Peter Fisk

• Download my keynote, and new mini-book The Nexus Effect

Business has always been about relationships. From the earliest merchants in Mesopotamian markets to the industrial giants of the twentieth century, success was determined by who could connect supply and demand most effectively. Yet in today’s hyper-networked, digital-first world, connections matter in ways that are far more complex, pervasive, and valuable than ever before.

The twenty-first century economy is no longer defined by the simple transaction of product for price, but by ecosystems of value, experiences, and services that bind customers and companies together in ongoing relationships. The companies that thrive are those that don’t merely sell things, but create webs of connection — to customers, between products, across services, and through communities. This is the essence of what I call the Nexus Effect.

The Nexus Effect

 A nexus is a focal point, a hub, or a set of connections that give meaning and power. In business, the nexus represents how companies integrate multiple touchpoints, technologies, and experiences to form a network that is greater than the sum of its parts. It is about creating systems in which customers are not one-time buyers but ongoing participants — members, subscribers, creators, fans, or even co-owners of the brand journey.

The most successful businesses today understand that value creation no longer ends at the point of purchase. Instead, it extends across the entire lifecycle — from discovery and engagement to usage, renewal, and advocacy. Every touchpoint strengthens the connection; every service deepens loyalty; every interaction reinforces the brand. In this world, customer relationships are no longer linear, but circular and exponential.

Eight global companies exemplify this phenomenon in unique and powerful ways: Amazon, Nespresso, L’Oréal, Disney, Spotify, Jio, and Apple. Each has built its own nexus of connections — spanning subscriptions, memberships, communities, services, and ecosystems — that transform customers from passive consumers into active participants. Each case shows how connections drive more than loyalty: they drive scale, innovation, resilience, and enduring growth.

We explore these stories in depth, before drawing out the patterns of nexus strategies and what they mean for leaders determined to succeed in a connected age.

Unlocking the power of connections

Throughout history, the greatest leaps in human progress have often come not from isolated genius, but from connection — the ability to bring together different worlds, disciplines, and perspectives into something greater. These moments of “nexus” reveal the extraordinary power of connections to unlock knowledge, transform culture, and multiply impact.

Consider the Rosetta Stone. Discovered in Egypt in 1799, this single slab of granite carried the same decree written in three scripts: Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic, and Ancient Greek. For centuries, hieroglyphics had been an undecipherable mystery. The Rosetta Stone created a bridge between languages, allowing Jean-François Champollion and others to decode the ancient script and, with it, open the door to understanding one of the world’s great civilizations. It was not the stone itself but the connection it enabled — between languages, eras, and cultures — that made it transformative.

The Silk Road is another nexus on a grand scale. Stretching thousands of miles from China through Central Asia to the Mediterranean, it was more than a trade route for silk and spices. It became an artery through which ideas, religions, and technologies flowed: Buddhism spread to China, paper traveled westward, gunpowder reached Europe. Civilizations far apart began to influence one another, and the result was not just commerce but cultural and technological revolutions. The Silk Road showed that when societies connect, they reshape each other in ways neither could have achieved alone.

In the Renaissance, Raphael captured this spirit of connection in his masterpiece The School of Athens. Painted on the walls of the Vatican, it depicts the great philosophers of antiquity — Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Pythagoras — gathered together in one imagined conversation. In reality, these figures spanned centuries, but Raphael’s vision connected their ideas into a single scene, linking classical wisdom with Renaissance humanism. The painting itself became a nexus of art, philosophy, and history, symbolizing the rebirth of learning through the fusion of past and present.

Centuries later, Pablo Picasso would do something similar in art. His groundbreaking Les Demoiselles d’Avignon in 1907 shocked audiences by fusing influences from Iberian sculpture, African tribal masks, and European painting. This cultural collision gave birth to Cubism, which would redefine the very language of modern art. Picasso’s work showed that when you bring together styles and traditions from disparate sources, you can create entirely new ways of seeing.

In the modern era, Steve Jobs demonstrated the nexus principle with the launch of the iPhone in 2007. It wasn’t just a phone — it was a fusion of three devices: a phone, an iPod, and an internet communicator. More importantly, it created an ecosystem where developers, users, and services could connect through the App Store. By uniting design, technology, and community, Jobs didn’t just launch a product — he created a platform that transformed industries and lifestyles around the globe.

And today, we see the same power in unexpected places, such as Riot Games’ headquarters, home of League of Legends. What began as a video game has evolved into a cultural hub — a nexus of gaming, esports, music, fashion, and global community. Riot connected players not only to the game but to each other, turning entertainment into a shared cultural phenomenon and pioneering a billion-dollar esports industry.

Across time and place, these examples remind us that breakthroughs come from connections. Whether decoding hieroglyphs, linking continents, blending artistic traditions, or uniting technologies, the nexus is where possibilities multiply. It is in the spaces between worlds — where cultures, ideas, and people meet — that the future is born.

The best companies build “Nexus” strategies

Metcalfe’s Law, a little known concept which was conceived by 3Com founder Robert Metcalfe, states that the value of a network grows exponentially as more participants join — roughly proportional to the square of the number of users.

In other words, each new connection doesn’t just add value, it multiplies it, because every node can now connect with every other. This principle is at the heart of the nexus effect: the breakthrough potential that emerges when ideas, people, technologies, and cultures are linked. The power of connections lies not in their sum, but in their multiplication — where networks turn linear assets into exponential opportunities for innovation and growth.

The Nexus Effect is not a new phenomenon but has not been articulated holistically, and is more powerful today because of technological, social, and cultural shifts.

• Platforms make it easier than ever to connect customers continuously.

• Data and AI allow personalization at scale, turning relationships into uniquely tailored experiences.

• Communities thrive online, creating spaces where customers connect not just with brands, but with each other.

• Subscriptions and memberships create predictable revenue streams while binding customers into ongoing usage loops.

• Ecosystems amplify value by linking products and services, making it harder for customers to leave without losing convenience or benefits.

Disney’s MagicBand transformed the theme park experience by connecting disparate services—tickets, hotel rooms, rides, food, photos—into one seamless system. Internally, it required unprecedented collaboration between IT, operations, customer service, and design teams. Externally, it deepened customer loyalty by making every interaction part of an integrated, magical journey.

LinkedIn grew slowly at first, but once it connected a critical mass of professionals, network effects kicked in. Each new member made the platform more valuable for recruiters, job seekers, and advertisers. Importantly, the company also fostered internal networks—teams working across data, product, and sales—to spot emergent patterns and build features like “People You May Know.” That feature alone became one of the most powerful engines of growth.

When IBM repurposed Watson, its AI system, from winning games to assisting doctors, it wasn’t about the technology alone—it was about connecting IBM’s computational power with the tacit knowledge of doctors, and then connecting hospitals, insurers, and researchers. This web of connections created a new capability: augmenting human decision-making in complex medical cases.

In essence, companies no longer compete simply as product providers but as architects of networks of value. The winners are those who can connect the dots between customers’ needs, aspirations, and lifestyles — and deliver continuously through a nexus of products, services, and experiences.

Let’s explore how these companies have unlocked the potential of connections.

Amazon … The Nexus of Retail

Amazon began in 1994 as an online bookstore. Its founder, Jeff Bezos, envisioned an “everything store” that could harness the internet’s limitless reach. What has made Amazon extraordinary, however, is not just scale, but its ability to build an ecosystem where connections multiply value.

At the heart of this ecosystem is Amazon Prime. Launched in 2005 as a free-shipping program, Prime has evolved into one of the most powerful membership platforms in the world. With more than 250 million global subscribers by 2025, Prime generates loyalty not because customers love paying annual fees, but because it integrates multiple forms of value:

• Convenience: Unlimited fast shipping.

• Entertainment: Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Gaming.

• Savings: Exclusive deals and discounts.

• Everyday living: Grocery delivery (Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh), photo storage, audiobooks.

Prime exemplifies the Nexus Effect: every additional service makes the membership more “sticky,” increasing customer reliance. Prime members spend on average more than twice as much per year as non-members, and churn is astonishingly low.

Amazon’s ecosystem extends further. Alexa connects homes to shopping, entertainment, and smart devices. AWSconnects businesses to computing power and digital innovation. Marketplace connects millions of third-party sellers to global customers, while Amazon logistics links the entire supply chain. Each reinforces the other — a flywheel of connection that accelerates growth.

What makes Amazon unique is not simply breadth, but the way these services reinforce each other in the customer’s daily life. Customers don’t just shop at Amazon; they live within its ecosystem.

Nespresso … The Nexus of Coffee

When Nestlé launched Nespresso in 1986, it was a slow burn. The single-serve capsule coffee system seemed niche, even indulgent. But over time, Nespresso reinvented the coffee experience by building not just a product, but a lifestyle community.

The Nespresso Club has been central to this strategy. Customers who buy a machine are invited to join, gaining access to exclusive capsules, services, and experiences. The Club is not a traditional loyalty program; it is a membership ecosystem.

• Direct-to-consumer channels: Nespresso pioneered selling capsules directly to members via boutiques, online platforms, and dedicated call centers.

• Personalization: Members are offered curated selections, seasonal flavors, and limited editions.

• Sustainability and responsibility: Capsule recycling programs invite members to participate in a shared mission.

• Lifestyle branding: Partnerships with George Clooney and luxury positioning elevate the product beyond commodity.

By controlling the entire lifecycle — from machine to capsule to membership — Nespresso ensures recurring revenue and strong lock-in. The Club transforms coffee from a product into a relationship of rituals, identity, and belonging.

Today, Nespresso serves millions of members worldwide, with annual revenues exceeding $6 billion. Its success lies not in selling coffee pods, but in making customers feel like insiders in an exclusive global community.

L’Oréal … The Nexus of Beauty

Beauty is one of the most emotional and intimate industries, and L’Oréal has become the world’s largest cosmetics company by combining science, creativity, and connection. Its mission is simple yet powerful: “Beauty for all.”

In recent years, L’Oréal has embraced beauty tech as a way of deepening customer relationships. This includes:

• Makeup Genius: An augmented reality app launched in 2014 that lets customers virtually try on products. It was downloaded millions of times and paved the way for AI-driven personalization.

• ModiFace (acquired in 2018): Provides AR try-ons across L’Oréal brands, integrated directly into e-commerce.

• Skin and hair diagnostics: AI-powered tools that recommend personalized regimes.

• Communities: Platforms where beauty enthusiasts share tips, routines, and looks, reinforcing brand bonds.

L’Oréal doesn’t just sell lipstick or skincare; it connects customers with solutions that feel uniquely theirs. Every digital tool deepens engagement and makes switching less likely. Moreover, the company’s sustainability commitments (like refillable packaging and carbon-neutral operations) create an additional emotional nexus around shared values.

The result: L’Oréal connects across science, technology, and lifestyle, making customers participants in beauty innovation rather than passive buyers.

Disney … The Nexus of Magic

Few companies understand connection better than Disney. For nearly a century, Disney has built emotional bonds with audiences through storytelling. What makes Disney extraordinary today is how it weaves these stories into an integrated nexus of experiences.

• Disney+: With over 200 million subscribers by 2025, Disney+ is the beating heart of its digital ecosystem. It doesn’t just stream content; it immerses fans in story worlds (Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar).

• Parks and resorts: Physical spaces where fans live the stories they love, connected seamlessly to films and merchandise.

• Merchandising and licensing: Extending characters into toys, clothing, and everyday life.

• Community and fandom: Fans connect not only with Disney but with each other, from conventions to online forums.

Disney creates a virtuous cycle of connection: watch a Marvel movie, subscribe to Disney+, visit Avengers Campus at Disneyland, buy the merchandise, and discuss theories with fellow fans online. Each element reinforces the others, creating lifetime value that far exceeds a ticket price or subscription fee.

The nexus is emotional as much as commercial: Disney is not just entertainment but identity, nostalgia, and belonging. Customers don’t simply consume; they live inside Disney’s stories.

Jio … The Nexus of India

When Reliance Industries launched Jio in 2016, it disrupted India’s telecom market with ultra-cheap data and free voice calls. Within a few years, Jio amassed over 450 million subscribers, transforming connectivity in one of the world’s largest markets.

But Jio’s ambition went far beyond telecom. It has built a super app ecosystem that connects users to multiple aspects of life:

• JioMart: Groceries and retail.

• JioSaavn: Music streaming.

• JioCinema: Entertainment.

• JioMoney: Digital payments and financial services.

• JioSecurity and JioCloud: Data and device protection.

In essence, Jio is creating an Indian equivalent of WeChat — an integrated platform where customers handle communication, shopping, entertainment, and finance.

By bundling services at low cost, Jio locks users into its ecosystem while bringing millions of first-time digital customers online. Its nexus strategy is not only commercial but national: Jio is shaping India’s digital future by connecting people, communities, and commerce at scale.

Spotify … The Nexus of Music

Music has always been social, but Spotify turned listening into a global, personalized community. Launched in 2008, Spotify pioneered streaming subscriptions and today has over 600 million users (more than 250 million paying subscribers).

Its nexus strategy rests on three pillars:

• Personalization: Playlists like Discover Weekly and Release Radar feel tailor-made. Algorithms connect users with music they didn’t know they needed.
• Community: Playlists are shareable, collaborative, and social. Fans follow artists and each other, building networks of taste.
• Creator connection: Through tools like Spotify for Artists and podcasting platforms, creators connect directly with fans.

Spotify Premium provides ad-free listening, downloads, and higher quality, while the free tier keeps the funnel wide. Beyond music, Spotify has expanded into podcasts and audiobooks, broadening its ecosystem.

Spotify’s true genius is that customers don’t feel like subscribers to a utility; they feel like members of a global music community. Music becomes not just consumed but shared, discovered, and lived through the platform.

Apple … The Nexus of Desire

If there is one company that epitomizes the Nexus Effect, it is Apple. With more than 1.5 billion active devicesworldwide, Apple has created the most valuable ecosystem in consumer technology.

Its nexus is built on four layers of connection:

• Hardware: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods — beautifully designed, seamlessly integrated.

• Software and services: iOS, iCloud, App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade.

• Membership and subscriptions: iCloud+, Apple One bundles, fitness subscriptions.

• Community and lifestyle: Apple Stores, developer conferences, loyal fan culture.

Apple devices are designed to work best with each other, creating a walled garden that keeps customers inside. Switching out of the Apple ecosystem means losing convenience, integration, and emotional resonance.

Customers often own multiple Apple devices — with the average user connected to 2–3 products. This multiplies lifetime value, while services generate recurring revenues. In 2023, Apple’s services business alone surpassed $85 billion annually.

The magic lies not just in lock-in, but in emotional connection. Apple represents simplicity, creativity, and status. Customers feel not just like buyers but members of a global community united by design and innovation.

Patterns of nexus strategies

Across these cases, common patterns emerge:

• Membership: Prime, Nespresso Club, Disney+, Spotify Premium, Apple One — all create predictable, ongoing engagement.

• Ecosystem lock-in: Multiple products and services work better together (Amazon, Apple, Jio).

• Emotional connection: Disney stories, Apple design, L’Oréal beauty personalization.

• Communities of participation: Spotify playlists, Nespresso sustainability efforts, IBM co-creation, Disney fandom.

• Lifecycle ownership: From discovery to renewal, companies manage the entire journey (Nespresso, Apple, Amazon).

• Values-driven connection: Sustainability (L’Oréal, Nespresso), trust (IBM), empowerment (Spotify).

The Nexus Effect is not one model but a set of strategies that together deepen customer ties and amplify value.

Implications for leaders

For today’s business leaders, the lesson is clear: connection is strategy.

This represents a profound mindset shift for today’s business leaders. For much of the past century, companies were defined by their products and their ability to sell them. Success meant designing a better widget, producing it more efficiently, and pushing it into the market. But the world has changed. Value now lies less in the product itself and more in the connections it enables — with customers, with communities, with ecosystems of partners.

This requires moving from product obsession to customer centricity — understanding not just what customers buy, but how they live, what they aspire to, and how a brand can become a trusted companion across their journey. It shifts emphasis from sales to relationships — cultivating loyalty, engagement, and membership rather than just chasing one-off transactions. It redefines the meaning of assets: today, the most valuable assets are intangible — brands that inspire trust, data that unlocks insights, platforms that connect communities, and networks that multiply reach. Finally, it means moving from linear thinking to multiplier thinking — where the focus is not on selling one more product, but on creating systems of value that grow as more people and partners connect. Nexus thinking turns business from a pipeline into a platform.

To harness the Nexus Effect, leaders must:

• Think in systems, not silos — Design offerings that interconnect, creating value loops rather than linear funnels.

• Prioritize memberships and services — Shift from transactions to recurring models that reinforce loyalty.

• Leverage data responsibly — Use personalization to create intimacy without eroding trust.

• Foster communities — Enable customers to connect with each other, not just with the brand.

• Align with values — Build emotional as well as functional bonds.

• Design for lifetime value — Look beyond the first sale to the entire customer journey.

Leaders must recognize that customers today don’t just buy products; they buy into relationships, identities, and ecosystems. The companies that succeed are those that turn connections into compounding advantage.

What’s your nexus?

The Nexus Effect will only grow in power as technologies evolve and societies become more connected. Artificial intelligence will deepen personalization; augmented and virtual reality will expand immersion; blockchain and Web3 may redefine ownership and membership.

But at its heart, the Nexus Effect is timeless. It is about human connection — the need for belonging, convenience, trust, and shared meaning. The companies that master this will not just sell more, but will create enduring bonds with customers who become participants, advocates, and co-creators.

From Amazon’s Prime flywheel to Apple’s walled garden, from Disney’s story worlds to Jio’s national super app, the lesson is clear: connections are the new currency of business. Those who can unlock their power will define the future.

So, what’s your nexus?

Making it happen … The Nexus Playbook

This playbook is built on vast experience of working with leading companies implementing the principles of the Nexus Effect – from energy and entertainment, to finance and fashion, pharmaceuticals and publishing. The playbook is a practical, step-by-step guide for leaders and teams to design and implement a nexus strategy, with actionable checklists, real-world examples, and frameworks for each stage.

Step 1: Explore the best market opportunities

Objective: Identify areas where connections create disproportionate value.

Why: Most nexus strategies fail because companies try to connect assets without a clear market opportunity. Begin by understanding fragmentation points, recurring customer needs, and network multipliers.

How:

• Map customer journeys: Identify friction points, gaps, or unmet needs.

• Analyze recurring touchpoints: Look for daily, weekly, or seasonal interactions that can be linked.

• Identify network effects: Determine where more users, partners, or interactions increase value.

• Trend scan: Monitor emerging technologies, adjacent industries, and societal changes.

Example:

• Amazon: Noticed fragmented online shopping experiences — multiple sellers, delayed deliveries, lack of discovery tools — and connected logistics, marketplaces, and subscriptions.

Checklist:

• Have I mapped the complete customer journey?

• Are there recurring needs we can connect into a service?

• Can a network effect be created or amplified?

Step 2: Find your potential “nexus”

Objective: Determine the scope, participants, and connections that will form your nexus.

