Peter Fisk

I asked Richard Branson to describe his typical day. He turned to me, his face more alive and interested than when we had talked about any aspect of his business empire. “The early morning is the best part of my day. I wake early, around 5 am, and begin every day with a swim in the ocean, or bike ride, while everything is quiet, and the sun slowly rises”.

The hyper-active 74 year old founder and chairman of the Virgin Group – who started out with a student newspaper and then moved on to establish businesses in music, airlines, drinks, banking, beauty, trains and much more – is a big believer that a high quality workout in the morning sets the tone to perform throughout the day.

He often swims for an hour or more around the shoreline of Neckar, his private island in the Caribbean. Later in the day he loves a bit of kite surfing too. When staying at his boutique hotel in Morocco, he is known to cycle for 100km in the Atlas Mountains.

His greatest love, however, is tennis – challenging guests on his island, business partners and even the odd adversary. He prefers to play against people a little better than him, so that he can improve himself. “Tennis is an excellent form of aerobic exercise that improves cardiovascular health, agility, and coordination. It also helps me unwind and destress”.

As we talked more, he emphasised the importance of maintaining mental health and balance in his life. This includes taking time for mindfulness, relaxation, and reflection, which are all integral parts of his overall fitness approach. He practices gratitude and enjoys moments of peace, which he believes contribute to his mental clarity and productivity.

He also maintains a balanced diet that includes nutritious foods like fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins. When we first met, he immediately requested a green tea, although he was still recovering from a late night party. He is conscious of his health and talked about the importance of sleep, staying hydrated, and managing stress to maintain energy levels throughout the day.

What can business leader learn from elite athletes?

In search of the secrets of high performance, there is nowhere better to look than sports, and in particular what it takes to become an elite athlete. Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Lionel Messi are perfect role models for any CEO, seeking to reach the pinnacle of their profession, to sustain performance year after year, and to achieve the highest honours.

Having been involved in sports for the last 45 years, as a successful and then slower runner, I have immersed myself in athlete stories, training methods, sports science, and the latest research. Yet one of my best learnings came from listening to double Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge. The Kenyan is a humble superstar, describing his daily life, the normal routines of cooking and cleaning, playing with his kids, but also with an absolute dedication to sporting excellence, every day, year after year.

Kipchoge is a meticulous athlete, leaving no stone unturned to be the very best ever at his game. That might include regular physiological testing, daily blood lactate analysis, carefully structured training sessions, personally optimised nutrition, and plenty of sleep. He also loves to read business books – particularly Stephen Covey’s books on personal habits, and John Maxwell’s on strategy. So athletes seek to learn from business too!

• The Race of Your Life by Peter Fisk
• Achieving Peak Performance by Peter Fisk
• Eliud Kipchoge, No Human is Limited by Peter Fisk

So what can business leaders learn from athletes?

Peak performance doesn’t just happen. It takes years of development, conditioning, planning, and optimisation. It also can’t be sustained indefinitely. Kipchoge needs to be at his peak for just a few days every year. Messi, for a few hours, once or twice a week. They think in performance cycles, short and longer term, seeking to build in a carefully structured program, and deliver when it really matters with maximum impact.

Here, below, are my 12 attributes of high performance – some familiar to the business world, but others completely neglected. When harnessed effectively, they can significantly enhance decision-making, performance, and long-term sustainability. They include physical fitness, mental toughness, and personal balance, through which leaders can optimise their performance and lead their organisations with clarity and resilience.

Just as athletes like Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, and Simone Biles, dedicate themselves to continuous improvement, business leaders must do the same. With the right mindset and habits, they can overcome challenges, lead by example, and achieve extraordinary success.

1. Personal Fitness

Just like elite athletes, business leaders must maintain a high level of physical and mental fitness to handle the demands of their roles. Fitness for business leaders isn’t just about physical health, but about mental agility, energy levels, and emotional resilience—all qualities that are cultivated through regular exercise and maintaining overall wellness.

One of the best examples of this is Serena Williams, one of the most decorated athletes of all time. Serena attributes much of her success to her dedication to fitness. Beyond the hours she spends on the tennis court, she incorporates a rigorous training regimen that includes strength training, yoga, and cardiovascular exercises. These activities keep her in top shape, enabling her to withstand the physical and mental toll of elite competition. Her commitment to fitness not only enhances her athletic performance but also supports her ability to focus, stay calm under pressure, and recover quickly—traits that are invaluable in the business world.

Business leaders who follow a similar fitness-oriented approach experience higher energy levels, better decision-making, and improved focus. Arianna Huffington has been a strong advocate for the importance of sleep and work-life balance. As the founder of The Huffington Post and CEO of Thrive Global, Huffington often discusses how the hustle culture that prioritizes productivity at the cost of rest is unsustainable. She emphasizes the need for business leaders to prioritize their wellbeing to avoid burnout and ensure that they remain effective over the long term.

2. Strategic Planning

Strategic planning in the world of sports can often be just as complex and meticulous as it is in business. Elite athletes are often required to plan years in advance, setting goals, preparing for competitions, and adjusting their tactics as necessary. These strategies are not only about preparation but also about adaptability, responding to unexpected challenges, and constantly refining the approach for maximum effectiveness.

Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history, exemplifies the importance of strategic planning. Leading up to each Olympic Games, Phelps and his coach, Bob Bowman, would develop a detailed plan for training, nutrition, and mental preparation. This meticulous attention to detail allowed Phelps to peak at the right time—at the Games themselves. His ability to break down large, long-term goals (winning multiple gold medals across different Olympics) into smaller, measurable milestones is a perfect example of the type of strategic planning that business leaders can adopt.

In the business world, leaders must similarly break down long-term objectives into achievable short-term goals. Jeff Bezos of Amazon is an example of a leader who has successfully employed long-term strategic planning to build Amazon from a small online bookstore into a global empire. His ability to focus on long-term results while navigating short-term challenges mirrors the strategic thinking of top athletes. Bezos has often spoken about focusing on the things that don’t change, such as the customer’s need for fast delivery or a great product, much like an athlete who focuses on the fundamentals of their sport, no matter how the landscape evolves.

3. Delivering Results

At the core of both elite athletes and business leaders is the ability to perform under pressure. Whether it’s hitting a game-winning shot in basketball or making a multimillion-dollar business decision, peak performance requires focus, resilience, and the ability to manage pressure.

Consider Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world, who set the world record in the 100-meter dash during the 2009 World Championships. What made Bolt’s performance stand out wasn’t just his speed, but his calmness under pressure. During his races, Bolt exhibited a level of composure that allowed him to execute flawlessly when everything was on the line. This ability to perform under intense pressure is a key trait that business leaders can emulate. In high-pressure business situations—whether it’s managing a crisis or negotiating a high-stakes deal—being able to remain calm, focus on the task at hand, and execute strategy is critical to success.

