ambitions, and lifestyle — were evolving.

3. Build a Foundation

With any endeavor, the journey is more important than the destination. We embraced the uncertainty of life on the road and a greenfield research project because we knew this would structure our entire experience to become more open to emergent and divergent trends, insights, and opportunities — all of which required a significant amount of discipline and a high risk tolerance within our daily lives. The lack of pre-defined conclusions cemented a strong foundation for all our work in this project and others.

Outcomes

My partner and I had a great time meandering around the U.S. making friends at every stop, and experienced the unfathomable beauty of the landscapes of this wild country. We learned to love the great outdoors, and today even a simple road trip will now melt away any stress. Collectively, we interviewed dozens of industry leaders across a variety of domains, and learned immensely from each. Our process was supported by insights from countless articles, surveys, reports, analysis, and more from leading research organizations, consulting firms and universities.

The result, an article series that forced discipline to our thinking and processing in real-time amidst the fog of non-stop travel. We presented our learnings and insights while on the road at speaking engagements and through the articles, creating a valuable feedback loop that impacted our overall approach and discovery. Most importantly, this project established foundational thinking that has shaped our work and goals and provided the impetus for me to transition into graduate school for sustainability as a means to drive a major career pivot.