Why: A nexus must have a clear purpose: what connections generate value, and who participates. Without clarity, efforts scatter and impact is diluted.

How:

• Identify primary participants: customers, partners, suppliers, developers.

• Map interactions: what connections create the most value?

• Determine scope: local, regional, or global network?

• Set measurable goals: membership growth, engagement, revenue streams.

Example:

• Nespresso: Transformed coffee machines into a nexus by connecting customers with capsules, a subscription club, recycling programs, and exclusive boutique experiences.

Checklist:

• Have I identified all stakeholders?

• Do I know which interactions drive the most value?

• Have I defined success metrics?

Step 3: Unlock potential assets

Objective: Identify tangible and intangible assets that can be used to anchor and grow the nexus.

Why: Assets — physical, digital, or relational — are the building blocks of a nexus. Maximizing existing assets reduces risk and accelerates growth.

How:

• Catalogue all assets: brand, IP, distribution, customer data, infrastructure, partnerships.

• Identify leverage points: which assets can multiply value if combined?

• Assess gaps: what new capabilities or partnerships are required?

Example:

• Apple: Combined hardware (iPhone, Mac) with software (iOS, macOS) and services (iCloud, Apple Music) to create a platform that connects millions of users.

Checklist:

• Have all existing assets been catalogued?

• Are there opportunities to combine assets for higher leverage?

• Do I know where gaps exist that need to be filled?

Step 4: Harness data and insights

Objective: Use data to guide decisions, personalize experiences, and enable compounding value.

Why: In a nexus strategy, data is the connective tissue — it links participants, products, and services while generating feedback loops for improvement.

How:

1. Integrate datasets across channels and touchpoints.

2. Establish analytics to predict and personalize customer needs.

3. Build feedback loops to continuously refine experiences.

4. Ensure privacy and ethical data handling.

Example:

• L’Oréal: Uses AI and AR (ModiFace) to personalize beauty experiences, improving engagement and loyalty while generating rich insights for innovation.

Checklist:

• Are all relevant data sources integrated?

• Are personalization opportunities identified?

• Are ethical and privacy considerations addressed?

Step 5: Identify the right business model

Objective: Determine how value is captured, monetized, and sustained.

Why: Traditional transaction-based models rarely support a nexus. Consider membership, subscription, platform, and bundled service models.

How:

1. Analyze lifetime value potential.

2. Evaluate recurring revenue opportunities (subscriptions, memberships).

3. Explore two-sided marketplaces or platform fees.

4. Bundle services to increase stickiness.

Example:

• Amazon Prime: Membership drives more frequent purchases → attracts more sellers → increases selection → enhances perceived value → increases memberships.

Checklist:

• Is the model focused on lifetime value?

• Are recurring revenue opportunities leveraged?

• Does the model align with ecosystem incentives?

Step 6: Build the ecosystem structure

Objective: Design a network of partners, developers, and participants that amplifies value.

Why: A nexus thrives on orchestration. No company can provide everything; ecosystem design enables scale and complementarity.

How:

1. Identify essential partners and contributors.

2. Determine governance: open vs. closed, collaborative vs. controlled.

3. Define incentives for participation.

4. Build APIs or integration points for third-party involvement.

Example:

• Jio: The Indian super app orchestrates services and third-party apps into a single “digital life” ecosystem.

Checklist:

• Have key partners been identified?

• Is governance clear and fair?

• Are integration points designed for scale?

Step 7: Activate brands and experiences

Objective: Use the brand and curated experiences to attract, engage, and retain participants.

Why: Brands are magnets; experiences are the glue. A strong brand creates trust, identity, and permission to extend into new categories.

How:

1. Design personalized experiences across channels.

2. Create community touchpoints (events, forums, social sharing).

3. Align experiences with brand purpose and identity.

4. Continuously innovate to keep engagement fresh.

Example:

• Disney: Integrates films, streaming, parks, merchandise, and cruise experiences to create immersive, continuous engagement.

Checklist:

• Are experiences personalized and compelling?

• Is the brand positioned as a curator of the nexus?

• Are community elements integrated?

Step 8: Design your flywheel

Objective: Create self-reinforcing loops that increase retention, engagement, and advocacy.

Why: Flywheels compound value and reduce reliance on acquisition alone. Each connection strengthens the network.

How:

• Identify points where engagement reinforces loyalty.

• Align incentives to encourage repeat participation.

• Measure retention, membership growth, and advocacy.

• Iterate to strengthen compounding effects.

Example:

• Amazon Prime: More members → more purchases → more sellers → better selection → more members.

Checklist:

• Is the flywheel clearly defined?

• Are retention and advocacy metrics tracked?

• Is the loop self-reinforcing and scalable?

Step 9: Scale and evolve your nexus

Objective: Continuously adapt the nexus to changing markets, technologies, and customer expectations.

Why: A static nexus loses relevance. Continuous evolution ensures ongoing value creation.

How:

• Introduce new services or products to meet emerging needs.

• Expand geographically or into adjacent markets.

• Integrate new technologies (AI, AR/VR, blockchain).

• Refine data, insights, and experiences based on feedback.

Example:

• Apple: Expanded from devices to subscriptions (Apple TV+, Apple Fitness+, Apple One) to strengthen ecosystem stickiness.

• Disney+: Expanded narrative universe and digital delivery to complement traditional parks and film revenue streams.

Checklist:

• Are innovation pipelines feeding the nexus?

• Are geographic or market expansions planned?

• Is the ecosystem continuously refined with data insights?

Step 10: Monitor, measure, and adjust

Objective: Use metrics to ensure the nexus strategy remains effective and evolves with the market.

Metrics:

• Membership and subscription growth

• Customer engagement and retention rates

• Network participation and contribution (data points, content creation)

• Cross-platform usage

• Advocacy and referral rates

How:

1. Establish a dashboard of key nexus metrics.

2. Monitor network health, retention, and engagement.

3. Conduct quarterly strategy reviews to refine connections.

4. Align incentives and rewards based on performance.

Checklist:

• Are key metrics tracked in real time?

• Is the nexus delivering compounding value?

• Are adjustments made systematically based on insights?

Unleash your nexus strategy

A nexus strategy is a systematic approach to turning connections into competitive advantage. By following this step-by-step manual, leaders can:

• Sense market opportunities for connection

• Define the nexus opportunity and participants

• Map and leverage existing assets

• Harness data and insights to personalize engagement

• Choose business models that support recurring value

• Build ecosystems that amplify reach and complementarity

• Activate brands and experiences to attract and retain participants

• Design flywheels to compound retention and loyalty

More from Peter Fisk

How do you find growth in stagnant, disrupted and uncertain markets?

For decades, growth in business was treated as a linear journey. Companies extended existing products, squeezed efficiency, expanded to new geographies, and pursued predictable market share battles. That logic worked in a more stable, slower-moving world.

But the 21st century is anything but stable. Growth is buffeted by global shocks, technological disruption, social shifts, and ecological pressures. The future is no longer an extension of the past, it must be actively created.

Today, growth requires systems thinking, agility, and a willingness to reimagine the future itself. It demands that companies not only respond to trends but anticipate, influence, and shape them.

Leading organizations leverage a combination of foresight, strategy, culture, and technology to generate exponential impact, often across industries and geographies. These organizations understand that growth is not just an outcome; it is a continuous process of acceleration, amplification, and multiplication. Often enabled by data, AI, networks and communities.

Leaders must build new engines of growth: adaptive, future-focused, regenerative, and deeply human. Growth is not about squeezing the old machine harder, but about inventing new machines entirely.

The New Growth Playbook defines 9 strategies, or growth engines, that the world’s most progressive companies are already using to accelerate growth in a world of relentless change. Each represents a powerful lever, and together they form a new framework, a toolkit, for exponential and sustainable growth.

Growth Engine 1: Book of Dreams … a moonshot mindset, from the future back

Most organizations still think now-forward, meaning they plan incrementally from what they know – annual budgets, three-year roadmaps, incremental extensions. But transformative leaders think future-back, meaning they imagine a bold possibility and then design pathways to get there. Future-back thinking reframes ambition and unleashes radical possibility. The Book of Dreams captures and structures foresight-driven imagination into evaluated opportunities for new growth.

Waymo: ask the right question

Waymo began in Google’s X “moonshot factory,” where the question wasn’t “How do we improve cars?” but “What if cars no longer needed drivers?” That framing unlocked a future-back journey toward safer, more efficient mobility. Waymo’s technology has logged more than 20 million miles on public roads and billions more in simulation. In Phoenix, it operates a driverless ride-hailing service, while in Los Angeles and San Francisco it tests urban deployment. What makes Waymo powerful isn’t just technology, but the ecosystem it catalyzes: partnerships with logistics companies, city planners, and automakers. Its moonshot vision is reshaping urban design, redefining insurance models, and forcing regulators to reimagine traffic laws. Waymo shows how thinking future-back creates industries, not just products.

DBS Bank: making banking invisible

Singapore’s DBS didn’t set out simply to digitalise banking services. Led by CEO Piyush Gupta, they asked “What would banking look like if it were invented today?” That question reframed DBS as a technology company in financial services. They went further, exploring “What if banking was invisible?”  That question reframed everything. Rather than competing on branches or fees, DBS reimagined itself as a digital-first platform that integrates seamlessly into customers’ lives. Its AI-driven credit scoring, mobile-first interfaces, and partnerships with ride-hailing firms and retailers allow banking to happen effortlessly in the background. By 2020, DBS was named the “World’s Best Bank” by Euromoney, and it now earns more than half its revenue through digital channels. The invisible banking moonshot didn’t just modernize services; it reinvented DBS’s identity.

NextEra Energy: leading the renewable revolution

Florida-based NextEra Energy was once a conventional utility reliant on fossil fuels. But in the early 2000s, it asked: “What if the future grid was carbon-free?” At a time when most utilities saw renewables as risky, NextEra bet big on wind and solar. That bold future-back vision led it to become the world’s largest producer of renewable energy. Its massive investments in clean energy infrastructure paid off as costs dropped and regulation tightened. Today, NextEra not only leads in renewables but actively shapes policy, grid innovation, and storage technology. By imagining a decarbonized future decades early, NextEra positioned itself as an industry shaper rather than a follower.

Growth principle: Future-back leaders ask “What future do we want to exist?” and forces today’s decisions to align with tomorrow’s ambition. Instead of seeking to optimize the existing model, they pull their organizations into the future by starting with an imagined world, a bold and inspiring moonshot, then designing the pathway to get there.

Growth Engine 2: Smart Spaces … framing market spaces beyond sectors

Organisations limited growth by conventional thinking, not least by creating boundaries defined by sector and geography. Instead, think of human-centred spaces: mobility, learning, health, belonging, sustainability. These spaces might be new (like energy drinks) or convergent sectors (like wellbeing). Leaders grow faster by framing their own space, enabling them to be more relevant to customers, and more innovative themselves.

Nvidia: powering the AI space

Nvidia could have stayed in its niche making graphics chips for gamers. Instead, it redefined itself around the intelligence space — powering AI and machine learning across industries. Its GPUs became the backbone of deep learning, enabling breakthroughs in autonomous vehicles, drug discovery, financial modelling, and generative AI. Nvidia also built CUDA, a developer platform that turned its hardware into a global standard. The result: Nvidia is not just a semiconductor firm, but the infrastructure of intelligence, with a market capitalization greater than most tech giants. By framing itself in a space rather than a sector, Nvidia positioned itself at the heart of tomorrow’s economy.

Ping An: from finance to wellbeing

China’s Ping An is one of the world’s largest financial services companies. But rather than limiting itself to banking and insurance, it reframed its role in the space of wellbeing. Through Ping An Good Doctor, it launched a telemedicine platform with over 400 million users. Its AI diagnostics tools now conduct millions of medical consultations annually. Combined with financial services, Ping An helps customers manage both financial health and physical health, creating a stickier ecosystem. This shift makes Ping An more than a financial institution — it is a partner in wellbeing, crossing boundaries between finance, healthcare, and technology.

Schneider Electric: energy and sustainability as one space

Schneider Electric, once a seller of electrical equipment, reframed itself into the sustainability and energy management space. Through smart sensors, digital platforms, and IoT, it enables cities, factories, and homes to monitor and optimize energy use in real time. Its EcoStruxure platform integrates software, services, and hardware to deliver energy efficiency and carbon reduction. Schneider positions itself not as a supplier but as a sustainability partner, helping clients achieve carbon neutrality.

Growth principle: Spaces transcend categories. Companies that reframe their playing field around human needs, not product lines, create entirely new possibilities for growth.

Growth Engine 3: Dynamic Strategy … inspiring direction with real-time agility

Traditional strategies assume stability: five-year plans, predictable markets. But in a volatile world, winners adopt a more flexible strategy, a living, adaptive approach that flexes with circumstances. FLUX stands from fast, liquid, unchartered and experimental. Flux strategies combine purpose and direction, with micro-moves, antiocipating and responding to change, for more sustained value creation.

SpaceX: Occupy Mars, eventually

SpaceX thrives in flux. It has redefined aerospace by iterating rapidly on rockets and spacecraft. Instead of waiting years for perfect rockets, it launches, fails, and learns at breathtaking speed. Its agile development process allows simultaneous testing, learning, and scaling, rather than sequential engineering. Each launch generates data to improve future missions. Each explosion is treated as data, not disaster. SpaceX’s purpose,  reducing space costs and enabling Mars colonization, drives long-term focus. Flux strategy allows SpaceX to take calculated risks, accelerate innovation, and build compounding advantages in space transport.

Microsoft: purpose, platforms and empowerment

Microsoft under Satya Nadella shifted from a stagnating PC software business to a cloud-first, AI-integrated ecosystem. The company emphasized cultural transformation, internal collaboration, and openness to partnerships. Its purpose — “empower every person and organisation on the planet to achieve more” — guided the reinvention. Investments in Azure, GitHub, and AI initiatives illustrate a flexible approach that balances short-term performance with long-term market relevance. Microsoft shows that dynamic strategy allows legacy organizations to reinvent themselves and capture new growth trajectories without abandoning core competencies. Within a decade, it became one of the world’s most valuable companies again, proving flux strategy works at scale.

DSM: continuous reinvention, from coal mining to life sciences

Dutch multinational DSM demonstrates flux over a century, and how purpose-driven adaptability can preserve relevance, enable innovation, and sustain growth across multiple business cycles. From coal mining to chemicals to materials to today’s focus on nutrition and life sciences, DSM has constantly reinvented itself. Its pivots weren’t random; they aligned with purpose: improving health, nutrition, and sustainability. Each reinvention turned disruption into advantage. DSM shows that long-term resilience is built not on rigidity but on continuous adaptation anchored in values.

Growth principle: Strategy still matters, but not as a fixed, linear roadmap. Instead, companies are in “permanent beta” — strategy in realtime, constantly anticipating and responding to change.

Growth Engine 4: Culture Coding … brands enabling communities to thrive

The most powerful growth doesn’t come from advertising or sales, it comes from culture and community. Growth companies code culture into their DNA, and specifically into their brand, their identity, and build tribes that customers want to belong to.

Hermès: craft as culture

Hermès is not just a fashion house; it is the epitome of cultural continuity. Founded in 1837 as a harness workshop for European nobility, Hermès has resisted the pull of mass production, digital hype, and celebrity quick wins. Its success comes from coding its culture as one of timeless artistry, scarcity, and permanence. Every Hermès product is imbued with ritual. A Birkin bag takes a master artisan 18–24 hours to produce, and no two are identical. Craftspeople spend years training, inheriting techniques like stitching, leather selection, and finishing, passed down like cultural DNA. This devotion to handcraft elevates every object into a cultural artifact.

Hermès doesn’t sell handbags — it sells membership in a cultural lineage. When a customer buys a Birkin or a silk carré, they aren’t buying leather or fabric; they are entering a world coded with Parisian refinement, discretion, and permanence. Scarcity is intentional: production volumes are tightly controlled, and waiting lists sometimes stretch years, turning the act of ownership into cultural validation. By holding culture above commerce, Hermès thrives in ways fast-fashion or hype-driven brands cannot. It proves that when culture is coded deeply enough, it becomes immune to trend cycles, commanding not just desire but reverence.

Duolingo: the learning tribe

Where Hermès builds prestige through exclusivity, Duolingo creates culture through inclusion and play. Founded in 2011 with the mission of “making education free and accessible to everyone,” it reimagined language learning as a global cultural movement — quirky, gamified, and fun. The culture of Duolingo is shaped less by grammar and vocabulary and more by rituals and shared identity. Its green owl mascot, Duo, has become an internet icon — sometimes cheeky, sometimes threatening (“You missed your lesson!”). Notifications, memes, and inside jokes form a connective tissue that binds users across geographies.

Gamification tools like streak counts, leaderboards, and XP levels transform language learning into cultural performance. Completing lessons isn’t just personal progress; it’s participation in a global game where millions share the same rituals. The real culture is not about fluency, but about belonging to a tribe of learners who value persistence, resilience, and humour. Duolingo shows that culture can scale digitally — it’s less about the content itself and more about how people feel inside the experience. What Hermès does with exclusivity, Duolingo achieves with shared inside jokes, playful accountability, and the feeling of being part of a quirky tribe.

Bang & Olufsen: designing an aesthetic life

Danish audio-visual brand Bang & Olufsen (B&O) has, since 1925, thrived not by competing on decibels or processor speed, but by cultivating a culture of aesthetic living. Its DNA is rooted in Scandinavian modernism, where beauty and function are inseparable. Every product, from its sleek BeoLab speakers to its minimalist televisions, is a statement of cultural belonging. Consumers don’t just buy speakers; they join a design-conscious community that celebrates purity of form, craftsmanship, and aesthetics. The B&O home is not filled with gadgets, but with artful companions that harmonize with architecture and lifestyle.

B&O’s strategy is to elevate technology into cultural symbols of taste. Limited editions, collaborations with architects and designers, and museum-quality design objects reinforce its role as curator of aesthetic life. While rivals compete on technical specifications, B&O competes on cultural aspiration: its products signal refinement, connoisseurship, and artistic values. Like Hermès, B&O thrives on slow culture — it doesn’t chase trends but instead cultivates a heritage of design integrity. In doing so, it has become more than a brand; it is a cultural codebook for how technology can coexist with beauty in modern life.

Growth principle: Cultures and communities already exist, the secret is to be a meaningful contributor and enabler of them. Culture coding makes a company more than a business. Community turns customers into advocates and growth into a movement.

Growth Engine 5: Nexus Solutions … delivering better, connected experiences

Customers don’t live in silos. They want seamless solutions and immersive experiences that cross boundaries – that connect adjacent markets, brands and capabilities. Growth accelerates when companies connect worlds into “nexuses”.