Similarly, LeBron James is often hailed for his performance in clutch moments, particularly in the NBA Finals. His ability to make split-second decisions and execute flawless plays under immense pressure is a direct result of his mental training. LeBron has spoken extensively about the importance of mental preparation, including visualization and mindfulness exercises, which help him stay sharp during crucial moments of games.

For business leaders, cultivating a mindset that remains calm under pressure is equally important. Leaders who can think clearly, delegate tasks effectively, and communicate decisively during high-stakes moments inspire confidence in their teams. This kind of clarity of thought under pressure is what separates elite performers from others, whether in sport or business.

4. Mental Freshness

Mental freshness is crucial for sustained high performance, whether in sports or business. It refers to the ability to maintain mental clarity, creativity, and focus, even under intense pressure. For elite athletes, staying mentally fresh means having the ability to stay calm, make quick decisions, and adjust tactics mid-game without losing composure.

Roger Federer, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, is known for his mental freshness on the court. Despite being in his late 30s and competing against younger, physically superior players, Federer’s mental game is often cited as one of his greatest strengths. He has a calm demeanor and a focus that allows him to perform at a high level even in the most stressful situations. His ability to mentally reset between points, stay patient, and not let mistakes affect his next move speaks volumes about how business leaders can benefit from staying mentally fresh. When business leaders are mentally fresh, they’re able to approach challenges with new perspectives, solve problems creatively, and remain focused on their long-term goals.

In the corporate world, mental freshness can be maintained by prioritizing rest, taking breaks, and avoiding mental burnout. Bill Gates, for instance, is known to take “think weeks,” where he isolates himself in a cabin with no distractions to think, read, and reflect. These mental resets allow him to stay fresh and come up with innovative ideas that help shape the future of Microsoft.

5. Having Resilience

Resilience is the ability to recover from challenges, setbacks, and failures. For elite athletes, resilience is key to overcoming injuries, defeats, or disappointments and continuing to pursue their goals with determination.

Kobe Bryant, the late NBA legend, epitomized resilience throughout his career. After suffering a devastating Achilles injury in 2013, many speculated that his career might be over. However, Bryant refused to let the injury define him. He worked relentlessly to recover and ultimately returned to play at a high level. His resilience in the face of adversity—both physical and mental—allowed him to continue competing at an elite level for years after the injury.

Business leaders also face setbacks, whether it’s a failed product launch, a financial crisis, or a significant market shift. Leaders who demonstrate resilience in the face of these challenges inspire their teams to keep pushing forward, adapting to new circumstances, and learning from failures. Howard Schultz, the former CEO of Starbucks, exemplifies resilience in his story of turning the company around after it faced financial struggles in the early 2000s. Despite criticisms and setbacks, Schultz’s ability to persist, rethink strategies, and pivot helped revive Starbucks and make it one of the most successful global brands.

6. Self Confidence

Confidence is the belief in one’s abilities and the conviction that success is achievable. It’s a trait that helps athletes perform at their best under pressure, knowing they have the skills and preparation to succeed. Confidence doesn’t mean arrogance; it’s about trusting your training, preparation, and instincts.

Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the most famous footballers in the world, has long been known for his supreme confidence. He is constantly working on his skills, fitness, and mindset, believing in his ability to lead his team to victory. This self-belief allows him to take risks, be bold in his approach, and deliver under the brightest of lights—whether it’s a penalty kick in the final minutes or a decisive game-changing moment. Ronaldo’s confidence is contagious, motivating his teammates to perform at their highest level.

In business, confidence is equally important. A confident leader can make tough decisions, take calculated risks, and inspire trust in their team. Indra Nooyi, the former CEO of PepsiCo, was known for her confident leadership style. Despite facing challenges in a male-dominated industry, Nooyi stood firm in her convictions, making bold decisions that reshaped the company’s portfolio. Her confidence in herself, her vision, and her team was instrumental in PepsiCo’s success during her tenure.

7. Being Courageous

Courage is about stepping outside of your comfort zone, taking risks, and facing challenges head-on, even when the outcome is uncertain. Elite athletes frequently put themselves in high-pressure situations where the risk of failure is always present. Yet, it’s their courage to step up to the plate that separates them from the rest.

Simone Biles, for example, displayed tremendous courage during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when she made the difficult decision to withdraw from several events to focus on her mental health. In doing so, she chose to prioritize her well-being over the fear of judgment or letting down her team. This act of courage showed the world that sometimes, the most courageous thing a person can do is to take a step back and prioritize self-care when needed.

In the business world, courage is also required to make difficult decisions, whether it’s challenging the status quo, entering new markets, or making the hard choice to pivot when necessary. Elon Musk, for instance, has shown great courage throughout his career by taking risks with ventures like SpaceX and Tesla, often with no certainty of success. His willingness to take bold risks, despite the high stakes, has positioned him as one of the most innovative and influential leaders of the modern era.

8. Team Playing

While individual performance is crucial in sports and business, the ability to work as part of a team is just as important. In team sports, athletes must trust and support one another to achieve collective success. The same applies in the corporate world, where collaboration, trust, and shared goals are necessary for organizations to thrive.

Michael Jordan is one of the most famous examples of how teamwork can lead to incredible success. While he was undoubtedly an individual talent, Jordan’s leadership and ability to elevate his teammates were key factors in his six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. He was able to make his teammates better by challenging them, motivating them, and trusting them in crucial moments.

In the business world, teamwork is often the key to overcoming obstacles and achieving ambitious goals. Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Facebook, emphasized the importance of collaboration and building strong, supportive teams throughout her career. Sandberg’s leadership style revolved around empowering others, building trust, and encouraging open communication, all of which are essential components of effective teamwork.

9. Having Support

Finally, athletes rely heavily on support networks, from coaches and trainers to teammates and family. This support system helps them stay focused, recover from setbacks, and maintain motivation throughout their careers. Business leaders, too, must cultivate support systems within their organizations and beyond.

Serena Williams has often spoken about the importance of her support system, including her family, coaches, and teammates. She credits her success to the unwavering support she has received, which has allowed her to overcome challenges and stay motivated through the ups and downs of her career.

Similarly, business leaders like Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, emphasize the importance of having a strong team around them. Nadella’s leadership at Microsoft has focused on creating an inclusive, supportive environment where people feel empowered to take risks, ask for help, and collaborate freely.