L’Oréal: beauty as a service

L’Oréal uses technology to expand beauty into an entire personalized experience. Its AI-powered skincare diagnostics (via Modiface), AR virtual try-ons, and connected devices transform cosmetics from static products into interactive services. The company’s “Perso” device, for example, can analyze a customer’s skin, environment, and preferences to 3D-print customized skincare or makeup formulations at home. In its retail stores, digital mirrors let customers try on lipsticks or hairstyles virtually before buying. These aren’t just gadgets. They make beauty a continuous journey: L’Oréal learns from customer data, refines products, and integrates services into everyday routines. By blending science, digital interfaces, and retail experiences, L’Oréal creates a nexus of beauty-as-service, deepening engagement far beyond one-time purchases.

Grab: the everyday super-app

Grab began with ride-hailing, but quickly realized that growth came from solving multiple daily needs. Today, its app is a gateway to transport, food delivery, grocery shopping, bill payments, insurance, and even micro-investments. What sets Grab apart is how deeply it embeds into the rhythms of life in Southeast Asia. A commuter might book a Grab ride in the morning, order GrabFood for lunch, send money via GrabPay in the afternoon, and buy insurance on the same app in the evening. Grab also integrates small merchants into its ecosystem, enabling them to reach customers, access digital payments, and secure microloans. By orchestrating this nexus, Grab becomes an everyday essential, not just a utility. Its growth is not about any single service, but about being the digital hub of daily life.

Nike: from shoes to sports performance

Nike exemplifies the nexus strategy by transforming from a sportswear brand into a holistic fitness ecosystem. Beyond selling shoes, Nike connects customers through apps like Nike Run Club and Nike Training Club, which provide workouts, challenges, and social communities. Nike also links physical products with digital services. For example, its smart shoes integrate with apps to track performance, while exclusive product drops are tied to app engagement. Its retail stores host events, training sessions, and running clubs — extending the nexus from digital to physical spaces. The result: Nike doesn’t just sell products. It curates an entire lifestyle experience of sport, fitness, and motivation. Customers don’t just wear Nike; they live in Nike’s ecosystem.

Growth principle: Growth multiplies when companies stitch together adjacent worlds into one seamless, bigger solution. 

Growth Engine 6: Hyper Innovation … fast and experimental, enabled by AI

Growth comes from relentless innovation — experimenting faster, learning smarter, and commercialising at scale. With AI and frontier tech, companies can now run thousands of experiments simultaneously, compressing cycles of discovery and application. Make AI your co-creation partner.

DeepMind: solving the Biggest Problems with AI

DeepMind, a subsidiary of Alphabet, is a leading AI research lab based in London. The company employs between 1,000 and 5,000 people and is renowned for breakthroughs like AlphaGo, AlphaFold, and Gemini.

DeepMind is not focused on consumer apps but on grand scientific challenges. With AlphaFold, it solved the 50-year puzzle of protein folding, enabling breakthroughs in medicine and biology. DeepMind’s hyper-innovation model combines scientific ambition with practical applications, producing both intellectual breakthroughs and commercial value. Its approach shows that AI-first innovation doesn’t just speed up business processes; it can rewrite the frontiers of science. It demonstrates the synergy between cutting-edge research and real-world impact.

Insilico Medicine: AI-Powered Drug Discovery

Drug discovery has historically taken 10–15 years and billions of dollars. Insilico Medicine uses AI to compress that timeline. Its algorithms design new molecules, predict efficacy, and test virtually before physical trials. In 2021, it brought its first AI-designed drug for fibrosis into clinical trials — in less than 18 months. This speed radically alters pharma economics and opens the door to tackling diseases once considered intractable. By compressing timelines and reducing costs, Insilico exemplifies how hyper-innovation can disrupt entrenched industries, enabling breakthroughs that were previously unimaginable.

Shopify: democratising digital retail innovation

Shopify is taking the world’s retailers online. As the world locked down amidst pandemic, stores great and small lost their entire footfall. Overnight, many turned to the Canadian tech company for the tools that allowed them to relaunch, not just with a virtual store, but with the marketing, warehousing, payment and distribution infrastructure too. A small town store could instantly transform itself into a global player. Shopify now supports more than 6.2 million live websites globally, and its merchants processed over $292 billion in gross merchandise volume in 2024.  Its trailing-12-months revenue is about $10 billion, up from US $8.88 billion in 2024. Its market capitalisation has risen to around $190–200 billion as of September 2025, making it one of Canada’s most valuable companies

Shopify’s hyper-innovation lies in continuous platform expansion for global merchants. From e-commerce storefronts to payment systems, fulfilment solutions, and app ecosystems, Shopify iterates rapidly based on merchant feedback. Its model allows thousands of developers to build on its platform, creating a multiplying effect of innovation. Shopify shows how hyper-innovation can scale globally while empowering millions of entrepreneurs.

Growth principle: AI-first companies don’t just use AI as a support tool. They rewire the innovation cycle around it — running thousands of experiments to find the few that scale. Run 1,000 experiments. Scale the 10 that work.

Growth Engine 7: Growth Loops … unlocking data to create a flywheel effect

Traditional assets, like factories and stores, grow linearly. But intangible assets – like data, networks, brands, IP — grow exponentially when designed as multipliers. Create a flywheel model, where you learn and gain more from existing customers, who become your drivers of compounding growth.

Amazon: The Prime Effect

Amazon generated about $638 billion in revenue in 2024, with AWS contributing $108 billion. It serves over 310 million active users, including 200 million Prime subscribers, and paid out substantial profits of around $59 billion that year. The company combines e‑commerce, cloud computing, subscriptions, and logistics across the globe. In 2024, Amazon earned over $44 billion from Prime subscriptions and related services. Prime members spend on average 2–3 times more per year than non-members, driving higher e-commerce sales across categories.

Amazon’s flywheel connects selection, price, and customer experience. More customers attract more sellers, increasing variety and lowering costs, which further attracts customers. Prime membership and AWS services create additional loops, reinforcing growth across business units. Amazon’s growth is driven by a self-reinforcing loop: more sellers, leads to more selection, to more customers, to more sellers. Its logistics, data, and Prime ecosystem reinforce the loop, creating exponential growth. Each new investment — from Alexa to AWS — plugs into the flywheel, making it spin faster. Growth becomes exponential, not linear. Amazon exemplifies how well-designed loops compound engagement and value, turning customer interactions into systemic growth drivers.

Spotify: Personalised growth loops

Spotify has around 696 million users worldwide, including about 276 million paying subscribers. Its annual revenue in 2024 was about €15.7 billion, and it paid out more than $10 billion to artists and rights-holders that year. The platform now hosts content from more than 10 million creators, making it the world’s largest music streaming service.

Spotify uses data loops to refine content delivery and recommendations. More users provide more listening data, enhancing algorithmic personalization. It leverages every play to improve recommendations. Its playlists like “Discover Weekly” deepen engagement, which generates more data, which sharpens recommendations. This loop keeps users loyal and gives Spotify unique leverage in negotiations with artists and labels, expanding the catalogue, which in turn increases user engagement. Spotify illustrates that feedback-driven loops can maintain market dominance in fast-changing digital environments.

Mercado Libre: Latin America’s digital flywheel

Mercado Libre has become Latin America’s leading e-commerce and fintech company. In 2024 it generated about $21 billion in revenue, with sales on its marketplace reaching more than $51 billion in gross merchandise value. Over 100 million people bought through its platform, and its logistics arm, Mercado Envios, delivered nearly 1.8 billion items, many within one or two days. Its fintech arm, Mercado Pago, is also booming. It now serves more than 65 million active users each month, processed nearly $200 billion in payments in 2024, and is expanding rapidly into credit, with a loan portfolio of almost $8 billion.

Mercado Libre integrates e-commerce, payments, and logistics to create reinforcing loops. More merchants attract more buyers, more transactions enhance logistics efficiency, and improved service drives further adoption. It connects e-commerce, payments (Mercado Pago), and logistics into one reinforcing system. More sellers attract more buyers; payments feed trust; logistics improve speed. Each component strengthens the others, generating network-driven compounding growth across its diverse markets. It’s not a retailer but an exponential system, often called the digital backbone of Latin America, and now the region’s most valuable company.

Growth principle: Multipliers turn growth from linear to exponential. The art lies in designing loops where value compounds with every use.

Growth Engine 8: Ecosystems Multipliers … network effects to achieve more together

No company wins alone. The most powerful growth comes from ecosystems — orchestrating partners, developers, and collaborators into value-creating networks. Leading companies orchestrate their chosen ecosystems, but can also participate in others.

Jio: building India’s digital nation

When Reliance Industries launched Jio in 2016, it didn’t simply enter India’s telecom sector — it redefined it. By offering ultra-low-cost data and free voice calls, Jio democratized internet access almost overnight. Within a few years, it had added over 400 million subscribers, creating the largest mobile network in the world’s second most populous country. But Jio’s ambition was never just telecom. Mukesh Ambani’s vision was to build a national digital ecosystem — a foundation for India’s digital economy. Cheap data was only the first layer. On top of it, Jio began layering services in commerce, entertainment, payments, education, and health. JioMart integrates millions of kirana (mom-and-pop) stores into digital supply chains, enabling them to compete with modern retail. By digitizing inventory, logistics, and payments, Jio empowers small businesses to thrive in a digital-first economy. JioSaavn (music), JioCinema, and tie-ups with major streaming providers turned Jio into India’s entertainment hub, bundled into its network.

Jio partnered with global investors like Facebook (Meta), Google, and Silver Lake to scale its digital payments and fintech ambitions, embedding payments within WhatsApp and other consumer apps. Jio is investing in e-learning platforms, remote medical services, and AI-enabled diagnostics, targeting the underserved segments of society. What makes Jio’s ecosystem unique is its inclusivity. Unlike Silicon Valley ecosystems that often target affluent, urban users, Jio’s design is aimed at India’s next billion digital citizens — people in villages, small towns, and lower-income groups. By providing cheap access, localized content, and easy-to-use apps, Jio pulls in communities that were historically excluded from the digital economy.

BYD: mobility meets energy

BYD (Build Your Dreams), founded in China in 1995, began as a battery company. Today, it’s not just an electric vehicle leader — it’s the architect of a mobility-energy ecosystem that stretches from personal cars to citywide transit to renewable energy.

BYD controls its entire value chain — from mining lithium, to making its own batteries and chips, to producing EVs and buses. This creates a self-sufficient ecosystem that compounds resilience and scalability. Beyond vehicles, BYD produces solar panels and energy storage systems, connecting renewable energy to mobility. Homes, businesses, and even cities can plug into BYD’s grid. BYD supplies fleets of electric buses, monorails, and taxis to cities worldwide, embedding itself into public transport ecosystems from Shenzhen to Los Angeles.

What sets BYD apart is its systemic approach: it doesn’t just sell EVs, it designs a future where clean energy, batteries, and mobility form an integrated loop. In doing so, it shifts from being a car company to an infrastructure partner for sustainable cities.

Ping An: the financial-health super-ecosystem

Ping An operates one of the world’s most ambitious ecosystems. Its vision: finance + health + technology as one integrated life platform. Through Ping An Good Doctor, it connects hundreds of millions of users with doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies, while integrating insurance and payments seamlessly. Its Lufax platform provides online wealth management, while its auto ecosystem connects buyers, sellers, insurers, and lenders in one digital journey. Ping An invests heavily in AI and cloud technology, allowing these ecosystems to scale. Its model is sticky: once customers enter for health or finance, they often use multiple services. By orchestrating across life needs, Ping An becomes deeply embedded in its customers’ daily existence — far beyond what traditional banks or insurers could imagine.

Growth principle: Ecosystems expand growth horizons. Ecosystem orchestration is about being the conductor, not the soloist. Growth comes from enabling partners to thrive together.

Growth Engine 9: Regenerative Systems … creating circular, net positive impact

The old model of business growth extracted and depleted. The new one regenerates: creating value while restoring the environment and society, and scaling the business.

Climeworks: capturing CO₂ at scale

Swiss startup Climeworks builds direct air capture plants that pull CO₂ from the atmosphere and store it underground. Partnering with Microsoft, Stripe, and Shopify, it turns carbon removal into a business model. Its Orca plant in Iceland is the world’s largest carbon removal facility. Pioneering a new tech-led approach is not easy, and Climeworks has had to show resilience in a world of changing public policy, complex technology break through, and uncertain partners. However by proving viability through a series of ever-larger operations, Climeworks is pioneering an entirely new industry of climate regeneration.

Danone: food for one planet, one health

Danone reframed itself around the purpose “One Planet. One Health.” It invests in regenerative agriculture, plant-based nutrition, and stakeholder governance. By aligning growth with planetary wellbeing, Danone is building resilience while responding to consumer demand for sustainable, ethical food. It wasn’t easy, and at first the initiative championed by Emmanuel Faber lost direction, over focused on transformation, and not retaining short-term performance. That has now been corrected, and Danone exemplifies how embedding regenerative systems into core operations can deliver both societal benefit and scalable growth.

Interface: the positive carpet pioneer

Interface, once a conventional carpet maker, set a radical goal: to become carbon negative. Its “Climate Take Back” initiative uses recycled materials, biomimicry, and renewable energy to design carpets that remove carbon. Regeneration became its competitive advantage. Customers like architects and governments now choose Interface not just for quality but for sustainability leadership. Its approach illustrates that regeneration can become a growth engine, fostering loyalty, brand differentiation, and industry influence.

Growth principle: Regenerative growth is not philanthropy, CSR or even limited by ESG, not just about circularity, or getting to net zero. Instead it creates a net positive impact, good for business and society. It is the business model of the future.

How to use the playbook

The New Growth Playbook reframes growth for a new era. It is not about squeezing efficiencies or chasing fads. It is about imagining bold futures, driving purposeful ambition, finding the best market spaces, engaging customers more deeply, solving problems better, embracing the power of AI, unlocking data and networks, turning businesses into a regenerative system, that delivers more impact for society, and sustained value creation.

The power lies in combination: no single lever is enough, but together they form a growth engine. Different companies combine the accelerators in different ways:

• Nvidia connects Book of Dreams and Smart Space, with Hyper Innovation and Network Multipliers. 30 years in development, its dream took off with AI, growing exponentially to $4 trillion in the last 5 years.
• Ping An, the world’s biggest insurer, weaves together Space Framing, Dynamic Strategy, Nexus Solutions, and Growth Loops. It has created new businesses like Good Doctor, the worlds largest healthcare platform in 5 years.
• Nubank, the Brazilian bank thrives Smart Spaces, on Culture Coding, Network Multipliers, and Hyper Innovation. It started by targeting Brazil’s unbanked, educating and supporting local people, and now thrives across Latin America.

Business leaders, executive teams and boards, must ask:

• Which engines drive us today?
• Which are dormant or untapped?
• How can we combine them for exponential acceleration?

Growth in this century is not about squeezing efficiencies or clinging to industries. It is about reinventing the game: imagining bold futures, orchestrating ecosystems, harnessing AI, regenerating systems, and compounding long-term value.

The New Growth Playbook is a call to action for leaders obsessed with what’s next. Whether you’re Duolingo gamifying education, Hermès elevating craftsmanship, or Climeworks regenerating the planet, the engines of growth are clear.

The future belongs to the bold, the adaptive, the regenerative. The leaders who master it will not just survive — they will accelerate into the future.

More from Peter Fisk

In an age of accelerating disruption, every company faces a choice: adapt, transform, or fade away.

The next decade will be defined not by incremental progress but by seismic shifts in how the world works. Megatrends aren’t background noise; they’re the blueprint for what’s next. From AI to aging populations, climate collapse to geopolitical fracture, companies that thrive will be those that reinvent themselves in response to the tectonic forces reshaping society.

• Download the new “Megatrends 2035” report by Peter Fisk

In a world of relentless disruption, business leaders need more than strategy, they need a megatrend mindset.

That means looking forward, not back. It means anticipating the seismic shifts reshaping our economies, societies, and technologies, and acting before others do. Leaders must use them to galvanise their organisations, mobilise talent, and reimagine what their business is for. Reinvention can no longer be occasional or reactive, it must become a core capability, a cultural instinct, a superpower.

The future won’t wait. The companies that lead it will be those bold enough to shape it.

So, what is driving the future, and how can you be part of it?

Megatrends are long-term, transformative forces that are global in scope, cross-industry in impact, and inevitable in their trajectory. From climate change and technological convergence to demographic shifts and urbanization, megatrends are not just fleeting headlines—they are the undercurrents shaping the future of markets, societies, and business itself.

Ignoring megatrends is no longer an option. They influence how people live, what they value, how they consume, how they work, and how economies evolve. For businesses, this means rethinking what they offer, how they operate, and why they exist. Companies that spot these shifts early and act boldly are the ones that leapfrog competitors, shape new markets, and earn the right to lead.

We explore six megatrends with a 10-year perspective, already shaking up every market. They are the disruptive forces that threaten your existence, but equally your biggest opportunities, superhighways to future possibilities, driving innovation and growth. And then we consider what they mean for your industry. How will they drive reinvention? What are the critical actions for business leaders, and the broader mindset to adopt? And who can we learn from?

Ultimately, the question is what will you do as a business leader – now – to create a better tomorrow, to shape the future that you want, and in which your business can thrive.

Megatrend 1. Exponential Intelligence … business at the speed of thought

By 2035, AI will be embedded in every business process. Intelligent systems will generate over 90% of digital content.

The line between human and machine thinking will blur. Exponential Intelligence represents the rapid acceleration of AI, and the convergence of technologies – in particular genomics, robotics, blockchains and energy storage – and new capabilities such as quantum computing.

AI’s application are profound, from accelerating new personalised medicines to fighting climate change, and new business models that deliver hyper personalisation.

This megatrend signifies a shift from linear progress to exponential possibility, where machines increasingly augment human decisions, also enabling people to add value in new ways. In the future AI will not just support businesses, it will co-create with them.

Companies must embed AI across every core function, from operations to marketing to finance, and develop proprietary models tailored to their domain. Leading firms are reimagining customer experiences through predictive, hyperpersonalised interfaces and training their workforces for human-machine collaboration.

Why does it matter?

• AI will contribute over $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2035 (PwC).
• 90% of online content is projected to be AI-generated by 2026 (IBM).
• Over 40% of all jobs will be impacted by AI and automation (WEF)

What do we need to do?

• Apply AI models to core business activities to radically transform speed and costs, analysis and development
• Predict and personalise user interfaces to anticipate customer needs and serve them better and faster
• Build ecosystem business models to unlock mutual capabilities that capture the best new opportunities for growth.

Who’s doing it?

• Insilico Medicine: using AI to reinvent the process of drug discovery, development and evaluation, 10 times faster, 100 times cheaper
• Siemens: co-developing self-optimising autonomous factories using digital twins and AWS infrastructure
• Duolingo: Language learning reimagined with GPT-powered conversational roleplay, adapting instantly to user fluency and goals.

Megatrend 2. Generational Remix … older, urban, more different and personal

By 2035, society will be older, more urban, more different and personal — and yet also more connected than ever. Businesses must design for diversity, longevity, and identity.

Generational Remix captures the profound social transformation underway: populations are aging rapidly, cities are expanding, and cultural identities are becoming more diverse, fluid, and personal.