10. Staying Agile

Adaptability is the ability to adjust to new conditions, overcome unexpected challenges, and modify strategies to remain competitive. Elite athletes must constantly adapt to changing circumstances—whether it’s a shift in their opponent’s strategy, a change in playing conditions, or even recovering from injury. Similarly, business leaders must be ready to adjust their strategies in response to market dynamics, technological advancements, and shifts in consumer behavior.

Novak Djokovic, one of the “Big Three” in men’s tennis, has exemplified adaptability throughout his career. His ability to adjust his playing style based on his opponent’s strengths and weaknesses has been key to his success. Djokovic’s flexibility in adapting his approach—from aggressive play to patient rallies—has allowed him to win against a wide range of players, on different surfaces, and in various conditions. This adaptability has kept him at the top of his game for over a decade, adjusting to the evolving nature of tennis and the fierce competition.

In the corporate world, adaptability is equally important. Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, is a prime example of a business leader who has demonstrated adaptability. Under Cook’s leadership, Apple successfully transitioned from a focus on hardware products to a broader emphasis on services and software. This pivot became crucial as the market for smartphones began to mature. Apple’s shift towards services such as iCloud, Apple Music, and the App Store was a result of understanding changing market needs and adapting to those shifts.

Similarly, Netflix’s transition from a DVD rental service to a streaming giant was driven by its ability to adapt to technological advancements. Reed Hastings, Netflix’s co-founder and CEO, embraced the shift from physical media to digital streaming when the internet infrastructure allowed it, ultimately transforming the entertainment industry.

11. Embracing Technology

The use of data and technology in sports has revolutionized performance analysis, helping athletes refine their skills and understand their bodies better. In business, data and technology have become indispensable tools for leaders seeking to stay competitive, make data-driven decisions, and innovate within their industries.

Data analytics in sports has become a game-changer, especially in sports like basketball and soccer, where player statistics, team strategies, and performance metrics are analyzed to the smallest detail. Steph Curry, known for revolutionizing the three-point shot in basketball, utilizes data to inform his training regimen. His shooting accuracy and range have been greatly enhanced by understanding patterns and refining his technique based on statistical analysis. Teams also use advanced technology to track players’ movements on the court, evaluate shot quality, and improve overall performance. The integration of these technologies allows athletes to optimize their training, anticipate opponents’ moves, and enhance recovery strategies.

In business, the use of data has been just as transformative. Amazon has harnessed massive amounts of data to refine its customer experience, optimize its supply chain, and improve product recommendations. The company’s recommendation engine is one of the most successful examples of using data to drive business success. Jeff Bezos famously stated that “you can be more competitive by using data to your advantage,” a sentiment that resonates across industries, from e-commerce to finance to healthcare.

Moreover, technology in business allows leaders to forecast trends, personalize marketing, track performance metrics, and automate processes. Google, for instance, uses vast amounts of data to improve its algorithms and deliver better search results, while businesses can use customer data to improve products and services.

Another great example is Wearable Technology. In sports, devices like Fitbit, Whoop, and the WHOOP Strap track athletes’ heart rate, sleep patterns, and physical activity to optimize training regimens. These devices give athletes a real-time picture of their body’s needs and help them avoid overtraining. Business leaders, too, can use similar wearable technology to monitor their own health metrics, ensuring they stay physically and mentally sharp.

12. Rest and Recharge

Recovery is often overlooked in both sports and business, but it’s one of the most important factors contributing to sustained performance over time. For elite athletes, proper recovery strategies are essential for maintaining peak performance, avoiding injuries, and extending careers. This includes sleep, physical therapy, nutrition, and mindfulness practices. Business leaders also need to prioritize recovery to maintain focus, creativity, and long-term productivity.

Tom Brady, the legendary NFL quarterback, is a perfect example of an athlete who has prioritized recovery to extend his career. He has been open about his “TB12 Method,” which focuses on pliability, hydration, and a holistic approach to wellness. Brady’s recovery regimen includes an emphasis on stretching, physical therapy, and sleep, all of which have contributed to his ability to continue playing at a high level well into his 40s—an age when most quarterbacks have already retired.

Similarly, LeBron James invests a significant portion of his time and resources into recovery. Known for his intense training and commitment to fitness, LeBron also emphasizes the importance of rest and recovery. He spends over a million dollars annually on his body, including personal chefs, trainers, and cutting-edge recovery technologies such as cryotherapy and hyperbaric chambers. These efforts help him recover quickly after games and maintain his elite performance throughout the season.

In the business world, recovery also plays a crucial role in the productivity and decision-making abilities of leaders. Bill Gates has long been an advocate for maintaining balance in work and life. He is known for taking time off to read, travel, and disconnect from his daily business routine. These breaks allow him to recharge, gain new perspectives, and return to work with a refreshed mindset.

Time for a morning swim, lunchtime run, or early night?

Elite athletes offer valuable insights into how adaptability, the use of data and technology, and recovery can be leveraged for sustained performance. Business leaders who embrace these principles—by staying adaptable in a constantly changing environment, utilizing technology to enhance decision-making, and ensuring proper recovery and wellbeing—will be better equipped to navigate challenges, foster innovation, and lead their organizations toward long-term success. Whether it’s through adapting to new strategies, using cutting-edge technology to gain a competitive edge, or recognizing the importance of recovery and mental freshness, both athletes and business leaders must view these elements as integral parts of their journey toward greatness.

Superfast-gaming chips and fat-busting superdrugs, asteroid-chasing rockets and carbon-capturing technologies, 4 day working weeks and chess reinvented as a reality TV game, health-enhancing fashions and the rebirth of the hairy mammoth. Nvidia is transforming tech, while Novo Nordisk innovates healthcare, KinetX changes the space race, while Climeworks eliminates carbon.

• Next is Now: The future, unfolding right now
• Megatrends: Riding the superhighways to the future
• Lead the future: Leading with curiosity, creativity and courage

What does 2025 have in store for you, and your business?

Trends are the patterns of change shaping every aspect of culture and society, brands and business. They start as weak signals, often deviant behaviours on the edges of markets, and then embraced and amplified by the mainstream. Of course there are short-term fads, but trends are the more enduring ideas. And megatrends are the seismic shifts, illuminating your strategic pathways to the future.

As a business leader, CEO or project manager, marketer or innovator, finance or technologist, trends help you to navigate a world of relentless change. Indeed as change accelerates – not just because of incredible new technologies but also because of new agendas like climate change, and evolving social attitudes of young and old – so we need to look forwards, more than ever.

Each year there’s an avalanche of so-called trend reports. Some are decidedly flaky, full of superficial hyperbole, while some are built on profound insight.

Different trends will have more significance depending on your purpose, industry and location. That’s why I try to bring the best reports together, as a “kaleidoscope” of change.  I then work with companies to make sense of what matters most, building vision and strategy, and how to embrace change as your best opportunities to innovate and grow.