This megatrend is about designing for complexity and individuality – where different generations, values, and needs collide and co-create. It also drives fundamentally different support – older people are living longer with more affluence, for leisure and travel. Pensions will need to last longer, and healthcare costs will inevitably rise. Similarly urbanisation drives the reinvention of many services, from education and entertainment to how communities are built, and the rising power of city states.

Businesses must develop inclusive, intergenerational products and services; personalise offerings based on lifestyle rather than age; and embrace cultural plurality in design and communication. Planners must design cities, homes, and brands for 100-year lives, build inclusive, multigenerational workplaces, and address loneliness, mental health, and community. It is also about embedding cultural and demographic diversity into R&D. This is about treating every customer—and employee—not as a demographic, but as a unique human.

Why does it matter?

• 20% of global population will be over 60 by 2035, more than under 18
• 68% of the world will live in cities by 2035, and more in single homes
• 90% of global population growth to 2050 will be in Africa and Asia (UN)

What do we need to do?

• Develop intergenerational products and services, personalise offerings based on lifestyle and diverse identities
• Urban planning to design cities, homes, and brands for 100-year lives, build inclusive, multigenerational workplaces
• Reinvent urban services, from education and entertainment to how communities are built, and the rising power of city states.

Who’s doing it?

• Philips HealthSuite: Cloud-based health platform for remote care, chronic condition monitoring, and aging-in-place solutions.
• Nestlé Health Science: Investing in personalised nutrition, gut health, and senior wellness—especially in fast-aging markets.
• Toyota Woven City: A prototype smart city in Japan designed for autonomous vehicles, robotic assistance, and aging-friendly living.

Megatrend 3. Asian Century … economic shift to the east, and volatility everywhere

Asia is the gravitational centre of global growth. By 2035, most middle-class consumers will live in Asia. The region will lead in innovation, consumption, and complexity.

The Asian Century represents the rebalancing of global economic power towards Asia and the Global South. These regions are not just growth markets—they are innovation hubs, cultural trendsetters, and geopolitical forces reshaping the future.

While Asia’s huge population with increasing disposable income will increasingly dominate the world’s consumer markets, Asia’s businesses have also dramatically shifted from cheap imitators of western goods, to leaping ahead in their application of new technologies, new business models, and innovations.

Businesses must do more than export to Asia—they must co-create in and for Asia, localising products for fast-rising middle classes in Tier 2/3 cities, collaborating with Asian startups, and embedding cultural relevance into innovation. India, Vietnam, Indonesia are popular locations for global R&D hubs. New digital trade corridors (eg RCEP, BRICS+ alliances) are reconfiguring markets.  Superapps like Jio and Grab provide easy access to markets, through collaboration with their ecosystems. But with growth, prepare for volatility.

Why does it matter?

• Asia will contribute 65% of global GDP growth by 2035 (IMF)
• Over 50% of global consumer spending will be Asian by then.
• 83% of global AI-related patents are filed by Asian companies (Wired)

What do we need to do?

• Seize the Asian market opportunity, finding effective ways to access and compete eg Indonesia, Vietnam, tier 2/3 cities, BRIC trade corridor
• Localise and co-create with local partners, finding cultural relevance and sourcing and manufacturing locally.
• Learn from the best Asian companies, who have leapfrogged the west, and are typically the most innovative, agile and efficient in the world.

Who’s doing it?

• BYD: China’s batteries to EV giant has become the global leader, and in clean energy too
• Xiaomi: Creating consumer electronic products equal or superior to western peers but 90% cheaper
• LVMH Asia Studios: Culturally attuned luxury innovation, where Asian consumer no longer want western goods

Megatrend 4. Regenerative Systems … from climate crisis to net positive impact

Climate change is the defining risk and opportunity of our time. But the frontrunners are moving beyond carbon-neutral to climate-positive and nature-regenerating models.

Regenerative Systems is about moving beyond sustainability as damage limitation toward a model that actively restores, replenishes, and reimagines the relationship between business and the planet. With the climate crisis accelerating and ecosystems under pressure, the regenerative economy is a shift from extractive to circular, from carbon-neutral to climate-positive.

The impact however can be even greater when we look beyond carbon – to other materials and resources – in particular, water and biodiversity. It can be greater still when we embrace social and environmental issues together, as they are often systemically connected.

This is when businesses really can reinvent for net positive impact.

Businesses must transition from compliance to leadership—transforming supply chains into regenerative ecosystems, adopting circular design, and tying executive incentives to sustainability performance. This includes decarbonising supply chains with digital ESG tracking, linking executive pay to sustainability goals, restoring biodiversity and natural capital, and creating planet-positive products and services.

Why does it matter?

• The world’s business systems are still only 6.9% “circular” (IPCC)
• Clean energy will be 60% of the global energy mix by 2035 (IEA)
• Embedding the 17 SDGs is worth $12 trillion, and 380 million jobs (UN)

What do we need to do?

• Develop regenerative business models, going far beyond CSR and ESG, circular and net zero, to create net positive impact
• Think beyond carbon to embrace other challenges eg biodiversity, water, but also social issues eg equality, fairness, etc
• Focus innovation on the big problems, AI to address climate change and disease, to create 40% more food, 50% more energy, in new ways

Who’s doing it?

• Schneider Electric: Helping cities and factories go carbon-neutral through connected, AI-managed energy efficiency platforms.
• Interface: creating net-positive floor tiles that absorb carbon, creating the “factory as the forest”
• Nubank: world’s fastest growing bank from Brazil, targeting the unbanked, building financial literacy, reducing poverty, and building inclusion.

Megatrend 5. Multipolar World … geopolitical tension and the end of globalisation

The old model of seamless globalisation is fragmenting. Economic nationalism, digital sovereignty, and supply chain shocks driven by conflicts and tariffs are reshaping business strategy.

Multipolarity marks the end of the unipolar, globalised world as we knew it. With growing geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation, and inwards facing economic policies, companies are navigating a world of shifting alliances, digital borders, and regional blocs.

By 2035, over 70% of global trade will occur within regional networks. Data sovereignty regulations will be in place in dozens of countries, and supply chains will be redesigned for resilience, not just cost.

Businesses must nearshore manufacturing, create flexible, modular operations, and navigate complex trade relationships with agility and foresight. The reinvention challenge is to build resilience without retreat—balancing localisation with global ambition.

Why does it matter?

• Global trade as a % of global GDP has declined since 2008 (OECD)
• By 2035, over 70% of global trade will occur within regional networks
• 84% of global executives now rate geopolitical as their top risk (McKinsey)

What do we need to do?

• Redesign supply chains for resilience, agility not cost, nearshoring and partnering closer to customer markets,
• Diversify your global spread of markets and operations, to spread risk and be more responsive to change.
• Address data sovereignty, and other issues such as IP protection, regulation, cybersecurity, with foresight and influence.

Who’s doing it?

• Apple: Accelerating iPhone and chip production in India to diversify away from China, including flagship stores in Mumbai and Delhi.
• Inditex: Strengthening local production in Europe and the Americas to respond faster and reduce geopolitical exposure.
• Flexport: Creating tech tools to reroute and de-risk global supply chains in real-time amid fragmentation and shocks.

Megatrend 6. Humanity Rising … more purposeful, caring and collective progress

The most powerful force in business is the human one. Trust, wellbeing, meaning, and social contribution are now core to business strategy.

Humanity Rising is a movement toward putting people and purpose at the heart of business. It reflects a shift from transactional to meaningful work, from shareholder primacy to stakeholder ecosystems, and from short-term profit to long-term wellbeing.

As automation, and specifically AI, takes on the repetitive tasks of many workflows, business need to redesign human roles for more added value.

Companies must rewire culture around empathy, trust, and meaning; invest in human-centred leadership; and design work for life, not just productivity.

By 2035, businesses that lead on purpose and wellbeing will significantly outperform their peers. Mental health will be a core performance metric, and the human experience of work—flexibility, autonomy, growth—will shape loyalty and innovation.

Humanocracy calls for ”organisations as amazing as the people inside them”. Microsoft’s Satya Nadella recognised this calling for his organisation to be a platform to showcase each person’s unique talents, to let them achieve their ambitions, rather than just being the cog in the works of a corporate machine.

Why does it matter?

• Purpose-driven brands grow 2.5x faster than average brands (WARC)
• 77% of GenZ seek meaningful work, and buy meaningful brands (McKinsey)
• AI augmentation is likely to improve human productivity by 40% by 2035

What do we need to do?

• Create purposeful business strategies, that turn purpose into real action and delivers better progress – profitable growth and positive impact.
• Redesign for human added value so that technology automates processes, releasing people to achieve more
• Build organisations as amazing as the people inside them: empowering, democratic, enabling, caring, dynamic, resilient and daring.

Who’s doing it?

• Danone: Legally binding mission-driven governance (B Corp), in its shift from food to becoming a health business
• Salesforce: Flexibility, purpose, ethics as a platform, mental health through “Success from Anywhere” strategy
• Mindera: Portuguese software “made by humans” … people-first culture fostering innovation through community, autonomy, and trust.

How megatrends drive business reinvention

Every industry is being reinvented.

These 6 megatrends create a perfect storm of technological breakthroughs, shifting consumer expectations, environmental imperatives, and economic uncertainty that are driving radical transformation across every sector. The boundaries between industries are blurring, value is migrating to new models and ecosystems, and the winners of tomorrow are being shaped today.

From automotive to insurance, banking to retail, energy to healthcare, established players face existential pressure to change. Legacy systems, slow-moving cultures, and risk-averse mindsets are being outpaced by fast, bold innovators—companies that use data, AI, and platform thinking to deliver better, smarter, more sustainable solutions. Tesla isn’t just a car company. Amazon isn’t just a retailer. They’re both operating systems for the future.

Disruptors are emerging from every corner of the globe—scaling faster, experimenting more aggressively, and harnessing the power of technology to solve meaningful problems.

These next generation leaders are obsessed with what’s next. They blend purpose and profit, long-term impact and short-term agility. But incumbents aren’t out of the race. The most forward-looking are reinventing themselves, acquiring new capabilities, and unlocking value from their intangible assets—brand, trust, ecosystems, and intelligence.

The next five years will be decisive. Growth will come not from doing more of the same, but from reimagining what’s possible—through smart automation, regenerative design, AI-powered personalization, and bold new business models. The winners will be those who stretch their vision, embrace uncertainty, and build for the future—not the past.

Reinventing Automotive

When Lei Jun unveiled the SU7 electric supercar from his smartphone maker Xiaomi, with comparable features but over 90% cheaper than a Porsche Taycan, we knew the industry was not just being disrupted, but fundamentally reinvented. No longer just about horsepower and design, the future of cars became about software, autonomy, and energy ecosystems. Disruptors like Tesla, BYD, and Rivian are redefining mobility, while incumbents like GM and VW scramble to catch up. The future belongs to firms that can merge electric drivetrains with data-driven intelligence, build direct customer relationships, and plug into renewable grids.

• Key Drivers: EV revolution, autonomy, mobility-as-a-service
• Disruptors: Tesla, BYD, Rivian, Waymo, Nio, Xiaomi
• Incumbents: VW and Hyundai invest heavily in EVs and batteries; GM pivots toward all-electric by 2035
• Future Winners: Tesla remains dominant due to its integrated energy + mobility model; Chinese EV players like BYD are poised to lead on affordability and scale; Apple and Sony may emerge through software-first approaches
• Growth Areas: EVs, autonomous fleets, in-car software, subscription mobility
• Outlook: $5T transformation underway; platforms and ecosystems will define winners

Reinventing Banking

In Brazil, David Vélez launched Nubank to free people from bureaucratic, fee-heavy traditional banks. With nothing more than a smartphone and a smile, customers signed up for accounts in minutes. Nubank now serves over 90 million users. Fintechs are rewriting the rules with embedded finance, AI risk models, and crypto rails. Traditional banks must become platforms, not fortresses. Future leaders will be those who turn trust, data, and user experience into intelligent financial ecosystems.

• Key Drivers: Fintech, AI, blockchain, real-time services
• Disruptors: Nubank, Revolut, Stripe, Square, DeFi
• Incumbents: JPMorgan and DBS investing in AI, APIs, and sustainability-linked finance
• Future Winners: Digital-first, customer-centric, embedded finance providers that turn financial services into frictionless tools
• Growth Areas: AI-enabled wealth tools, crypto custody, sustainable lending
• Outlook: Banking becomes invisible, embedded in lifestyle

Reinventing Construction

Using 3D printing, Icon built a house in 24 hours using a giant robotic arm and a special concrete blend—radically reducing time, cost, and environmental impact. This illustrates the kind of breakthrough needed in a notoriously slow-moving industry. Innovation now means modular, smart, and zero-carbon construction. Giants like Skanska are investing in digital twins and low-carbon cement. Winners will combine automation, green design, and tech-savvy talent to transform how we build the future.

• Key Drivers: Green buildings, modular methods, robotics
• Disruptors: Icon (3D printing), Katerra (prefab), CarbonCure (CO2 tech)
• Incumbents: Skanska, Bouygues, Holcim, and Turner adopting digital twins and zero-carbon materials
• Future Winners: Tech-integrated construction firms that deliver faster, cleaner, cheaper buildings; smart infrastructure providers
• Growth Areas: Smart cities, digital twins, sustainable housing
• Outlook: $1T green retrofit and smart build opportunity

Reinventing Energy

Octopus Energy is disrupting utilities by putting customers at the heart of a clean energy revolution—offering dynamic pricing, transparency, and rapid green energy switching. In an industry long dominated by giant incumbents, it proved agility can win. The transition to net zero, powered by solar, wind, hydrogen, and AI-managed grids, is accelerating. Winners will not just produce energy, but orchestrate energy flows, storage, and demand across intelligent, decentralised networks.

• Key Drivers: Decarbonization, decentralization, storage
• Disruptors: Tesla Energy, Octopus Energy, Vestas, Climeworks
• Incumbents: Shell, TotalEnergies, and BP redefining themselves as energy transition companies
• Future Winners: Companies that integrate solar, wind, storage, and smart grids into unified platforms
• Growth Areas: Renewables, green hydrogen, carbon capture, virtual power plants
• Outlook: Clean energy to dominate mix by 2030; trillion-dollar opportunity

Reinventing Entertainment

When Roblox went public, it revealed that kids were spending more time building and playing in virtual worlds than watching TV. Entertainment is no longer passive—it’s immersive, participatory, and social. New models powered by creators, fans, and algorithms are dominating, as traditional studios play catch-up. Netflix disrupted distribution; now AI and generative content are the new frontiers. Winners will build platforms that blend content, community, and co-creation.

• Key Drivers: Streaming, gaming, AI content, creator economy
• Disruptors: Netflix, Epic Games, Roblox, TikTok
• Incumbents: Disney+ reinvention; Warner Bros. bets on streaming + IP
• Future Winners: Firms that merge entertainment, social engagement, and immersive tech; those who own IP and fan relationships
• Growth Areas: AI-generated content, gamified storytelling, AR/VR
• Outlook: Creator platforms to become dominant media forces

Reinventing Fashion

Pangaia isn’t just a fashion brand—it’s a material science company using seaweed fibers and bacteria-based dyes to reinvent sustainable clothing. Fashion is being reshaped by digital identities, circular design, and transparent supply chains. Fast fashion disruptors like Shein use real-time data and micro-inventory, while luxury players are experimenting with resale and digital fashion. Future winners will merge purpose with personalization, creating garments that are smart, sustainable, and story-driven.

• Key Drivers: Sustainability, digital fashion, circularity
• Disruptors: Shein, ThredUp, Pangaia, DressX
• Incumbents: LVMH and Zara building closed-loop supply chains and digital experiences
• Future Winners: Brands that mix identity, impact, and innovation; digital-native and circular-first businesses
• Growth Areas: Resale, AI design, bio-materials, virtual clothing
• Outlook: Fashion shifts from volume to value, driven by tech + conscience

Reinventing Food and Drink

At NotCo, AI named Giuseppe creates plant-based versions of animal products by analyzing molecular similarities. It made mayo, milk, and meat that taste like the real thing—but aren’t. This signals a shift toward food as software: designed, personalized, and planetary. The food revolution is being driven by sustainability, health, and technology. Giants like Nestlé are investing in alt-proteins. Winners will feed the future with science, values, and delicious innovation.

• Key Drivers: Health, sustainability, transparency
• Disruptors: Beyond Meat, Oatly, NotCo, Upside Foods
• Incumbents: Nestlé and Unilever invest in plant-based and direct-to-consumer (DTC) platforms
• Future Winners: Brands that align with planetary and personal health; those who digitize the food chain
• Growth Areas: Alt protein, fermentation tech, personalized nutrition
• Outlook: $300B alt-protein industry by 2030; data becomes the key ingredient

Reinventing Healthcare

During the COVID-19 pandemic, BioNTech—once a little-known biotech firm—partnered with Pfizer to deliver a vaccine in record time using mRNA technology. It was a moonshot moment. Healthcare is being reinvented through genomics, AI, and patient-centric platforms. Startups like Tempus and Babylon offer predictive care and digital diagnoses, while incumbents digitize clinical pathways. Future leaders will move from treating illness to preventing it—personalized, predictive, and precision-driven.

• Key Drivers: AI, genomics, personalized medicine
• Disruptors: Tempus, BioNTech, 23andMe, Babylon Health
• Incumbents: Pfizer, Novartis and Roche embed AI across drug discovery and diagnostics
• Future Winners: Companies delivering preventive, digital, and personalized care at scale
• Growth Areas: AI drug discovery, wearable diagnostics, gene therapies
• Outlook: From reactive to proactive care; multi-trillion-dollar ecosystem

Reinventing Insurance

Lemonade turned heads by settling some claims in under 3 seconds, using AI and behavioral economics. It proved insurance doesn’t have to be slow, opaque, or distrusted. Climate volatility and shifting lifestyles demand real-time, proactive coverage. Incumbents like Munich Re are adapting with prevention-as-a-service. The winners will anticipate, not just insure—embedding risk reduction, AI insights, and customer trust into everything.

• Key Drivers: Risk prevention, personalization, AI pricing
• Disruptors: Lemonade, Zego, FloodFlash, Trōv
• Incumbents: AXA and Munich Re building smart risk platforms and climate resilience tools
• Future Winners: Insurers who evolve into risk-reduction partners powered by real-time data
• Growth Areas: Parametric insurance, embedded models, prevention-as-a-service
• Outlook: Reinvention from safety net to proactive value provider

Reinventing Manufacturing

Relativity Space is using 3D printing to make rockets—95% fewer parts, far faster iterations. It’s a symbol of manufacturing’s new age: flexible, intelligent, and software-defined. Automation, IoT, and AI are transforming everything from design to delivery. Legacy players like Siemens and GE are embracing digital twins. The factories of the future will be smart, sustainable, and continuously learning.

• Key Drivers: Industry 4.0, robotics, sustainability
• Disruptors: Relativity Space, Xometry, Vention
• Incumbents: Siemens, GE, and Bosch digitizing supply chains and factory floors
• Future Winners: Agile, hyper-automated, sustainable manufacturers with digital cores
• Growth Areas: Smart factories, additive manufacturing, nearshoring
• Outlook: $1T+ productivity gains from intelligent manufacturing

Reinventing Retail

Shopify gave small businesses global reach with a few clicks—and now powers millions of storefronts. Retail is shifting from stores to ecosystems, driven by social commerce, AI curation, and instant fulfillment. Amazon, Temu, and ThredUp are reshaping expectations. Incumbents must combine digital agility with deep human insight. The next winners will create seamless, personalized, and values-based retail experiences.

• Key Drivers: Omnichannel, AI personalization, circularity
• Disruptors: Amazon, Shopify, Temu, ThredUp
• Incumbents: Walmart and Target investing in AI, last-mile, experiential retail
• Future Winners: Ecosystem retailers blending physical, digital, and sustainable offerings
• Growth Areas: Social commerce, live shopping, AI recommendation engines
• Outlook: Retail = technology; brand trust + data + delivery = competitive edge

Reinventing Technology

When OpenAI released ChatGPT, it stunned the world—and ignited an AI arms race. Technology is the force multiplier of every transformation. AI, quantum, chips, and decentralised platforms are reshaping what’s possible. Disruptors like DeepMind and Anthropic push the frontiers, while incumbents like Microsoft integrate AI into everything. The winners will be ecosystem architects, building the foundations of a superintelligent, secure, and inclusive digital world.

• Key Drivers: AI, cloud, quantum, cybersecurity
• Disruptors: OpenAI, DeepMind, Anthropic, Nvidia
• Incumbents: Microsoft and Google integrating GenAI across platforms
• Future Winners: Platform-native firms owning data, chips, and AI layers
• Growth Areas: GenAI, autonomous agents, AI operating systems
• Outlook: Tech drives all other industries; $10T+ value shift imminent

Reinventing Telecoms

Starlink launched satellites fast enough to beam high-speed internet to war zones and remote villages alike. It showed how agile, hardware-software integrated telecom can leapfrog legacy infrastructure. With 5G, edge computing, and AI, telecom is evolving into a platform for everything—especially B2B. The leaders will connect not just people, but machines, data, and intelligence.

• Key Drivers: 5G, private networks, AI-managed ops
• Disruptors: Starlink, Rakuten Mobile, Helium Network
• Incumbents: AT&T, BT, and Orange reposition as digital service providers
• Future Winners: Providers offering integrated connectivity, intelligence, and cloud-edge infrastructure
• Growth Areas: Satellite internet, B2B 5G, telecom-as-a-platform
• Outlook: Telcos reinvent as enablers of digital society

Reinventing Travel

Airbnb changed not just where we stay—but how we experience the world. It made travel more local, personal, and flexible. Now, the rise of conscious travelers, nomadic workers, and immersive tech is redefining journeys. EcoHotels and digital nomad platforms are growing fast. Future winners will offer sustainable, seamless, and soul-nourishing travel—with data-driven personalisation and low-impact design.

• Key Drivers: Sustainable tourism, remote work, personalization
• Disruptors: Airbnb, Boom, Hopper, Nomadic, EcoHotels
• Incumbents: Marriott and Accor push eco-design, digital concierge, loyalty platforms
• Future Winners: Brands offering flexible, immersive, low-impact experiences
• Growth Areas: Bleisure (business + leisure), digital nomad services, green destinations
• Outlook: Travel reimagined around purpose, data, and experience.

Building a megatrend mindset

What the 6 megatrends share is a combination of inevitability and complexity.

They unfold over years, even decades, but their effects are accelerating. They create new winners and losers, and they require a mindset that is radically different from the one that dominated business in the past.

Traditional business thinking is rooted in linear assumptions, efficiency optimization, and incremental growth. But megatrends don’t follow linear rules. They interact with one another in unpredictable ways. They often create inflection points—sudden, nonlinear changes—that disrupt even the most well-defended industries.

Just consider how the fusion of mobile technology, social platforms, and AI enabled the rise of entirely new business models like Uber, and then TikTok which is as much about entertainment and shopping as networking. And over the last 18 months, AI platforms like ChatGPT have accelerated rapidly to challenge the very existence of the likes of Google.

In this environment, the most dangerous mindset is one of stability and control. The world no longer rewards those who cling to certainty or simply extrapolate the past forward. Instead, it favours those who embrace perpetual reinvention—those who can sense, adapt, and act at the speed of change.

To do that, leaders need to cultivate what we might call a “megatrend mindset”—a deep awareness of the forces reshaping the world, combined with the humility to question assumptions, the curiosity to explore what’s emerging, and the courage to make bold moves before the path is clear.

What Is a Megatrend Mindset?

A megatrend mindset is not just a set of insights or predictions—it’s a new operating philosophy for how leaders think, decide, and lead in uncertainty. It is defined by several key shifts:

• From short-term to long-view thinking: Leaders must look beyond quarterly targets and focus on building future-fit businesses. This means identifying long-term opportunities and investing in capabilities that align with where the world is going—not just where it is now.
• From control to navigating complexity: Instead of trying to manage complexity away, leaders must learn to navigate it. This includes using systems thinking, scenario planning. Strategies become more directional and agile, as embiguity and uncertainty are part of normality.
• From optimisation to reinventing everything: Efficiency alone won’t drive tomorrow’s growth. Reinvention does. Leaders must be willing to rethink their business model, reshape their value proposition, and reimagine their entire organisations and ecosystems for how they deliver impact—over and over again.
• From fixed expertise to dynamic learning: Expertise is becoming perishable. What matters more is learning agility—the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn faster than the pace of change. A megatrend mindset fosters a culture of exploration, experimentation, and continuous growth.
• From reactive to proactive transformation: Waiting for change to hit before acting is a losing strategy. The megatrend mindset pushes organizations to lead change—to shape emerging markets, experiment with new models, and continually challenge their own relevance.

Why This Mindset Matters Now

The world is entering a new era where change is not just fast—it’s relentless.

As technologies compound, environmental pressures intensify, and social expectations shift, the gap between what businesses are and what they need to become is growing wider. Those that fail to evolve will fall behind. Those that embrace change will define the next generation of value creation.

Companies like DSM have learnt to continually reinvent themselves – from Dutch coal mining to chemicals to lifesciences – or Fujifilm – from camera film to medical imaging to cosmetics and personalised medicines.

India’s Jio superapp was born out Reliance, a petrochemical giant seeking to diversify, beyond industrial markets. It built a lifestyle brand, built an ecosystem of connected services, and then a payments platform, to capture the wallets of a billion consumers.

Even legacy giants like Microsoft and Schneider Electric have transformed themselves by aligning deeply with sustainability, cloud, and AI megatrends.

The lesson is clear: Reinvention is not a one-off event. It is a mindset, a discipline, and a continuous act of strategic courage.

A Megatrend Mindset applied to business is in reality a Reinvention Mindset.

How to Lead with a Megatrend Mindset

For leaders looking to build this mindset into their organisation, here are some actions to consider:

• Scan broadly, think deeply: Build a habit of horizon scanning—actively tracking megatrends across sectors, geographies, and disciplines. Then connect the dots to your business.
• Reimagine your core assumptions: Regularly challenge the core beliefs that underpin your strategy. Ask: What if they’re no longer true?
• Build strategic foresight capacity: Equip teams with tools like scenarios, futures thinking, and trend mapping to make uncertainty a source of advantage.
• Invest in transformative innovation: Go beyond incremental improvement. Explore bold ideas, fund experiments, and build partnerships at the edges of your ecosystem.
• Develop future-fit talent: Prioritize skills like creativity, critical thinking, and digital fluency—traits essential for navigating complexity.
• Lead with purpose and resilience: Anchor your organization in a clear purpose that aligns with societal needs, while building the agility to adapt as the context changes.

How will you lead your future?

In a world where megatrends are reshaping everything, the biggest risk is not disruption—it’s irrelevance. The future will not be inherited by the largest or the strongest, but by those who are the most adaptable, visionary, and bold. Developing a megatrend mindset isn’t optional—it’s essential.

For business leaders, this is a moment of truth. Will you merely react to change—or lead it? Will you wait for the future to arrive—or help shape it?

The answer will define not just your next quarter, but your next decade.

Welcome to the age of reinvention.

More from Peter Fisk

Luxury companies operate at the intersection of aspiration, craftsmanship, and experience.

Unlike mass-market businesses, luxury trades not merely in products but in emotion, narrative, and identity. Its value is largely intangible, built on brand, heritage, quality, and trust.

Today, data, AI, and digital ecosystems are redefining what is possible for luxury. Yet, transformation in this sector is often misunderstood. It is not incremental change. It is a profound reorientation of strategy, culture, operations, and customer engagement to unlock new levels of relevance, growth, and resilience.

• The AI-Driven Reinvention of Luxury … from LVMH’s AI “factory” to Gucci’s immersive storytelling, how AI can transform products and experiences, business models and profitability
• Reinventing Business with AI … Every business is now an AI business … transforming how we live and work, and driving exponential economic growth

So what does transformation really means for luxury companies, how does it differs from change, what are the strategic, commercial, and operational shifts it can enable, and the leadership mindset required to succeed?

Transformation versus Change

Many executives conflate change with transformation. Change is often incremental: updating a process, launching a new marketing campaign, or adding a service. Transformation is holistic. It challenges the organization’s identity, business model, and relationship with customers.

In luxury, transformation must balance continuity and evolution. Customers expect timeless craftsmanship yet demand contemporary relevance. Hermès exemplifies this balance. Its transformation is subtle yet strategic: modernizing supply chains, embedding sustainability, and selectively innovating without compromising artisanal expertise. The lesson is clear: transformation can be evolutionary yet profound, if guided by a disciplined strategy and a clear understanding of brand essence.

Transformational Shifts

Luxury transformation unfolds across three interconnected dimensions:

Strategic Shifts: From Product to Ecosystem

Luxury is no longer defined solely by objects. The most successful brands curate ecosystems of experience. Apple provides a quintessential example. It transcends product-centricity by integrating hardware, software, and services into a seamless ecosystem that touches every aspect of users’ lives. AI and analytics enable predictive personalization, delivering tailored experiences at scale while maintaining brand coherence.

Similarly, Nio, the premium EV-and-lifestyle brand from China, has created a connected ecosystem combining vehicles, digital services, and community engagement. Nio’s transformation illustrates that luxury today extends beyond ownership—it is about lifestyle, experience, and community.

Hermès also demonstrates ecosystem thinking in a subtler way. By carefully managing its boutiques, client experiences, and bespoke services, the company ensures that every touchpoint reinforces the brand’s narrative of exclusivity and craftsmanship. The ecosystem is therefore not only technological but relational.

Commercial Shifts: From Exclusivity to Intimacy

Traditionally, luxury defined itself through scarcity and price. AI and data now enable hyper-personalization, allowing brands to create intimacy without diluting exclusivity. Omega exemplifies this approach. Using predictive insights, Omega anticipates client preferences, customizes communications, and curates experiences that deepen emotional engagement. Hermès applies similar principles through personal client services, ensuring rarity is meaningful, not arbitrary.

Exclusivity in the AI era becomes about relevance, not just scarcity. Personalized experiences, tailored communications, and proactive service redefine the relationship between brand and customer, creating a new dimension of luxury.

Operational Shifts: From Intuition to Precision

Operational excellence is foundational to luxury. Today, AI and data analytics amplify precision and foresight. Porsche, for instance, integrates analytics into production planning, inventory optimization, and predictive maintenance, ensuring operational efficiency while preserving the high-touch experiences expected by luxury clients.

Bang & Olufsen balances its heritage craftsmanship with data-driven insight. Analytics inform design decisions, supply chain planning, and after-sales service. The company demonstrates that operational transformation reinforces—not compromises—the brand promise.

These shifts illustrate a critical principle: operational excellence is not an end in itself but a strategic enabler of customer experience, brand integrity, and commercial growth.

Patterns of AI-Driven Luxury Transformation

Across luxury, recurring patterns of transformation emerge, particularly where AI and digital capabilities enhance strategy:

• From Heritage to Reinvention – Balancing timeless brand values with contemporary relevance, leveraging data to guide innovation.

• From Storytelling to Co-Creation – Platforms and AI enable clients to participate in shaping experiences, from product customization to engagement in digital communities.

• From Product to Ecosystem – Extending luxury beyond objects into connected services and experiences.

• From Exclusivity to Intimacy – Using predictive insights to create personal and meaningful interactions.

• From Intuition to Prediction – Augmenting human judgment with data to anticipate trends, demand, and customer needs.

Luxury transformers

Burberry: Digital-first intimacy

Burberry has embraced digital transformation as a strategic lever for luxury engagement:

• AI-Driven Personalization: Predictive analytics inform tailored marketing, communications, and customer experiences.

• Digital-First Retail: AR and virtual try-on experiences enhance online engagement.

• Omnichannel Integration: Seamless connection between physical stores, digital platforms, and client services strengthens brand intimacy.

Burberry demonstrates that exclusivity can coexist with personalized, highly relevant experiences, deepening brand loyalty.

Hermès: Subtle and strategic reinvention

Hermès exemplifies how transformation can be evolutionary yet profound. Its leadership focuses on:

• Operational Excellence: Modernizing supply chains to reduce inefficiencies while preserving artisanal quality.

• Customer Intimacy: Personalizing services and experiences using client insights.

• Sustainable Innovation: Experimenting with materials and processes that respect heritage while aligning with contemporary values.

Hermès demonstrates that transformation need not be radical to be effective; it can reinforce brand essence while building resilience and relevance.

Apple: Ecosystem transformation

Apple transcends product-centricity, integrating hardware, software, and services to create seamless experiences. Key features include:

• Integrated Ecosystems: Devices, apps, and services form a cohesive user experience.

• Predictive Personalization: AI anticipates user needs, optimizing interaction and service.

• Co-Creation: Users participate in shaping experiences, contributing to communities and app ecosystems.

Apple demonstrates that luxury is increasingly about experiences, relationships, and digital ecosystems, not just the product itself.

Bang & Olufsen: Data-Enhanced Heritage

B&O blends design heritage with analytics, using data to inform:

• Product Design: Insights guide innovation while preserving brand identity.

• Customer Engagement: Predictive analytics enhance after-sales service and client relationships.

• Operational Decisions: Data drives inventory planning and quality assurance.

B&O illustrates how operational intelligence can reinforce brand promise and enable sustainable transformation.

Brunello Cucinelli: Human-Centric Transformation

Cucinelli combines tradition, ethical principles, and technology to guide transformation:

• Purpose-Driven Leadership: Transformation is anchored in humanistic values, preserving artisanal heritage.

• Data-Informed Craftsmanship: Selective use of analytics guides production and client insights without undermining artisanal quality.

• Experiential Retail: Flagship stores and curated experiences focus on storytelling, emotional engagement, and brand intimacy.

Cucinelli demonstrates that luxury transformation can be profoundly human-centric, balancing ethics, heritage, and modern relevance.

Moncler: Luxury Digital Immersion

Fashion brand Moncler leverages digital innovation to redefine customer experience:

• AI-Powered Online Experience: Generative AI and video tools create immersive digital showrooms.

• E-Commerce as Experience: The website functions as a luxury destination, not just a point of sale.

• Integrated Omnichannel Engagement: Seamless connection between physical retail and digital interactions enhances personalization.

Moncler exemplifies how luxury brands can blend digital innovation with experiential storytelling to maintain exclusivity and relevance.

Porsche: Operational and Experiential Precision

Porsche integrates AI to:

• Predictive Maintenance: Anticipating client needs and vehicle servicing.

• Inventory Optimization: Efficiently managing production while maintaining exclusivity.

• Tailored Client Journeys: Personalizing experiences from purchase to after-sales.

Porsche shows that operational rigor and client experience are mutually reinforcing pillars of transformation.

Nio: Connected ecosystems

Chinese luxury brand NIO transforms vehicles into lifestyle ecosystems, providing:

• Integrated Digital Services: Subscription models, predictive maintenance, and user apps.

• Community Engagement: Owners participate in brand communities, events, and shared experiences.

• Predictive Insights: AI informs customer needs, usage patterns, and service interactions.

Nio shows that luxury is expanding beyond products into networks of experiences, where data and digital touchpoints create ongoing engagement.

H. Moser & Cie: Digital innovation in craftsmanship

H. Moser & Cie has integrated cutting-edge technology into traditional Swiss watchmaking:

• NFTs and Digital Twins: Ownership and provenance are secured digitally, blending craft with innovation.

• Selective Experimentation: Limited editions create exclusivity while leveraging digital engagement.

• Customer Engagement: High-tech features allow for new forms of intimacy and collector relationships.

This illustrates how luxury can harmonize tradition with modern technology to transform both product and client interaction.

Boucheron: Craft meets technology

Boucheron combines traditional jewelry craftsmanship with technological innovation:

• 3D-Printed Plant-Based Resin: Enables intricate high-jewelry designs while preserving artisanal quality.

• Sustainable Experimentation: Technology allows new methods for ethical luxury design.

• Operational Precision: Analytics inform production and design without diluting heritage.

Boucheron shows that luxury transformation can be both creative and operational, marrying craft with innovation.

Titan Company: Premium innovation in India

India’s Titan demonstrates that transformation is not limited to European or American brands:

• Vertically Integrated Operations: Enables efficiency, quality, and innovation in premium watchmaking.

• Global Aspirations: Leveraging data and production excellence to compete with Swiss luxury brands.

• Product and Customer Focus: AI and analytics optimize design, inventory, and client engagement.

Titan illustrates that operational discipline and data-driven strategy can drive luxury transformation globally.

Transformational Leaders

From these examples, several clear lessons emerge:

• Purpose-Driven Strategy – Transformation succeeds when anchored in a clear, authentic purpose.

• Culture as a Lever – Cultivating curiosity, experimentation, and disciplined execution enables adoption.

• Ecosystems Over Products – Luxury advantage increasingly comes from curated experiences, not just objects.

• Human-Centric Leadership – Transformation is ultimately about people: inspiring, enabling, and aligning.

• Data as Feedback, Not Directive – Analytics inform judgment but do not replace intuition.

• Iterative Momentum – Incremental wins validate initiatives, reduce resistance, and accelerate change.

Transformation in luxury is not a technological project—it is a human and strategic discipline. It integrates leadership, culture, operations, and customer experience to create brands that are simultaneously timeless and adaptive. AI, data, and digital tools enable unprecedented insight, operational precision, and customer intimacy, but their value depends on human judgment, strategic vision, and purposeful execution.

These shifts require emotional intelligence, patience, and courage. Leaders must navigate paradoxes: preserving heritage while innovating, maintaining exclusivity while fostering intimacy, and blending intuition with data-driven insight.

Luxury executives who embrace transformation as a mindset—not a one-off initiative—position their brands to thrive in a world of disruption and opportunity. They ensure that heritage and innovation coexist, experiences amplify emotion, and brands continue to delight and inspire. In the age of AI, transformation is not just an advantage; it is the defining capability of enduring luxury.