Let’s start with a summary. Here’s my A to Z of the most significant trends for global business in 2025. These trends are provocative and powerful disruptors of every business, and your strategies for success. You can explore more about each of these trends in my articles, and in my new keynote and workshop to explore the implications for you:

• A is for AI, of course. Growing exponentially, generative and agentic, infused into everything, and a $826.70 billion market by 2030. A is also for Algorithms, loved and hated by humans, and for Authenticity which we all increasingly seek.
• B is for Biotech. CRISPR-based gene editing is driving a revolution in medicine, as are new areas like bioprinting, brain-machine interfaces and remote diagnostics. B is also for Batteries, transforming energy, and BarBell economy, everything polarises to premium or low cost.
• C is for Creators. Artists to bloggers, homecrafters to podcasters are building a $528 billion market by 2030, enabled by individuality and social media. C is also for Content, dominating in the digital world, enabled by Curation and Community.
• D is for Deglobalisation. After decades of increasing global connectedness, we now see a fragmenting through geopolitics, nationalism, supply fragility and localism. D is also for Digital twins and accelerating Decarbonisation.
• E is for Energy transition. As climate change becomes more obvious and urgent, so is the shift from fossil to sustainable energy. Solar and wind, but also hydrogen, geothermal, waste, and more. E is also for Ecosystem innovation and growth.
• F is for Frictionless. Digital interactions have transformed expectations of simplicity and speed, both online and in the physical world. However there’s also friction positive, the need to sometimes slow down, be human. F is also for Filter focus.
• G is for Guochao. Chinese luxury brands are increasingly preferred by Chinese consumers. Brands like NIO, Li Auto, and Xpeng combine high-tech innovation with local luxury. G is also for Gamification of engagements, and Green proofing.
• H is for Humanicity. In a tech world, the best moments, the most valued and memorable experiences are human ones. H is also for Hybridisation, the fusion of physical and digital, and Hyperconnectedness of technologies, markets, people.
• I is for India. Growing GDP at around 7% in 2025, India is the only significant high growth market, compared to 2-3% in most other large economies. I is also for Intelligence, a word captured by Apple, and for Individuality and Intuition.
• J is for Joy. Kamala Harris appropriated the word in her campaign, because it was shown by psychologists to register as one of the most positive triggers in a world of chaos and change. J is also for Just in time logistics, speed and efficiency.
• K is for Kidult. Adults embracing their inner child, playful activities and hobbies, fun and nostalgic, escaping from a crazy world, including crafting and board games. K is also for K-commerce, anything Korean from beauty to music.
• L is for Luxury². While some brands like Hermes have risen to new heights, others like Gucci have fallen. Luxury is not simply about glitz, it is about heritage, meaning, exclusivity and taste.  L is also Live-streaming and Local-first shopping.
• M is for Microgrids. This might seem a technical one, but microgrids are the decentralised, digitalised future of energy. Where consumers, or prosumers can generate energy locally. M is also for Migration, Microinfluencer and Multisensation.
• N is for Net positive. Net zero is not enough. Creating a circular business model is a good start, but better is for business to create more than it started with, a net positive impact on the world. N is also for Nature based solutions and Nostalgia.
• O is for Older people. We will see a global 40% increase in Over 60s by 2030. Still active and aspirational, with time and money. But few brands focus on them. Have you seen an ad for older people recently? O is also for Open source, and Optimism.
• P is for Personalised. Digital technologies, with huge amounts of data and now AI, can truly personalise anything, from food to fashion, education to insurance. Which is now the expectation of consumers too. P is also for Playful, and Padel.
• Q is for Quantum speed. This will revolutionise the power and speed of computing processes over the next decade – from AI to drug discoveries, financial modelling to cybersecurity. Q is also for Qcommerce, home delivery to super apps.
• R is for Regeneration. Beyond circular thinking, to reinvent business models and processes that restore, renew, and revitalise the environment with positive impact. R is also for Reinvention of every industry, and Retro fashion and living.
• S is for Slops. Too much marketing has become mediocre spam – or slops – clogging up our inboxes. It’s lazy, inefficient and unwanted. S is also for Social innovation that has more resonance emotionally, and for Security, and Simplicity.
• T is for Tech anxiety. People are increasingly switching off from an over-digitalised world – uncertain about AI, breaking free from algorithms, driven crazy by automated call handling. T is at the same time for TikTok and Trust and Taylor Swift.
• U is for Urban design. 55% of the world’s 8.2 billion people now live in cities, and rapidly growing, transforming how we build, live, work, shop, learn, socialise, travel and much more. U is also for UGC, user generated content, and Upcycling.
• V is for Visual and Voice. Alexa and Siri, HoloLens and Oculus – XR devices are transforming how consumers engage with brands and knowledge – in fast, personal, and immersive ways. V is also for Vigilantes, stepping up where systems fail.
• W of for Wellness. The pursuit of health, positivity, and wellbeing is now a key factor in any service – food and fashion, tech and travel, banking and buildings. W is also for the evolving Web 3 beyond metaverse, and for Women’s sports.
• X is for Xenogenesis. 65% of CEOs say their business will need to be reinvented or die within the next 10 years. This reinvention is unlimited by sector, geography or capability. It could be anything. X is also for XaaS, anything as a service.
• Y is for YinYang. In a crazy, fast and uncertain world, sense and stability comes from balance. By finding connectedness and coexistence, we can better embrace the familiar and unknown, continuity with change, challenge and opportunity.
• Z is for Zalpha. In 2030, 75% of growth market consumers will be 15 to 34. Gen Z are digital natives, Gen Alpha are social natives. They have new aspirations, behaviours, priorities, language. Time to get with it. Slay, as they say, or be slain.

Digging a little deeper, here are some of the best trend reports for 2025. My favourites include Foresight Factory’s thoughtful view of humanity in a digital world, and OK Cool’s provocative view of what matters to Gen Z and Alpha, and how Boomers don’t get it”:

• EIU Economic Outlook 2025 … “Geopolitics will drive most significant change in the global economy. Global real GDP will expand by 2.6% a year on average over the next five years, below the 3% of the 2010s. US economic growth is slowing, Europe will build gradually from a low base, and China’s growth will be lifted slightly in 2025 by more vigorous stimulus. Emerging markets will benefit from a rebound in global trade while India’s expansion will be the fastest of any major economy in 2025-29.”
• Ipsos Global Trends … “As the world gets more complex, people focus on what they think they can control: themselves. People think they are doing all they can to solve climate change, but most feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the world around them. Even if feeling overwhelmed is part of being human, it’s still a powerful emotion that brands should be aware of and look to alleviate. One way: help people express themselves however they and their surrounding culture can.”
• Accenture Life Trends 2025 … As tech intensifies, and AI multiplies, reshaping our everyday lives ever more profoundly … people question what and who they trust, and seek new balances in how they live physically in a digital world. “Cost of hesitations details how it’s now incredibly easy to create all kinds of digital content, and a flood of scams is blurring the lines between the authentic and the deceptive. Even on once-trustworthy platforms, it’s harder for people to tell what’s real, seeding hesitation into their digital interactions.”
• Mintel Global Consumer Trends 2025 … “In 2025 and beyond, we’ll witness that the human mind, nature and technology aim to find harmony, but the puzzle is not always a perfect fit. As global consumer trends evolve, both consumers and brands will live in a pendulum that constantly swings between a sense of control and a loss of control. Three trends represent the layers of interaction that consumers and brands exist within: our home, our community and our globe.”
• Foresight Factory Trending 2025  … “Consumers want to break free from the monotony of over-programmed lives. The ability of an algorithm to curate personalised content was once its most distinctive feature. Now, its ubiquity contributes to a feeling of soullessness and blanding of content. The once fun internet is inundated with “slops” – spam content that screams of mediocrity. The advancement of AI further contributes to this, with much AI- generated content lacking in originality and producing oddly similar outputs.”
• GWI Consumer Trends 2025 … “How podcasts are shaking up the ad game. How the buzz around women’s sports can drive lasting growth. How the future workforce is changing before our eyes. Over 1 in 10 business professionals have a side hustle now. But get this – who they are might surprise you. The number of US teens who say college is important has dropped 21% since 2021”.
• Nielsen IQ Consumer Outlook 2025 … “The global outlook for consumers is improving. Consumers are determined in their resilience to stay ahead, vigilant against further disruption, and intentional about every aspect of their daily spending. The report anticipates that global consumers will spend $3.2 trillion more in 2025, representing nearly 6% growth compared with 2024, according to World Data Lab.”
• Publicis Sapient Consumer Trends 2025 … “We’re on the cusp of significant transformation as we enter 2025. A confluence of technological advancements, evolving consumer behaviours and economic shifts is reshaping the landscape. Economic pressures, including inflation, have reduced disposable income for many, creating distinct customer segments with a growing emphasis on value.”
• Euromonitor Global Consumer Trends 2025: “Healthspan Plans” focuses on the growing consumer desire for longevity and better health over time. 52% of consumers believe they will be healthier in the next five years than they are now. “Wiser Wallets” highlights a move towards financial conservatism, saving and mindful spending. “AI Ambivalent” balances scepticism for new tech with pragmatic evaluation. Despite concerns about AI outputs, 43% of consumers considered generative AI a reliable information source.
• WGSN Future Consumer 2025 … “We see seismic shifts across our industries, our communities and our planet. We’ll travel to new physical and digital cities, but won’t forget the power of local. We’ll focus on regenerative finance and business ecosystems, while understanding that growth isn’t a dirty word. The Great Restructure is among us.”
• Innova Global Consumer Trends 2025 … “Consumers are facing many external stresses, especially in terms of health, the environment, the changing global political landscape and personal financial constraints. As a result, they are choosing to take more control for themselves and are evaluating brands more carefully.”
• OK Cool Gen ZAlpha Trend Report 2025 … “Social media continues to shape culture, creating new communities and niches from Brat Summer, to the cult of Reesa Teesa and the earworm I’m looking for a guy in finance. TikTok has become the new Google for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and young people are getting sick of ‘basic’ branded content online.”
• Gartner Strategic Technology Trends 2025 … “The trends fall into three buckets: the rise of AI agents will require advancements in AI governance and new technologies to combat disinformation; Quantum computing demanding new cryptographic methods, while low-cost sensors will enable innovative business models; and enhanced interactions between physical and virtual experiences, robots integrating into daily life, and tech that directly influences cognition and performance.”
• Startus Technology Trends 2025 … “Emerging technology trends will present unparalleled opportunities for growth, efficiency, and transformation. We categorized it into 10 clusters such as AI, automation, advanced computing, biotech, extended reality (XR), and more. Each category features specific technologies, including generative AI (genAI), predictive maintenance, and brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).”
• CBInsights Tech Gamechangers 2025 … “New breakthroughs are altering the future direction of tech and its influence on the world at large. While AI has captured headlines, it’s just one part of a broader technological surge. Startups and tech giants alike are making strides in fields as diverse as clean energy, space exploration, and human longevity.”
• Kantar Marketing Trends 2025 … “More than two in five consumers don’t trust AI-generated ads, making data provenance a big theme for 2025. Other trends include slowing global population growth, diversity and inclusion, sustainability, creator communities, coalescence of broadcast and online video platforms, livestreaming, Retail Media Networks (RMNs), and a decline in social media ad effectiveness”.
• Statista Must Watch Consumer Trends 2025 … “From AI-driven shopping to the rise of wellness, In 2025, AI isn’t just a buzzword, it’s the driving force behind smarter shopping decisions. Online influencers have reshaped consumer habits, but their growth is slowing, seen as less real and less trusted. Wellness is no longer confined to one category, from food to beauty, fashion and travel. Loyalty programs are the new tool to grow not just retain customers”.
• CMS Social Media Trends 2025 … “More than 5 billion people worldwide currently use social media, around 65% of the global population. AI-driven content creation becomes essential for crafting what users want to see. Niche influencers become crucial, driving deep engagement with specialized communities. Social commerce evolves, providing seamless experiences within the customer journey.”
• Webby Trend Report 2025 … “Brainrot is a condition that describes the impact of being ‘terminally online’ and a genre of nonsensical or absurdist internet humour. Today, the chronically online reign supreme. “Brat summer” can cannibalize pop culture and media, a baby hippo can become the next IT girl, and being “rizzed up” or “Costco guys” are terms expected to be widely understood.”
• Dentsu, Media Trends 2025 … “Media is increasingly driven by sophisticated algorithms, becoming 100% addressable, 100% shoppable, and 100% accountable. For 15 years, dentsu’s annual media trends report has been the industry’s most sought-after trend forecast. Download the 2025 edition to prepare for the many opportunities to drive impact in the algorithmic era.”
• Hilton Travel Trends 2025 … “From the awe-inspiring skies of the total eclipse to sold out sports stadiums, concerts and conferences, travel fuels memorable and important cultural conversations. We travel to discover new cultures, make connections, to recover and recharge.”
• Korn Ferry’s Talent Trends 2025 … “After last year’s AI boom and the shift to skills-based hiring, many global enterprises were caught in endless planning. Now’s the time to stop overthinking and start acting with purpose. The takeaway for 2025? Be intentional and brave.”
• JP Morgan Outlook 2025 … “Easing global monetary policy and increasing capital investment have the potential to drive growth in 2025. The key question for 2025 is how low rates will go. AI is poised to revolutionise productivity across the economy, from pharmaceutical development to white-collar labor. With political power shifts perpetuating uncertainty, investors should consider how they are diversifying exposures to bolster portfolio resilience.”
• UK MOD Global Strategic Trends to 2055 … “6 global drivers of change will redefine societies, economies, governance, security and defence, as well the natural world itself: global power competition, demographic pressures, climate change and pressure on the environment, technological advances and connectivity, economic transformation and energy transition, inequality and pressure on governance”.
• Roland Berger Trend Compendium 2050 … “People are naturally the focus of megatrends. They are the drivers of every trend but at the same time they are exposed to their effects. Thus, the focus here is not merely on data concerning demographic development of countries and regions, but also on training and work opportunities, and – equally – on societal values and human rights.”
• PMI Global Megatrends: People Planet Innovation … “Rather than predetermining anything in the future, we need to provide a culture centered on learning to increase the outcomes you are accountable for rather than only being accountable for an outcome with the resources you are given.”
• Frog Futurescape Report … “In the ebb and flow of human habits, renewed preferences and lifestyles emerge. What is currently receding? What might take its place? Whether in our relationships with people, planet or technology, there is a constant tension in how to respond to the dynamic shifts in human behavior “
• VML Future 100 … “2025 will be a year of paradoxes, where advanced technology meets digital disconnection, where the dawn of the trillionaire collides with cost-cutting and the prolonged challenges of the “cost-of-living”, and where brands must find that delicate balance between resonance with restraint. Gravy in a beer can. Tampons in an ice cream tub. Coffee in a tube. AI creators are experimenting with the possibilities of how the next iteration of beauty could look.”