More from Peter Fisk

Do customers care about banks, or about their wealth? Do they care about insurance, or their protection and peace of mind? Do they care about cars, or travel?

Michelin got it right. The French tyre brand always said it was about the journey, not the rubber. And as a result, it was able to add value in more human, more relevant and inspiring ways – from better maps to the best restaurants.

In a world of rapid change, defining your business by traditional sectors – like banking, retail, telecommunications, or automotive – is increasingly limiting. Conventional categories frame the conversation around products or services, not the outcomes customers truly care about. Businesses that cling to these outdated labels risk irrelevance and missed opportunities for growth and innovation.

A more powerful approach is to reframe markets in customer-centric market “spaces”.

These “spaces” are defined not by what you sell, but by the human outcomes you enable: the experiences, goals, and aspirations your customers seek. By thinking in terms of spaces rather than sectors, companies can create far more relevance, unlock new value, and identify opportunities that conventional market definitions obscure.

When somebody asks you, what kind of business are you, think about your space, not your sector.

What are spaces?

For most of the 20th century, companies defined themselves by the industries they operated in and the products they sold. Banks belonged to “financial services,” carmakers to “automotive,” hospitals to “healthcare,” retailers to “grocery” or “apparel.” Strategy was industry-centric: benchmark competitors, gain market share, defend (increasingly limited) margins.

But that world no longer fits the way consumers live or the way markets evolve. Technologies converge, industries blur, and consumers no longer live their lives in neat silos. What matters to people are not categories but outcomes — mobility, well-being, security, belonging, joy.

This is the essence of the shift from product-centric sectors to human-centric spaces.

A space is defined by the human aspiration at its core, not the product that delivers it.

• Instead of “financial services” your space could be wealth, or enablement, or security, or more.

• Instead of “automotive” your space could be mobility, or freedom, or status, or more.

• Instead of “healthcare” your space could be wellbeing, or fitness, or longevity, or more.

• Instead of “media” your space could be entertainment, or learning, or connection, or more.

This redefinition matters because consumers do not buy sectors; they pursue goals. They do not want a mortgage — they want a home. They do not want a car — they want convenience, safety, or status. They do not want a hospital — they want health and vitality.

Why spaces matter more than sectors

1. Consumers live in spaces, not sectors … Consumers never wake up wanting “financial products.” They want peace of mind, opportunity, and prosperity. By aligning with life aspirations, companies become more relevant, trusted, and emotionally resonant.

2. Boundaries are blurring … Tesla competes in automotive, energy, and software. Apple competes in computing, music, health, finance, and entertainment. Amazon is simultaneously a retailer, cloud provider, film studio, and healthcare entrant. Defining competitors by industry makes leaders blind. Defining by spaces clarifies who and what you’re really up against.

3. Spaces spark innovation … By focusing on customer aspirations, companies open new fields of play. Nike innovates in digital fitness communities, not just sneakers. Disney creates immersive parks and streaming, not just films. Innovation becomes systemic, not incremental.

4. Spaces unlock growth … Sectors eventually saturate. By reframing around spaces, companies discover natural adjacencies. IKEA shifts from furniture to housing, energy, and sustainable living. DBS Bank moves from accounts to “invisible finance.” Growth flows from human needs, not industry constraints.

Competing in spaces

Apple: From Devices to Human Experiences … Apple plays in multiple spaces: creativity (Mac, iPad, Final Cut), connection (iPhone, iMessage, FaceTime), health (Apple Watch, Fitness+, medical records), finance (Apple Pay, Apple Card, BNPL). Apple never defines itself by sector. It defines itself by empowering human lives, seamlessly bridging domains through design and ecosystem thinking.

Tesla: From Automaker to Energy and Mobility Ecosystem … Tesla reframed from an EV company to a sustainable mobility and energy player. That makes sense of its cars, solar panels, Powerwall batteries, charging networks, and autonomous driving AI. Tesla competes not in automotive but in the space of clean, connected, intelligent mobility.

Disney: From Studio to Imagination and Immersion … Disney competes for imagination and family experiences. That’s why it operates films, streaming platforms, theme parks, cruises, merchandising, and soon the metaverse. Its competitive set is not Warner Bros. but anyone capturing human attention and wonder.

IKEA: From Furniture to Better Living … IKEA reframed its mission as “better everyday living.” That supports moves into affordable housing, renewable energy, circular economy solutions, and even urban farming. IKEA competes for the sustainable living space, not just home furnishing.

Nike: From Shoes to Human Performance … Nike no longer sees itself as an apparel company but as a catalyst for athletic performance and lifestyle. Its mission — “to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete” — frees it to operate in apps (Nike Training Club), wearables (Apple Watch integration), digital communities (SNKRS), and sustainability (circular design). Nike sells identity, not sneakers.

DBS Bank: From Products to Joyful Finance … Singapore’s DBS shifted from bureaucratic banking to the “world’s best digital bank” by embracing invisible banking. By integrating services into ride-hailing, shopping, and food delivery ecosystems, DBS aims to “make banking joyful.” The reframe allowed it to play in life convenience and empowerment, not just financial services.

Patagonia: From Apparel to Environmental Action … Patagonia competes in the space of environmental stewardship through lifestyle. Its activism, materials innovation, and customer community all flow from this reframe. It sells belonging to a cause, not just jackets.

How to move to space thinking

Where do you start? Space thinking is customer-centric thinking. Reframing your business, and your chosen market spaces, around your customers and their lives, their needs and aspirations:

• Reframe around human experiences … Ask: What job are we really doing for people? Lemonade Insurance redefined its purpose from “claims processing” to “peace of mind, powered by fairness and AI.”

• Adopt human language … “Mobility,” “wealth,” “well-being” are more meaningful than “automotive,” “financial services,” “healthcare.” Language signals empathy and relevance.

• Build ecosystems … paces are broad, requiring partnerships. Ant Group built an ecosystem connecting payments, credit, wealth, and insurance — all serving financial well-being.

• Design experiences not transactions … Nike delivers the experience of achievement; DBS the experience of joyful convenience. Experiences anchor loyalty better than transactions.

• Continuously redefining the spaces … Netflix moved from DVDs to streaming to original content to interactive storytelling. Its space — “entertainment anywhere, anytime” — evolves with technology and consumer behavior.

The intellectual roots of this shift run deep:

• CK Prahalad and Gary Hamel, in Competing for the Future (1994), argued that companies must look beyond products and industries to the underlying competencies and customer benefits that shape the future. They asked leaders to define their business by what customers are trying to accomplish, not by what they currently sell.

• Joe Pine and James Gilmore, in The Experience Economy (1999), showed how economic value is migrating from goods and services to staged experiences that resonate emotionally. Experiences, not products, become the competitive frontier.

• AG Lafley and Roger Martin, in Playing to Win (2013), reframed strategy around choices: where to play and how to win. Crucially, “where to play” increasingly means life domains such as beauty, mobility, or connection — not rigid industries.

• Rita McGrath, in Seeing Around Corners (2019), embraced this into her concept of arenas: fluid, customer-defined domains where needs are met across industry boundaries. The “mobility arena,” for example, encompasses automakers, ride-hailing, public transport, and energy storage.

Together, these thinkers point to the same trajectory: away from industries and toward human-centric arenas, domains, or spaces where companies compete to solve meaningful life challenges.

Leading with space thinking

This can seem easy, obvious, but it’s not. It can be profound. Not just in being able to engage customers with more relevance, innovate with more vision, grow in new ways. But also, in what drives your vision, culture and people. Also, how do investors see you – in a declining sector, or in an area of future growth?

Leaders must think differently to win in spaces:

• Empathy over expertise. Understand human lives, not just product performance.

• Systems over silos. Think across ecosystems, not within categories.

• Collaboration over control. Partner to serve whole aspirations.

• Purpose over product. Anchor in meaning, not merchandise.

As Lafley and Martin stress, the hardest choice is not “how to win” but “where to play.” In a world of blurred industries, “where to play” must be defined by human life domains.

The shift from product-centric sectors to human-centric spaces is not just semantic; it is existential. Consumers live in spaces. Technologies dissolve boundaries. Growth lies in serving aspirations, not defending categories.

Prahalad and Hamel told us to look beyond industries. Pine and Gilmore told us to compete in experiences. Lafley and Martin told us to choose where to play. McGrath told us to see arenas. Today, companies like Nike, Apple, Tesla, Disney, IKEA, DBS, and Patagonia show us what this looks like in practice.

The lesson is simple: In the future, winners will not be the best in their industry. They will be the companies that best understand and serve the spaces where human life happens.

Here’s a practical cheat sheet of conventional sectors reframed as customer-centric spaces:

Innovation has become surprisingly conventional.

Most companies are locked into group think, short-termism, blinkered perspectives and risk aversion. When innovation should be the rocket fuel of reinvention, it becomes the habit of incrementalism.

In an age of AI disruption, climate urgency, shifting geopolitics, and cultural upheaval, businesses that stand still are quickly left behind. Incremental improvements — shaving a few costs here, adding a product feature there, a tweak to the business model — may keep companies alive, but they won’t secure a bold future.

The leaders who thrive in today’s dynamic environment are embracing what I would call “super innovation”.

This is not “innovation as usual” but something more radical, ambitious, rapid and transformative. It’s about stretching creativity to its limits, imagining new markets, and reinventing entire industries. It is driven by the power of futures thinking, exponential technologies, creative imagination, platform ecosystems, and boundary-breaking collaboration.

Here are 10 radical, stretching, and exciting ways leaders and their companies can embrace hyper innovation — with inspiration from pioneers who are already showing the way.

1. Think future-back

Most corporate strategies extend today’s market trends into tomorrow, which usually means they fight the old fires, rather than exploring new possibilities. They become limited, distracted and incremental. Super innovators do the opposite: they start with a vision of the future they seek, and work backward to design the business that will thrive there.

Inspiration: Waymo is not designing cars for today’s drivers but imagining a future of autonomous mobility — where safety, accessibility, and shared services redefine transportation – and was recently ranked the world’s most innovative company. DBS Bank, Singapore’s financial giant, adopted a “future-back” model when it reinvented itself as a tech company with a banking license, embedding AI, digital ecosystems, and sustainability into its DNA. Google X‘s moonshot mindset, thinking 10x not 10% is also a future back mindset. Jumping to the impossible, then finding how to make it happen, leapfrogging convention and escaping the quagmire of today.

Lesson: Imagine your business in 2035, in a climate-conscious, AI-native, borderless economy. Then ask: what do we need to invent now to thrive there? Then work backwards, to map out how you could get there – not in 10 years, but much faster.

• Megatrends 2035: 6 Dramatic Forces Shaking Up Every Business by Peter Fisk

2. Harness exponential technologies

Innovation becomes revolutionary when technologies converge. AI on its own is powerful; combined with robotics, genomics, quantum computing, and nanomaterials, it reshapes entire industries. The impact becomes multiplying, particular when it harnesses network effects of one sort or another, be they marketing flywheels, social collaborations or more.

Inspiration: Illumina sits at the heart of the genomics revolution, driving down the cost of DNA sequencing and enabling breakthroughs in personalized medicine. Nvidia, once a graphics chip maker, has become the engine of the AI age by combining GPU architecture with machine learning and cloud ecosystems. Together, they show how combining exponential technologies can create whole new industries.

Lesson: Don’t just chase a single trend. Ask what intersections of technologies can we orchestrate to create industries of the future? How can we build network effects into our business model? How can we multiply the impact?

• Next is Now, the Future at Hyper Speed by Peter Fisk

3. AI as your co-creator

AI is not just a tool for efficiency — it’s a collaborative partner that sparks ideas, accelerates design, and reveals unexpected pathways. This might be in the creative process, by opening up thinking in novel and rapid ways, or in testing and evaluation again many times faster than normal, but most significantly as a core of the new solution or its business model.

Inspiration: Insilico Medicine uses AI to imagine novel drug compounds, cutting R&D timelines from years to months. L’Oréal applies AI to co-create with customers — from personalized beauty diagnostics to virtual try-on experiences. Hermès, though rooted in craft, experiments with AI in materials science to explore sustainable leathers, proving that even luxury houses can partner with technology.

Lesson: Treat AI as a partner in creativity — not just an optimizer, but a co-designer of future possibilities – and then in a transformational enabler of the new product, service, business model or more. This is where AI has real added value.

• Reinventing Business with AI by Peter Fisk

4. Create platform ecosystems

Innovators are notorious for their product centricity. The bright shiny object syndrome. Products still dominate design and development thinking because they are tangible. Customer-centricity, services, experiences, business models are a step forwards. Super innovation is about building ecosystems of value — platforms that empower others to innovate, collaborate, and scale.

Inspiration: Mercado Libre has become Latin America’s innovation powerhouse by building a platform spanning e-commerce, logistics, digital payments, and credit. BYD, meanwhile, has built an ecosystem that integrates cars, batteries, and solar energy, creating circular loops of value that extend beyond vehicles. Nvidia has similarly created an ecosystem of developers, startups, and researchers who build on its GPU platforms.

Lesson: Products have limits; platforms expand infinitely. Ask what ecosystem could we build that lets others innovate with us? What could partners better than us, so we don’t need to do it ourselves? Faster, cheaper, at less risk, with more agility?

• Ecosystem Inc: How Music was Reinvented by Peter Fisk

5. Play in new marketspaces

The most radical innovators don’t just fight for share in existing markets, they create entirely new ones. When Dietmar Mateshitz created Red Bull he didn’t seeking to compete with Coke and Pepsi, but instead to create a new space, energy drinks. Think blue oceans rather than red oceans. Hybrid spaces like super apps. Layered spaces like ingredient brands.

Inspiration: Danone reframed its mission from selling dairy products to leading in “One Planet. One Health,” turning food into a driver of social and environmental change. Waymo is not competing with traditional carmakers but inventing a new market around autonomous mobility services. Revolut isn’t playing in traditional banking but creating a borderless, digital-first financial category.

Lesson: Don’t ask how do we compete in our market, instead ask what new spaces can we invent where we define the rules. Apply innovation to the market itself, not just to your business. This could be in terms of language, customer behaviours, education, price points, regulation, channels, and more. Shape the market to your advantage, then promote, protect and own it!

• Creating New Market Spaces by Peter Fisk

6. Build creative collisions

Leonardo da Vinci defined innovation as making unusual connections. As a polymath he was able to flow between different thinking – an artist, sculpture, mechanic and more. Breakthrough ideas emerge at the edges, where different disciplines and perspectives collide.

Inspiration: IDEO pioneered human-centered design by mixing engineers, artists, and psychologists. Hermès thrives on collisions between heritage artisans and avant-garde designers, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital experimentation. Illumina collaborates with healthcare providers, tech companies, and governments to fuse biology, AI, and policy. Liquid Death is fresh spring water, but marketed like heavy rock music.

Lesson: Engineer creative collisions in your culture. Invite outsiders in, mix disciplines, and create hybrid teams that spark fresh thinking. The connections may not seem obvious at first, because they are unusual. So they need work, creativity to explore the possibilities of fusion, and practical ways to exploit it, practically and profitably.

• Creative Genius: Innovation Inspired by Da Vinci by Peter Fisk

7. Shift from products to impact

Most innovation still focuses on products, but with the least value impact. It is functional and blinkered. it focuses on transactional benefits. Super innovation is not just about creating things but about changing lives and driving impact. It is about understanding the real problem to solve, job to be done, dream to achieve. The real purpose could be individual, commercial, societal, or more. Purpose accelerates creativity and builds loyalty.

Inspiration: Patagonia uses innovation to fight climate change. Schneider Electric reframes its mission around decarbonization and energy efficiency. Danone anchors its transformation in health and sustainability. DBS Bank ties innovation directly to social outcomes, from digital inclusion to green finance.

Lesson: Innovation without impact is just novelty. Start with the customers bigger problem, the stretching ambition, and how you could innovate to address this. Anchor your breakthroughs to purposeful transformation.

• Accelerating Growth by Peter Fisk

8. Prototype at the speed of culture

Innovation is about connecting with, capturing and shaping, the culture of today and tomorrow. To be relevant, to be cool, to be desired, means having cultural alignment. And yet the cultural landscape shifts daily. Super innovators prototype fast, in real time, with real users. They connect their ideas, with brands, with people, with culture.

Inspiration: ByteDance (TikTok) is the ultimate cultural prototyper, testing thousands of features daily. Nio applies the same mindset to mobility, rolling out subscription and community-driven services at speed. Insilico runs thousands of AI-generated simulations, effectively prototyping drugs in silico before ever testing in labs.

Lesson: Don’t wait for perfect. Prototype in culture and context, and refine based on live feedback. Experimentation enables you to rapidly discovered what works and doesn’t, what’s liked and what’s not. It is hard, in the practical sense of functionality, but it is also soft, about emotional resonance.

• What’s New and Next in Innovation by Peter Fisk

9. Partner with unlikely partners

Partners take you outside of your comfort zone. Beyond your industry, your conventions, your accepted possibilities. They open up a new sphere of possibility, do connect products and services in new ways, to engage customers who would not normally consider you, to give you new capabilities and power. Super innovators cross boundaries and collaborate with unexpected partners, even competitors.

Inspiration: Unilever works with NGOs and startups to accelerate sustainability. L’Oréal partners with AR/VR tech companies to reinvent beauty. Waymo collaborates with city planners, regulators, and automakers to make autonomous mobility viable. Hermès has even collaborated with Apple (on watch straps) — showing that heritage and tech can be unlikely but powerful allies.

Lesson: Ask who outside our world could 10x our innovation if we joined forces? Who could take me further, and in new directions, add new services, reach new audiences, add more value?

• The Reinvention Playbook: Lamborghini was a Tractor Company by Peter Fisk

10. Reinvent yourself relentlessly

The ultimate super innovation is the ability to reinvent your company again and again. And yourself – your mind, your experiences, your skills. Yesterday’s success is often tomorrow’s trap.

Inspiration: Nintendo transformed from cards to gaming. DBS Bank shifted from bureaucracy to digital pioneer. Nvidia reinvented itself from a niche graphics chipmaker to the defining company of the AI era. BYD evolved from a battery maker into a global EV leader. These are all examples of relentless business reinvention, riding the S curves of changing markets, changing before you have to, and embracing change as your opportunity.

Lesson: Treat reinvention as a permanent state — a permanent beta –  not a one-off reaction to disruption. This means that rethinking is relentless, transformation is a continuous journey, and innovation needs to go beyond the normal – to be super.

• The Reinvention Toolkit by Peter Fisk

Who are the super innovators?