More to come soon!

Maybe it’s also interesting to look back and see what was predicted in previous years …

• Trend Kaleidoscope 2024
• Trend Kaleidoscope 2023

What will you do in 2025?

 

In a world of frenetic change, many companies find it difficult to find new growth.

Global markets are typically growing at around 2-3% (according to IMF for 2025-26). Most developed markets are largely stagnant. India tops the developing markets, with 7% growth. But these are averages. Go inside most companies, and they have ambitions to grow at 10% even 20%.  So they have to think differently.

The companies shaping tomorrow are those unafraid to stretch, to reimagine strategy itself, and to embrace emerging models of growth that transcend boundaries and industries.

Instead of trying to sell more of the same – seeking to scale conventional markets, and get more from tired audiences – they look at future growth differently, new spaces, and new approaches.

• Nubank in Brazil reinventing finance to target the unbanked with simplicity and accessibility.
• On Running leveraging culture, design, and community to grow into a global sports brand.
• DeepMind applying AI to protein folding, unlocking trillion-dollar opportunities in medicine.
• Rocket Lab lowering the cost of access to space, redefining an entire industry.

These signals are not isolated—they’re fragments of the next economy taking shape. These companies don’t just compete harder, they create new markets, and play a different game.

What are the best growth strategies?

The world’s fastest growing bank, Nubank from Brazil, uses social inclusion as a growth engine, targeting the unbanked. LVMH demonstrates the power of orchestrated ecosystems. Shopify shows how empowering others creates compounding growth. Crocs shows the value of cultural resonance. BYD exemplifies bold reinvention. Unilever anchors growth in purpose, On in circularity, DBS in ecosystems, and IKEA in localisation.

Growth strategies used to be simple and predictable – inspired by Igor Ansoff’s simple matrix of options – expand geographically, capture market share, and acquire rivals – sell more.

But in today’s volatile world, defined by digital disruption, shifting consumer values, climate imperatives, and geopolitical uncertainty, growth has become less about scale at all costs and more about reinvention.

The next generation of growth is built on agility, purpose, and innovation. Companies are not just selling more products to more people; they are creating self-reinforcing growth systems, tailoring experiences to micro-markets, leveraging ecosystems, and aligning with deeper human aspirations.

It’s also about value creation. Look across every sector – the biggest selling brands are rarely the most valuable – Volkswagen generates 4 times more revenue than Tesla, but Tesla’s market cap is 20 times bigger. Pepsico is twice as big as Coca Cola, but Coca Cola twice as valuable as Pepsico.

Growth is not simply about selling more, or being bigger. It needs to deliver economic value. Which it means to be growth that is profitable, progressive and will proliferate into the future.

So what are the best next-generation ideas for strategy and growth? Here are 10 ideas. These are not yet perfect frameworks; they are stretching visions of how the most innovative business may evolve in the decade ahead.

1. Growth loops, self-perpetuating growth

Traditional business models imagined growth as linear: invest in marketing, capture customers, sell more, and scale. But the most dynamic companies today are embracing growth loops.

In these models, every new customer contributes to further growth—through data, referrals, or network effects. Shopify, for example, has built a flywheel where each new merchant not only brings revenue but also strengthens its ecosystem of apps, payments, and logistics. That, in turn, attracts more developers and partners, creating a compounding cycle of growth.

Similarly, Nubank, the Brazilian digital bank, thrives on referrals. Its low-cost, mobile-first offering appeals to millions excluded by traditional banks. Every satisfied customer brings in others, creating viral momentum. Within a decade, Nubank became one of the world’s largest fintechs, serving over 100 million customers across Latin America. These growth loops are less about linear expansion and more about building self-perpetuating systems.

Spotify thrives on loops: more listeners attract more artists, creating better playlists, which attract more listeners. Revolut applies this logic to fintech: each product (cards, crypto, savings) feeds data into better recommendations and higher cross-sell.

Quantum growth loops take this further, creating self-reinforcing flywheels across industries. Imagine healthcare ecosystems where patient data fuels AI diagnostics, improving treatments, which attract more patients, generating more data. The loop compounds, accelerating both growth and innovation.

Strategy in this model is less about planning and more about accelerating loops.

2. Market making, not market sharing

Instead of competing for slices of existing demand, leaders create entirely new market spaces. BYD moved from batteries into electric vehicles, then into SkyRail, inventing new categories of urban mobility. Strategy shifts from positioning against rivals to naming and shaping whole industries.

Traditional strategy begins with industry analysis; next-generation strategy begins with customer worlds. Companies now create markets that previously did not exist, building categories shaped more by aspirations and experiences than by product lines.