These 10 innovators exemplify bold thinking, creativity, and transformative impact across industries, from technology and finance to healthcare, sustainability, and consumer goods:

• Silvio Campara, CEO of Golden Goose, has reimagined the luxury fashion experience by empowering customers to co-create their sneakers. This direct-to-consumer approach, combined with an emphasis on personalized experiences, has not only driven revenue growth but also positioned Golden Goose as a pioneer in interactive luxury retail.
• Lucy Guo, co-founder of Scale AI, leveraged her early entrepreneurial instincts to dominate the AI data-labeling space. Her work accelerates AI applications across industries, demonstrating the power of combining technical acumen with bold business strategy.
• Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, has been instrumental in advancing graphics processing and AI technology. Under his leadership, Nvidia has transformed from a hardware company into a central pillar of the AI revolution, enabling breakthroughs in machine learning, autonomous vehicles, and scientific computing.
• Inna Braverman of Eco Wave Power is pioneering renewable energy solutions. Her patented wave-energy technology demonstrates that innovative approaches to sustainability can create both environmental impact and commercial success, exemplifying purpose-driven entrepreneurship.
• Fei-Fei Li, CEO of World Labs, has expanded the practical applications of AI, making complex technologies more accessible and ethical. Her work bridges academia, industry, and society, highlighting the role of thoughtful innovation in shaping the future of technology.
• Ranjit Kapila, leading Parametric, has revolutionized investment strategies through direct indexing. By offering personalized, data-driven solutions, Kapila is reshaping the financial services industry and demonstrating how innovation can create value for both clients and markets.
• Anna-Lisa Miller, at Ownership Works, champions employee shareholding. Her focus on wealth distribution and organizational engagement has transformed corporate culture, proving that innovation is not limited to products—it also extends to governance and ownership structures.
• Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Groupe, has integrated AI and data-driven marketing strategies to reinvent advertising in the digital age. His leadership underscores how established industries can evolve through strategic adoption of technology and creative problem-solving.
• Marin Gjaja, leading Ford Model e, has driven innovation in the automotive sector, particularly in electric vehicles. His initiatives position Ford as a competitive player in the EV market, blending traditional manufacturing expertise with cutting-edge sustainability technologies.
• Prathibha Varkey at Mayo Clinic Health System exemplifies innovation in healthcare. By implementing technology-driven solutions to improve patient care and operational efficiency, Varkey demonstrates how thoughtful innovation can address complex societal challenges while enhancing organizational performance.

These 10 leaders illustrate that innovation is multidimensional—it encompasses product design, technology, business models, sustainability, organizational culture, and societal impact. What unites them is a willingness to challenge conventional thinking, leverage emerging technologies, and create solutions that not only drive business success but also positively influence society. They are the blueprint for the next generation of innovators: bold, visionary, and relentlessly focused on shaping the future.

• A to Z of the World’s Most Inspiring Companies 2025 by Peter Fisk
• A to Z of the World’s Most Inspiring Leaders 2025 by Peter Fisk

The super innovator mindset

Super innovation is not a toolkit — it’s a mindset. It means stretching beyond the obvious, embracing ambiguity, and daring to imagine futures others cannot yet see.

What unites pioneers like Jony Ive and Lei Jun, Lucy Guo and Lei-Fei Li, or the founders of companies like Waymo, Illumina, or Nvidia is not just what they invented but how they thought: future-back, impact-first, tech-enabled, and endlessly curious. They didn’t wait for markets to shift; they created the shift.

The challenge to today’s leaders is clear: don’t just innovate within your category. Super innovate across boundaries.Don’t just adapt to the future. Invent it.

The future belongs to those bold enough to stretch imagination, and courageous enough to turn those ideas into action.

What will you do?

• Innovation Recoded by Peter Fisk (video)
• Innovate, Further and Faster by Peter Fisk
• Inspiring Keynotes: Earthshots and Quantic Brains with Peter Fisk
• Executive Workshops: Fast and Facilitated Innovation with Peter Fisk

The pace of change is not just accelerating—it’s relentless. From technological disruption to geopolitical shocks, from shifting customer expectations to climate urgency, leaders face a world in constant motion.

Traditional business strategy, built on fixed choices, multi-year plans and rigid forecasts, is no longer fit for purpose. Businesses need a new way to think and act: how to think, work, compete and win, in the FLUX.

FLUX businesses are built on a paradox: a strong, enduring direction anchored in purpose, paired with micro-moves that adapt quickly to emerging shifts. The acronym itself captures the mindset leaders must embrace:

• Fast – moving at the speed of change.

• Liquid – fluid in structures, roles, and approaches.

• Uncharted – navigating uncertainty with curiosity and courage.

• Experiential – learning by doing, testing, and iterating in real time.

Rather than locking into static plans, organizations working in flux treat strategy as a living system—constantly sensing, responding, and evolving while staying true to their core purpose.

FLUX: Anchoring with agility, enduring direction with micro moves

The term flux has been used in management writing for decades to describe constant change. Charles Handy wrote about “the age of unreason” and organisations in flux, for example.

The specific idea of FLUX as a strategy approach is developed in my new book, based on research in working with hundreds of business leaders around the world. In particular they struggled with how to replace the traditional form of business strategy, while still bring focus and alignment, alongside agility and empowerment.

FLUX emerged as a new concept.

The cornerstone of FLUX is clarity of direction. In turbulent waters, an organization’s why becomes the compass. Patagonia’s enduring commitment to “save our home planet” has enabled it to make bold moves, from donating profits to environmental causes to reshaping its supply chains. Tesla’s mission to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy” allows it to pivot across sectors—from cars to batteries to solar—while keeping a coherent trajectory.

This enduring purpose enables businesses to act with confidence, even when specific pathways remain uncertain. Without it, constant change risks leading to drift, fragmentation, and reactive decision-making.

Fast: Dynamic strategy at the speed of change

Traditional strategy cycles—annual budgets, five-year plans—are too slow for a world where new competitors, technologies, and customer behaviors can emerge overnight. A FLUX approach replaces slow cycles with rapid sensing and fast decision-making.

For example, Amazon’s ability to launch, test, and scale new services (Prime, AWS, Alexa) is underpinned by a culture of speed. Teams are empowered to act quickly, guided by clear principles rather than waiting for approval chains. Fast doesn’t mean reckless—it means accelerating learning and execution.

Strategic reviews shift from yearly retreats to ongoing strategic sprints, where leadership teams revisit priorities monthly or quarterly. Instead of predicting the future, they practice continuous foresight: monitoring signals, experimenting in parallel, and reallocating resources rapidly.

Liquid: Structures and processes that flow

Strategy in flux requires liquid structures—organizations that flex, reconfigure, and adapt as contexts change. Rigid hierarchies and departmental silos slow response; fluid teams and networks unlock agility.

Spotify’s squad model exemplifies liquid organization—small, autonomous teams aligned by shared goals but free to adapt their methods. Similarly, Haier in China has reorganized into thousands of micro-enterprises that can form alliances, pursue opportunities, and dissolve if no longer relevant.

Planning, too, becomes liquid. Annual budgets freeze assumptions; in flux, organizations use rolling forecasts and dynamic resource allocation. Capital is released in smaller tranches, tied to milestones and outcomes rather than locked-in annual cycles. This mirrors venture capital models, where funding follows proof points, not rigid plans.

Uncharted: Embracing the unknown

Strategy has traditionally been about reducing uncertainty. But in a world of flux, the unknown is unavoidable. Leaders must shift from prediction to navigation, embracing experimentation and scenario thinking.

Consider SpaceX. Elon Musk does not have a step-by-step plan to colonize Mars. Instead, the company charts an ambitious direction, then pursues uncharted pathways through iterative rockets, each failure offering lessons for the next.

Businesses adopting a flux mindset treat uncertainty as fuel for innovation. Instead of fearing disruption, they explore uncharted opportunities—like DBS Bank in Singapore, which reimagined itself from a traditional bank into a digital platform, creating new ecosystems in health, education, and sustainability.

Strategic choices under flux are less about narrowing down to one “right” answer and more about keeping multiple options open—investing in parallel bets, partnerships, and exploratory ventures.

Experiential: Strategy as a learning journey

Finally, flux strategy is experiential. Rather than relying on thick reports and predictive analytics alone, organizations learn by doing—launching pilots, testing assumptions, gathering feedback, and scaling what works.

Nike exemplifies this by treating its digital ecosystem (apps, wearables, online communities) as living experiments, constantly refining the athlete experience. Airbnb scaled globally by testing new trust mechanisms, from reviews to identity checks, learning directly from user behavior.

In flux, planning is not an intellectual exercise—it’s a cycle of hypothesis, experiment, evidence, and iteration. Strategy becomes less about certainty, more about adaptive learning.

How FLUX changes the way business works

Adopting FLUX Strategy requires reimagining the rituals of strategy itself:

• Strategic Choices: Instead of one dominant play, leaders pursue portfolios of options. Some are core bets, others are exploratory. Success comes not from rigid execution, but from knowing when to double down, pivot, or exit.

• Strategic Planning: Planning shifts from static documents to living roadmaps. Plans are updated frequently, with space for flexibility and surprise. Planning is participatory, drawing insights from across ecosystems—not just the boardroom.

• Quarterly Reviews: Reviews are reframed as strategic sprints. Rather than checking KPIs against static goals, teams ask: What have we learned? What signals are emerging? Where should we shift resources?

• Annual Budgets: Budgets become rolling and adaptive. Instead of fixing resources once a year, leaders allocate dynamically, based on learning and shifting priorities. Agile funding enables rapid scaling of new opportunities or quick exit from failing bets.

Example: How Microsoft relearnt to win in a world of FLUX

Microsoft’s core purpose — to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more — functions as a long-term compass. That enduring direction made it possible for leaders to shift course radically when the world changed (cloud, mobile, open source, AI) while preserving coherence across the company. The transition under Satya Nadella demonstrates FLUX in practice: maintained purpose + continuous, experimental moves that reconfigured products, culture, partnerships, and revenue models.

Then — traditional strategy: Big, multi-year bets; monolithic product cycles (big Windows launches, boxed software); rigid annual budgets and siloed business units; gated-stage reviews and centralized approvals; internal competition for limited resources; success measured by product shipments and license sales.

Now — FLUX strategy: Purpose-led but flexible portfolio of bets; rapid market experiments and continuous delivery (cloud-first, service updates); rolling forecasts and milestone-based funding; cross-functional, empowered teams; open partnerships and acquisitions to extend capabilities; data-driven learning loops from telemetry and customer behavior.

What Microsoft did

• Re-anchor decisions in purpose, not product

• • Use the corporate mission to evaluate strategic trade-offs (e.g., Microsoft embraced cross-platform tools because empowering customers mattered more than protecting OS monopolies).

  • Action: Every new product idea is assessed for alignment with the mission and net ecosystem value.

• Move from product releases to continuous delivery

  • Office → Office 365 (subscription + continuous updates) and Windows features as services reduced big-bang risk and increased customer feedback loops.

  • Action: Implement telemetry, real-time metrics, and staged rollouts to learn and iterate rapidly.

• Adopt a portfolio of bets

  • Azure was scaled while preserving investments in Windows and Office — not an either/or strategy.

  • Action: Allocate capital as a mix of core bets, opportunistic experiments, and strategic options. Use small tranches (“venture within the firm”) and scale winners quickly.

• Create liquid structures

  • Break large org silos into product teams, engineering groups, business-led initiatives (e.g., “One Microsoft” integration).

  • Action: Empower cross-functional squads with P&L responsibility for outcomes, not just outputs.

• Open, partner, and acquire to accelerate

  • Embrace open source (Linux on Azure), acquire strategic platforms (GitHub, LinkedIn), and partner even with prior competitors.

  • Action: Redefine M&A criteria to include speed-to-market and ecosystem leverage, not merely vertical ownership.

• Reform culture and leadership

  • Shift from “know-it-all” to “learn-it-all” mindset; remove internal performance systems that punished collaboration.

  • Action: Leadership models curiosity, reward experimentation and timely failure, and invests in continuous learning.

• Change funding and governance

  • From annual fixed budgets to rolling forecasts and milestone-based funding tied to evidence.

  • Action: Create an internal investment committee that reallocates funds monthly/quarterly based on emerging signals.

• Design for resilience & compliance

  • Strengthen security, privacy, and governance as speed increases — cloud operations require new guardrails.

  • Action: Build enterprise-grade security and compliance into every fast experiment from day one.

What Microsoft stopped doing

• Don’t treat strategy as an annual event.

  • Abandon the idea that strategy is finalized once a year. Replace with continuous sensing and re-prioritization.

• Don’t gate everything in bureaucracy.

  • Reduce rigid approval chains that stall experiments. Let small teams try ideas and prove them quickly.

• Don’t hoard capabilities; share them.

  • Stop withholding platform assets to preserve product feudalism; instead expose APIs and platforms to internal and external partners.

• Don’t measure only outputs.

  • Stop rewarding lines shipped or features completed. Measure customer outcomes, retention, and learning velocity.

• Don’t silo data or customers.

  • Avoid isolated analytics and separate telemetry. Centralize insights so experiments across teams learn from one another.

• Don’t view failures as career-ending.

  • Stop stigmatizing failed experiments; treat them as information with clear post-mortems and learning capture.

How Microsoft did it

• Real-time insights platform: Real-time signals from products that inform tiny pivots or large re-allocations.

• Milestone-based funding: Small initial funding, clear go/no-go metrics, and automatic scale-up triggers.

• Cross-functional squads: Product managers, engineers, marketers, and ops co-located around outcomes.

• Rolling forecasts: Finance tied to outcomes and experiments rather than fixed annual allocations.

• M&A playbook for speed: Integration playbooks that preserve the acquired team’s velocity while aligning with mission.

• Leadership rituals: Frequent strategy “huddles” that review signals, test assumptions, and re-allocate resources.

However … FLUX isn’t chaos. Microsoft’s example shows you must combine speed with governance:

• Over-experimentation can confuse customers and waste capital—limit experiments with clear hypotheses and sample sizes.

• Cultural fatigue from constant change must be avoided—balance stability with bursts of transformation.

• Regulatory exposure increases with scale and openness — maintain compliance and privacy as non-negotiable.

• Loss of coherence if purpose isn’t constantly reinforced—leaders must narrate why each micro-move ties to the mission.

What can we learn from Microsoft?

Microsoft’s pivot shows FLUX is a disciplined blend of anchored purpose + micro-moves. The company preserved a guiding mission while rewiring form and process: smaller bets, faster learning, liquid teams, open ecosystems, and rolling finance. The lesson for leaders is clear — in a world where uncertainty is the norm, the right strategy is not a static blueprint but a dynamic operating system: purposeful, iterative, and relentlessly experimental.

• Clarify an enduring purpose that’s action-guiding.

• Build feedback loops (telemetry, customers, partners) into every initiative.

• Fund as you would seed startups: small, fast, and outcome-tethered.

• Make orgs liquid: create autonomous teams with clear alignment mechanisms.

• Institutionalize learning: treat experiments as assets with documented insights.

• Set governance that enables speed but preserves trust (security, ethics, compliance).

Leading in a state of FLUX

Embracing flux requires new leadership mindsets. Leaders must combine anchored vision with adaptive action. They must be comfortable with ambiguity, foster cultures of curiosity, and empower distributed decision-making. Most importantly, they must role-model resilience—showing that uncertainty is not a threat but a source of renewal.

This is not easy. Many executives were trained in eras of stability, where control, planning, and prediction defined good strategy. But as Satya Nadella of Microsoft notes, success today comes from a “learn-it-all” mindset, not a “know-it-all” one.

In a turbulent world, strategy can no longer be a fixed plan. It must be a living, breathing process—anchored by enduring purpose, but always in motion. FLUX Strategy captures this duality: the need to be fast, liquid, uncharted, and experiential.

The companies that thrive will not be those that resist change, nor those that chase it blindly. They will be those that flow with it—anchored, yet adaptive. Purpose gives direction; flux provides momentum. Together, they make strategy fit for a world where change is the only constant.

How can your business win in a world of FLUX? Email me for keynotes and workshops at peterfisk@peterfisk.com

For years, Europe has carried a reputation for economic maturity rather than dynamism—steady, but slow. The narrative often cast Silicon Valley as the engine of global innovation, while Europe seemed weighed down by regulation, fragmentation, and tradition.

Yet in 2024–2025, something remarkable is happening. Europe’s largest companies are not just holding their ground; they are creating value on par with America’s technology titans—albeit in their own, distinctive way.

The clearest proof comes from the so-called “GRANOLAS”—a group of 11 European companies named by Goldman Sachs: GSK, Roche, ASML, Nestlé, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, L’Oréal, LVMH, AstraZeneca, SAP, and Sanofi.Collectively, these firms have grown into a bloc with the same weight in Europe as the “Magnificent 7″—Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla—have in the USA.

While the American stars dazzled investors with exponential growth, Europe’s GRANOLAS, rooted in health, luxury, and industrial technology, have steadily accumulated market power, revenues, and global relevance.

Europe’s distinct path to growth

The difference is not simply in sector focus, but in strategy. U.S. giants thrive on digital scale, winner-takes-all platforms, and consumer lock-in. Europe’s leaders, by contrast, win through reinvention of traditional strengths—science, engineering, design, and culture—infused with new technologies and global reach. They are creating extraordinary value in areas where Europe’s competitive edge has long been underestimated:

• Health and biotech breakthroughs (Novo Nordisk, Roche, AstraZeneca)

• Luxury and cultural capital (LVMH, L’Oréal, Hermès)

• Deep tech and industrial innovation (ASML, SAP, Schneider Electric)

This is not Silicon Valley disruption. It is what one might call “La Renaissance of Growth” … rooted in heritage, yet alive with reinvention. Here are 9 stories of that renaissance, and the reinvention drivers that have accelerated new growth:

Adyen

Founded in 2006 by Pieter van der Does and Arnout Schuijff, Adyen emerged from the Dutch tech scene with a vision to streamline global payments. Recognizing the inefficiencies in the fragmented payments landscape, they aimed to build a unified platform that could handle all payment methods seamlessly.

• Revenue: €2.01 billion (23.91% YoY growth)

• EBITDA: €543.7 million (50% margin)

• Market Cap: $52.81 billion

Adyen’s robust growth in 2024 underscores its position as a leading global payments platform, despite challenges from geopolitical factors.

Reinvention Drivers:

• Unified Technology Stack: Adyen’s in-house developed platform integrates payment processing, risk management, and financial services, reducing reliance on third-party vendors and enhancing control over the payment experience.

• Global Expansion: The company has expanded its services to over 150 countries, catering to international merchants and enabling them to accept payments in multiple currencies.

• Focus on Enterprise Clients: By targeting large-scale enterprises like Uber and Spotify, Adyen has positioned itself as a trusted partner for businesses with complex payment needs.

• Adaptation to Market Trends: The company continuously evolves its offerings to include emerging payment methods, such as cryptocurrency transactions, ensuring it stays ahead of industry trends.

ASML 

ASML, another Dutch business, was established in 1984 as a joint venture between Philips and Advanced Semiconductor Materials International. Over the decades, it has grown into a pivotal player in the semiconductor industry, specialising in photolithography systems essential for chip manufacturing.

• Revenue: €28.3 billion

• Net Income: €7.6 billion

• Gross Margin: 51.3%

• Market Cap: $297.72 billion

ASML’s dominance in the semiconductor equipment sector is reflected in its strong financial performance, driven by high demand for advanced lithography systems.