Red Bull exemplified this with energy drinks, crafting a lifestyle category defined by extreme sports and adrenaline culture. More recently, Grab in Southeast Asia created the “super-app” category, integrating ride-hailing, payments, food, and finance into a daily-life platform. In Africa, M-Pesa pioneered mobile money, not by competing with banks but by creating an entirely new financial infrastructure. The lesson: growth comes from market-making, not market share.

Looking ahead, speculative opportunities abound: healthcare may blend into wellness and performance, powered by AI coaches; urban mobility may fuse housing, micro-mobility, and entertainment into seamless living systems. Companies that see life-activities, not industries, will shape the growth markets of tomorrow.

3. Culture coding, tapping into emerging ideas

The next advantage may not come from technology but from decoding culture—tapping into emerging values, aesthetics, and identities. Strategy is less about product-market fit than movement-market fit — scaling by mobilising tribes around ideas, memes, and values.

Liquid Death turned canned water into a $1B lifestyle brand by hacking into metal culture, absurd humor, and sustainability. Netflix scales globally by producing hyper-local cultural content—from Korean dramas to Spanish thrillers—that resonate far beyond their origins. In India, Byju’s educational platform grew by blending global tech with local parental aspirations.

Future growth may come from breaking hidden codes: designing products for neurodiverse communities; embedding indigenous knowledge into climate solutions; crafting services that speak to generational shifts in identity and belonging. Strategy becomes cultural semiotics as much as economics.

4. Regenerative growth, not extractive growth

The growth frontier is not consuming more resources but restoring and regenerating them. Growth strategies will focus on adding back more than they take.

Sustainability is no longer sufficient. The next step is regenerative growth, where businesses actively restore ecosystems, communities, and trust. This is not CSR or offsetting; it is strategy that aligns value creation with planetary renewal.

NextEra Energy in the USA reinvented itself from fossil-heavy Florida Power & Light into the world’s largest producer of wind and solar energy, scaling renewables profitably while reshaping its growth logic. Interface, the flooring company, moved from reducing impact to regenerative design, creating carpets that clean the air and contribute to biodiversity.

The emerging frontier lies in regenerative supply chains: Hermès experimenting with mushroom-based leather; Nestlé investing in regenerative agriculture; and startups like Climeworks scaling carbon removal. The companies that integrate regeneration into their core models will earn advantage not just in reputation but in resource resilience and regulatory alignment.

5. Orchestrating ecosystems, not going alone

The most valuable companies of the last decade—Apple,  No company can do everything itself. Growth increasingly comes from ecosystem orchestration—building platforms and partnerships that multiply value creation.

The most valuable companies of the last decade—Apple, Amazon, Alibaba—are not single businesses but ecosystems. Yet the next generation of ecosystems will be more fluid, decentralized, and participatory.

LVMH, for example, has turned its portfolio of luxury maisons into a growth engine that’s greater than the sum of its parts. Each brand, from Louis Vuitton to Dior to Sephora, benefits from shared knowledge, cross-brand collaborations, and group-level investments in sustainability and digital innovation. By curating an ecosystem rather than simply owning brands, LVMH ensures that success in one area fuels momentum in others.

In Asia, DBS Bank has gone beyond financial services to create an ecosystem around daily life. From digital health tools to travel platforms to sustainable living guides, DBS positions itself as a trusted partner in broader life journeys, not just banking. This ecosystem approach deepens relationships and opens new revenue streams in unexpected places.

Revolut used partnerships and APIs to expand rapidly across banking, trading, insurance, and travel without owning traditional infrastructure.

Future ecosystems may look more like biological systems—open, adaptive, with porous boundaries. Imagine city-level ecosystems where transport, healthcare, food, and finance are interconnected through shared data platforms, with citizens co-creating value. Strategy shifts from “owning the customer” to orchestrating flows of trust, data, and participation.

Future growth will come from hijacking underutilized networks — from logistics to identity systems — and redirecting them to new markets. Instead of building everything themselves, companies hack into existing ecosystems and reverse-expand.

6. Micro localization, being different for everyone

Globalization once meant scale and standardization; the new frontier is hyper-local relevance delivered globally. Micro-localization is the ability to adapt products, services, and strategies to the nuances of neighbourhoods, cultures, and individuals—while retaining the advantages of global scale.

Take IKEA. Once famous for its one-size-fits-all flat-pack furniture, IKEA is reinventing itself as a brand that flexes to local contexts. In Tokyo, it sells compact furniture tailored to tiny apartments. In India, it offers traditional Indian meals alongside Swedish meatballs in its in-store restaurants. And increasingly, it’s experimenting with small-format city stores and digital-first models to meet urban consumers where they are.

Crocs offers another surprising example. Written off as a fad a decade ago, the brand has rebounded by leaning into local subcultures and social media trends. Its limited-edition collaborations—from K-pop bands in Korea to luxury designers in Paris—speak directly to niche communities, creating demand spikes that ripple globally. Growth is no longer about mass standardisation but about intimacy at scale.

Coca-Cola has long practiced this, adjusting flavors and marketing to local tastes. But new players are pushing further. TikTok’s algorithm personalizes content not only to countries but to micro-communities and even individuals. Jumia in Africa adapts e-commerce to local infrastructure gaps, offering pay-on-delivery and motorbike logistics.

Speculatively, AI-powered manufacturing could enable “glocal factories” producing customized goods for each city block, while retail experiences could morph daily based on real-time community data. Growth will not come from one-size-fits-all but from billions of micro-fits scaled intelligently.

7. Experience multiverses, immersive brands and communities

Products and services are no longer enough; companies now compete in experience universes. The next step is multi-layered experiences blending physical, digital, and virtual dimensions.

Disney reinvented itself multiple times—from animation to theme parks to streaming—each time amplifying its storytelling ecosystem. Nike’s digital platforms like SNKRS and Run Club transform the brand from a product company into a participatory culture. Hermès thrives not just on luxury goods but on immersive experiences that embody scarcity, craftsmanship, and cultural symbolism.

Tomorrow’s growth may come from “experience multiverses”—a luxury fashion brand offering physical goods, virtual garments for avatars, and AI-personalized design experiences. Companies that orchestrate these multiverses, blending identity, status, and emotion across realities, will define the next growth frontier.

8. Invisible multipliers, unlocking intangible assets

The most valuable assets in business today are no longer factories, fleets, or physical inventories. Instead, they are intangible and often invisible—brands, data, trust, and partnerships. These forces now account for the majority of corporate value creation, shaping how companies grow, compete, and endure.

A strong brand is more than a logo or slogan; it is a living promise that commands loyalty and price premiums. Apple and Nike are worth far more than the sum of their products because their brands embody meaning, aspiration, and belonging. Hermès’ value lies less in bags and more in the aura of scarcity, heritage, and cultural capital.