Reinvention Drivers:

• Technological Innovation: ASML’s development of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography has revolutionized chip production, enabling the creation of smaller and more powerful semiconductors.

• Strategic Partnerships: Collaborations with major semiconductor manufacturers like TSMC and Intel have bolstered ASML’s position in the market.

• Investment in Research and Development: Continuous R&D efforts ensure that ASML remains at the forefront of technological advancements in semiconductor manufacturing.

• Supply Chain Optimization: Streamlining its supply chain processes has allowed ASML to meet the growing demand for its advanced lithography systems.

AstraZeneca 

AstraZeneca was formed in 1999 through the merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group PLC. It is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of prescription medicines.

• Revenue: $54.07 billion (18.03% YoY growth)

• Net Profit: Not specified

• Market Cap: $246.41 billion

AstraZeneca’s strong performance in oncology and rare disease treatments has driven significant revenue growth, reflecting its commitment to innovation.

Reinvention Drivers:

• Focus on Oncology and Rare Diseases: AstraZeneca has concentrated its research and development efforts on oncology and rare diseases, areas with high unmet medical needs and potential for significant impact.

• Strategic Acquisitions: The acquisition of Alexion Pharmaceuticals has bolstered AstraZeneca’s presence in the rare disease market, expanding its product portfolio.

• Innovation in Drug Development: The company has invested in innovative drug development platforms and technologies, accelerating the delivery of new treatments to patients.

• Global Expansion: AstraZeneca has expanded its operations in emerging markets, increasing access to its medicines and driving growth in these regions.

Hermès 

Founded in 1837 by Thierry Hermès as a harness workshop in Paris, Hermès has evolved into a global luxury brand renowned for its craftsmanship and timeless designs.

• Revenue: €15.2 billion

• Recurring Operating Income: €6.2 billion (40.5% margin)

• Net Profit: €4.6 billion (30.3% margin)

• Market Cap: $254.86 billion

Hermès continues to exemplify luxury and exclusivity, achieving significant profitability through its commitment to craftsmanship and selective distribution.

Reinvention Drivers:

• Commitment to Craftsmanship: Hermès maintains a strong focus on artisanal skills, with many of its products handcrafted by skilled artisans, ensuring high-quality standards.

• Selective Distribution: The brand controls its distribution channels, selling primarily through its own boutiques, which helps maintain exclusivity and brand integrity.

• Limited Production: By producing limited quantities of certain items, such as the iconic Birkin bag, Hermès creates a sense of scarcity and desirability among consumers.

• Sustainable Practices: The company has increasingly adopted sustainable practices in sourcing materials and manufacturing processes, aligning with growing consumer demand for ethical products.

LVMH 

LVMH was formed in 1987 through the merger of Moët Hennessy and Louis Vuitton. Under the leadership of Bernard Arnault, it has become the world’s largest luxury goods conglomerate.

• Revenue: €88.12 billion

• Operating Income: €19.6 billion (23.1% margin)

• Net Profit: €12.6 billion

• Market Cap: $276.23 billion

LVMH’s diverse brand portfolio and strategic acquisitions have solidified its position as a leader in the global luxury market.

Reinvention Drivers:

• Brand Portfolio Diversification: LVMH has expanded its portfolio to include a wide range of luxury brands across various sectors, including fashion, cosmetics, and beverages.

• Strategic Acquisitions: The company has acquired several prestigious brands, such as Fendi and Bulgari, enhancing its market presence and product offerings.

• Innovation in Marketing: LVMH invests heavily in innovative marketing strategies, including collaborations with artists and designers, to keep its brands relevant and appealing to consumers.

• Global Expansion: The company has expanded its retail presence globally, tapping into emerging markets and increasing its customer base.

Revolut 

Founded in 2015 by Nik Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko and based in the UK, Revolut began as a digital banking alternative offering currency exchange and international money transfers without hidden fees.

• Revenue: £3.1 billion (72% YoY growth)

• Net Profit: £790 million

• Market Cap: Not specified

Revolut’s expansion into various financial services has driven substantial growth, positioning it as a prominent fintech player in Europe, with superapp ambitions.

Reinvention Drivers:

• Product Diversification: Revolut has expanded its services to include cryptocurrency trading, stock trading, insurance, and budgeting tools, transforming into a comprehensive financial platform.

• Technological Integration: The company leverages advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to offer personalized financial services and enhance user experience.

• Global Reach: Revolut has expanded its services to multiple countries, catering to a diverse customer base and facilitating international transactions.

• Regulatory Compliance: The company has worked towards obtaining necessary licenses and complying with financial regulations in various jurisdictions, ensuring trust and reliability among users.

Schneider Electric 

Established in 1836, Schneider Electric began as a steel manufacturer before transitioning into electrical equipment and automation solutions. Today, it is a global leader in energy management and industrial automation.

• Revenue: €39.7 billion

• Net Profit: Not specified

• Market Cap: $144.64 billion

Schneider Electric’s focus on energy management and automation solutions has contributed to steady revenue growth, reinforcing its market presence.

Reinvention Drivers:

• Digital Transformation: Schneider Electric has embraced digital technologies, offering IoT-enabled solutions like EcoStruxure to optimize energy usage and improve operational efficiency.

• Sustainability Initiatives: The company has committed to sustainability, aiming to achieve carbon neutrality and helping its customers reduce their carbon footprint.

• Strategic Acquisitions: Acquiring companies like Aveva has expanded Schneider Electric’s capabilities in software and digital solutions, enhancing its value proposition.

• Customer-Centric Approach: By focusing on customer needs and providing tailored solutions, Schneider Electric has strengthened its market position and customer loyalty.

Spotify 

Launched in 2008 by Sweden’s Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, Spotify revolutionized music consumption by offering a streaming platform with a vast library of songs accessible on-demand.

• Revenue: €15.6 billion (17.9% YoY growth)

• Net Profit: €1.1 billion

• Market Cap: $150.48 billion

Spotify’s investment in diverse content offerings and premium services has enhanced its profitability and market valuation.

Reinvention Drivers:

• Expansion into Podcasts and Audiobooks: Spotify has diversified its content offerings by investing in podcasts and audiobooks, attracting a broader audience and increasing user engagement.

• Personalized Recommendations: The platform utilizes advanced algorithms to provide personalized playlists and recommendations, enhancing user experience and retention.

• Creator Partnerships: Collaborations with artists and creators have enriched Spotify’s content library and attracted exclusive content, differentiating it from competitors.

• Monetization Strategies: The company has introduced various monetization avenues, including premium subscriptions, advertising, and partnerships, to drive revenue growth.

(Data in these cases is to end of 2024, where appropriate)

Europe’s Growth Rankings

This ranking is based on value growth (Growth in market cap, derived from Morningstar data capturing the percentage growth in market capitalisation for Europe’s largest companies between November 30, 2013 and November 30, 2023)

• ASML +735% … Exclusive provider of EUV lithography; massive demand from AI-chip boom
• Novo Nordisk +495% … Ozempic/Wegovy obesity treatments creating blockbuster revenue and valuation.
• LVMH +424% … Luxury dominance across its ‘Maisons’ and resilient affluent demand.
• Astra Zeneca +256% … New drug launches and strong global pharma execution.
• SAP +143% … Cloud and SaaS transformation driving investor confidence and re-rating.
• Nestle +69%  … Strong consumer staples brand resilience.
• Shell +113% … Energy price cycles and integrated oil and gas operations.
• Total Energies +51% … Energy diversification into renewables and hydrocarbons.
• Novartis +35% … Steady pharma player with diversified portfolio.
• Roche +19% … Diagnostics and oncology strength under market volatility.

What’s their growth formula?

What can we learn from these companies? And indeed others across Europe who are growing at almost similar pace – companies like Adyen, the Dutch payments system, Delivery Hero, Germany’s food delivery network, or France’s Mistral AI?

A number of strategic characteristics stand out:

• Own a bottleneck or platform.
  Be it EUV systems, multi-product fintech, AI infrastructure, embedded payments, or defence tech—these companies control what others depend on.

• Compound via multiple engines.
  Hardware + services (ASML); subscriptions + ads (Spotify); payments + embedded finance (Adyen); delivery + monetization (Delivery Hero).

• Operational rigour meets strategic flexibility.
  Each scales shipping cadence, cost structure, or deployment speed in ways that rival incumbents can’t easily mirror.

• Monetise installed scale.
  From software upgrades to cross-sell within platforms or continued use monetization, they squeeze more value from existing channels.

• Transparent, credible growth guidance.
  Rather than overpromising, they maintain investor trust through disciplined forecasting, even as they push boundaries.

Europe’s growth story is not a straight headline, it’s a tapestry of reinvention across sectors, where established players and rising stars alike rewrite the rules of scale. Whether through embedded finance, sovereign AI, or infrastructure tooling, these companies prove that growth, and credible value creation, are not mutually exclusive.

In a landscape often written off as slow, that’s the kind of quiet revolution worth paying attention to.

Aisha blinked twice, and the shelves around her re-arranged in mid-air. The smart lenses in her eyes had already scanned her biometric mood, cross-checked her carbon budget, and pulled up items her climate-positive friends were buying this week. Somewhere in the background, her AI assistant was bidding for the best delivery slot — one that would arrive by drone before dinner, bundled with her neighbour’s order to save emissions. In the plaza outside, a live-streamed launch of limited-edition sneakers was gathering thousands of avatars, their purchases instantly minted as proof-of-belonging tokens in their social tribes. Aisha didn’t think of herself as shopping. She was signalling — to herself, to her circles, and to the world — exactly who she was, what she valued, and which futures she wanted to support.

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The next 10 years will not simply see people shopping through new channels or switching brands more often. The consumer of the future will be far more fluid, far more discerning, and far more driven by values and lived experience than any previous generation. They will vote with their attention, their time, and their data. Loyalty will have to be re-earned continuously.

It’s tempting to believe the forces shaping tomorrow’s purchasing decisions are the same ones we know today — climate change, digital convenience, social influence, economic pressure. And they are. But they’re combining in new ways, at new speeds, with new cultural overlays that will change the meaning of preference, trust, and brand loyalty in every sector and every market.

Trust will be earned in public

If there’s one currency more precious than money in the next decade, it will be trust. Future consumers won’t just be swayed by polished brand stories; they’ll demand proof — independent audits, behind-the-scenes access, even raw disclosure of mistakes and how they’re being fixed. Brands that are open about their shortcomings, and show how they’re improving, will be seen as more trustworthy than those who maintain an immaculate but opaque façade.

Openness will extend to data practices too. Customers will want clear control over what they share, and they’ll reward companies that treat their information with respect. In this sense, privacy and transparency will be twin pillars of brand credibility.

Life orchestration

We’ve already seen how digital tools can make buying faster and easier. But for the consumer of the 2030s, convenience will be about more than speed — it will be about orchestration. Brands will compete to integrate seamlessly into people’s lives, anticipating needs before the customer even realises them. This might mean predictive replenishment of household essentials, health and finance services bundled into a mobility subscription, or cross-brand integrations that smooth the edges between separate parts of life.

The early blueprint for this is visible in Asia’s superapps, where payments, messaging, ride-hailing, food delivery, and entertainment sit side by side. Elsewhere, brands will achieve similar integration through partnerships and open data ecosystems.

Beyond green

For decades, brands could get away with sprinkling their advertising with images of greenery and vague commitments to sustainability. That era is ending. For the consumer of the 2030s, environmental action must be tangible, verifiable, and built into the core of the product or service. Carbon neutrality claims will be interrogated, supply chains will be scrutinised, and “circular” will mean more than just a recycling logo — it will mean repair programmes, resale markets, and longer-lasting products. Regeneration. And social issues will matter equally, often with more emotional impact.

The motivations differ by generation. Younger consumers will demand systemic change and radical transparency, calling out companies that fail to deliver. Older cohorts may be less activist in tone, but they will still demand proof that sustainability also delivers practical benefits: cost savings, health improvements, durability. In every case, brands that can show measurable impact — rather than just talk about it — will win loyalty.

Belonging to a tribe

Increasingly, buying is not just about the product — it’s about the tribe. The internet has made it easy to find communities centred around hyper-specific passions, aesthetics, or causes, from sneaker culture to wellness rituals to political activism. Within these micro-tribes, purchases are badges of belonging. A limited-edition drop, a co-created collection, or even a second-hand vintage find can become a kind of membership card.

This fragmentation of loyalty means brands can’t expect to dominate the mass market in the old way. The most successful will act more like community hosts than advertisers: creating spaces for members to connect, offering exclusive content or experiences, and recognising customers not just as buyers but as contributors.

The game is on

Shopping will increasingly resemble entertainment. Live-streamed product launches, play-to-earn loyalty schemes, in-app games, augmented reality try-ons, and even virtual goods will all play a role in winning attention and deepening engagement. These are not gimmicks — in markets like China, they already generate higher conversion rates than traditional e-commerce. Gamification makes purchasing social, immediate, and fun, collapsing the gap between browsing and buying.

Value beyond price

Economic pressures — from inflation to inequality — will ensure that value remains a deciding factor. But value won’t be measured only in pounds or dollars. Consumers will weigh time saved, convenience, product lifespan, ethical sourcing, and even the social capital of owning a brand. In this environment, “premium” will have to be earned not just through quality, but through relevance and meaning.

Generations, regions, and realities

Different age groups will navigate this future in different ways. And why a “generational” classification is not perfect, because everyone is different, it does illustrate some of the different attitudes and

Gen Z (mid-teens to mid-20s)

• Drivers: identity expression, social justice, fast cultural cycles, creator economy.

• Behaviour: fluid brand allegiances; rapid experimentation; high adoption of social commerce, short-form video shopping and in-app payments; preference for brands that co-create and provide platforms for self-expression.

• What matters: authenticity, shareability, cause alignment, and seamless mobile experiences.

Millennials (late 20s to early 40s)

• Drivers: life-stage (family, home), career, health and sustainability balanced with convenience.

• Behaviour: hybrid — value experiences and sustainability but also convenience and time-saving services; open to subscriptions and premiumization if clearly useful.

• What matters: trust, quality, value-for-time, and brands that help them manage complex lives.

Gen X and Boomers (mid 40s and onwards)

• Drivers: reliability, simplicity, value, health and security.

• Behaviour: slower to adopt new channels but rapidly embrace useful tech (telehealth, online banking) when it’s simple and demonstrably secure; brand loyalty persists when performance is consistent.

• What matters: clear communication, customer service, product reliability and safety.

Regional context will matter enormously.

Asia

• Early signals: live commerce, superapps, rapid payments infrastructure, AR/virtual try-on in fashion and beauty, and gamified marketing. Mobile-first behaviours create low friction for impulse purchases and community-driven commerce.

• Result: higher conversion rates from entertainment-led shopping; brands must master short-form video, influencers who double as sellers, and integrated payment ecosystems.

North America, Europe

• Early signals: heightened scrutiny on privacy and sustainability, regulatory pressure, growth of subscription and “as-a-service” models, increased importance of direct-to-consumer (DTC) relationships and first-party data.

• Result: brands will need to prove both ethical standing and provide differentiated experiences to command loyalty.

Africa, Latin America

• Early signals: mobile-first economies with strong peer-to-peer commerce (WhatsApp, social marketplaces); trust often built through personal networks; value-driven purchasing is dominant but aspirational segments seek premium global brands.

• Result: localised distribution strategies, strong social selling and affordability innovations (microfinance, modular payment).

We already see some examples:

• Live streaming commerce and short-form video fueling impulse and community purchases, especially in parts of Asia where commerce and entertainment are fused.

• Gamified brand experiences: brands creating play-like environments (virtual stores, in-game goods) to capture attention and sell limited editions.

• Virtual goods and brand extensions in metaverse-like environments acting as status markers — from digital sneakers to fashion NFTs used for social signalling.

• Brands experimenting with circular models: buy-back, repair services, resale marketplaces to keep customers within their ecosystem.

• Brands embedding into life through subscription and orchestration services: replenishment, connected services (insurance with purchase), and bundled ecosystems.

Every sector is shaken-up

Every sector will be shaken up in different ways, both those who typically engage directly with consumers (B2C), but also every other (B2B) business who ultimately has an end consumer. Technology is usually seen as the great disruptor, but it’s actually consumer behaviour, and how it will embrace these technologies that matter more. New market models of engagement will emerge (C2C, services, leasing, for example), and new business models  including a shift to more branded ecosystems, and communities, will be important.

Food and drinks

• Move from novelty to provenance: plant-based and regenerative labels win where taste, price and convenience align. Subscription meal kits, direct-to-consumer brands and local micro-food suppliers will grow.

• Early brand moves: small challenger brands using transparency and community recipes; established players reworking supply chains to show measurable impact.

Fashion and retail

• Circularity, rental and resale will become core. Gamified drops and virtual fashion (digital wearables) will create new status economies.

• Early brand moves: launches of resale platforms, digital-only collections, and in-app try-ons linked to short-form live commerce.

Mobility and energy

• Consumers buying mobility-as-a-service and valuing integrated, low-carbon travel. Ownership declines in dense cities; subscriptions and shared models increase.

• Early brand moves: auto companies offering subscription bundles, energy companies offering home-as-a-service.

Financial services

• Trust and convenience will shape fintech adoption. Embedded finance, contextual lending (BNPL) and personalized financial tooling will be decisive.

• Early brand moves: banks partnering with platforms, productizing financial wellness and credential-based lending.

Healthcare and wellness

• Preventive, personalized services bundled into daily life (wearables + telemedicine + medication subscriptions).

• Early brand moves: integration of health data into platforms, wellness memberships offering predictive care.

Preparing for the decade ahead

Aisha is not a distant fiction. Many of her influences and behaviours are already here. Of course, it might not be with an AR headset, but it will be hugely influenced by AI, personal data, digital access, and the new possibilities which this technologies bring with them. Brands that want to thrive with the consumer of the future will need to make some fundamental shifts.

• Design for proof: publish measurable impact metrics, make supply chains auditable, and let customers validate claims (blockchain provenance, third-party seals).

• Host communities, don’t just target audiences: enable co-creation, reward contributors, and design for long-term social value — community members should feel ownership.

• Treat loyalty as an experience stack: combine utility (discounts, early access), recognition (status badges, visible contribution), and play (events, gamified quests).

• Invest in orchestration capabilities: APIs, partnerships and data systems that allow your brand to be part of people’s routines without being intrusive.

• Regionalise and localise: what works in one mobile-first market won’t map directly onto another. Build local experimentation squads and partnerships with local platforms.

• Design products for longevity and circularity: guarantee repairability, modular upgrades and secondary markets — these will be demanded by climate-conscious consumers and those seeking value.

Above all, brands must accept that the next decade’s consumer will not be one archetype but many. Loyalty will be fluid, trust will be hard-won, and every purchase will carry layers of meaning — about values, belonging, and personal identity. Commerce will not just be a transaction; it will be a moment of community, entertainment, and self-expression.

The brands that understand this will not just follow the consumer into the future — they will help shape the very way the future consumer sees the world.

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