Data is the new capital of the digital age. The ability to capture, analyze, and act on information enables companies like Alibaba, Netflix, and Moderna to anticipate needs, personalize experiences, and accelerate discovery. Yet data only becomes valuable when translated into insight and action.

Trust is the ultimate currency. In a world of information overload and rising skepticism, organizations that demonstrate authenticity, responsibility, and fairness win enduring advantage. Tesla’s volatility shows how fragile trust can be, while Patagonia’s long-term commitment to environmental integrity shows how powerful it can become.

Partnerships enable ecosystems that extend growth beyond the boundaries of one company. Amazon, Tencent, and Reliance are not just businesses; they are platforms that orchestrate networks of partners, developers, and customers, multiplying value through shared creation. ASML, the Dutch semiconductor company, thrives not on physical machines alone but on an irreplaceable ecosystem of patents, know-how, and collaborative trust.

The next growth frontier lies in mastering these invisible drivers—cultivating brands that inspire, data that empowers, trust that endures, and ecosystems that scale. Those who do will define the economy of the future.

Speculatively, companies may trade in new intangibles: “trust tokens” for AI systems, data sovereignty as a service, or cultural capital as measurable value on balance sheets. Strategy in this age is less about factories and more about curating, scaling, and protecting the invisible.

9. Temporal strategies, competing at different speeds

Companies can accelerate growth by exploiting differences in time horizons — moving faster or slower than competitors and markets expect. Strategy becomes time design — mastering how value unfolds across seconds, years, and generations.

Growth strategies have traditionally been linear—quarterly targets, five-year plans. Next-gen strategies manipulate time itself: accelerating, slowing, or bending growth trajectories to shape competitive advantage.

Amazon is a master of long-term patience, sacrificing near-term profits to build infrastructures like AWS or Prime that compound over decades. Conversely, fast-fashion brands like Temu and Shein compress design-to-delivery cycles to mere days, weaponizing speed as a strategic advantage.

Speculatively, companies may offer “time as a service”: insurance models that protect not just assets but lifespans; education platforms that accelerate or extend learning windows. Growth becomes not just about market share but about controlling the tempo of industries.

10. Real-time strategy, enabled by AI

Strategy becomes less about annual plans and more about real-time algorithmic adaptation. Alibaba’s “City Brain” dynamically optimizes traffic flows in Hangzhou with AI — imagine the same principle applied to corporate strategy. The company’s strategy evolves autonomously, recombining assets as markets change, like a biological system.

Where companies once used AI as a tool, the next wave builds AI into the strategy-making process itself. “AI-native” strategy means dynamic, self-learning models of decision-making where foresight, simulation, and adaptation are embedded in real time.

Ping An in China is an early mover: it uses AI across health, finance, and insurance ecosystems, not only to improve customer service but to decide where to expand next. Mercado Libre in Latin America deploys AI to optimize logistics, credit scoring, and product recommendations at planetary scale. These companies do not bolt AI onto existing strategies; their strategies evolve through AI.

Imagine a future boardroom where strategy sessions run as human-AI collaborations: executives asking questions, AI generating multiple possible scenarios, simulating competitor moves, even stress-testing supply chains under climate shocks. Strategy becomes less about annual reviews and more about living, evolving code.

From strategy to imagination

These 10 ideas signal a shift: from strategy as analysis to strategy as imagination.

Companies that win will be those that reinvent not only what they do but how they think about growth itself—market-making, AI-native decision-making, regenerative advantage, living ecosystems, micro-localization, experience multiverses, temporal play, quantum loops, cultural decoding, and unlocking new assets.

The signals are already here – from DBS in Singapore to Hermès in Paris, from Mercado Libre in São Paulo to NextEra in Florida. Yet the most exciting frontier is still speculative: how these logics will collide, recombine, and accelerate in ways.

The next generation of growth is not about bigger, faster, cheaper. It’s about different.

It is about organisations that reinvent perpetually, design for exponential technologies, and embrace regenerative principles. It is about orchestrating ecosystems, shaping cultural currents, and inventing markets that never existed. It is about moving across time horizons with agility and, above all, growing humanity and the planet alongside profit.

If the 20th century was the era of scale, the 21st is the era of reinvention and imagination. Tomorrow’s growth will not come to those who plan the best—it will come to those who see the furthest, adapt the fastest, and dare the boldest.

Footnote: Growth inspirations

Here are 9 mini cases of brands driving growth:

Shopify … Powering the Entrepreneur Economy

Shopify has become the backbone of a new generation of entrepreneurs and small businesses by making e-commerce simple, scalable, and global. Rather than competing as a retailer itself, Shopify built a platform model that gives millions of merchants the tools to sell online, manage payments, ship products, and market to customers. Its strategy has been to constantly expand the ecosystem—adding integrations with social platforms like TikTok, partnerships with logistics providers, and AI-driven marketing tools. By enabling others to grow, Shopify grows too, capturing value as digital commerce expands across geographies and categories. During the pandemic, Shopify accelerated adoption as small retailers rushed online, but its growth engine is longer term: empowering entrepreneurship, tapping into the long tail of niche markets, and expanding into financial services. Its model shows how a company can scale by democratizing access to technology and capturing the collective growth of its customers.

Nubank … Redefining Banking in Latin America

Brazil-based Nubank has grown into one of the world’s largest digital banks by challenging the inefficiencies and high fees of traditional Latin American banks. Starting with a simple no-fee credit card managed through a sleek app, Nubank attracted millions of young, underserved customers frustrated with legacy banking. Its growth strategy is built on simplicity, transparency, and customer trust. By expanding into savings, personal loans, and small business services, Nubank has created a financial super-app that addresses the unmet needs of over 100 million people across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Crucially, it uses data and AI to underwrite credit for populations often excluded from banking. Its low-cost, digital-only model allows scale without physical branches, while network effects drive customer acquisition through referrals. Nubank’s growth proves that reinventing business models for emerging markets can unlock both social impact and extraordinary commercial opportunity.

LVMH … Reinventing Luxury for a New Era

LVMH, the world’s largest luxury group, accelerates growth not by chasing trends but by shaping them. Its strategy blends heritage with reinvention, using its maisons—from Louis Vuitton to Dior to Tiffany—to continually refresh desirability. Under Bernard Arnault, LVMH has invested heavily in experiences, from flagship stores that serve as cultural spaces to immersive brand activations with artists and designers. It has expanded into high-growth categories like beauty and hospitality, while also betting on technology—acquiring digital-native brands, experimenting with NFTs, and driving e-commerce through platforms like Sephora. LVMH has also leaned into sustainability, repositioning luxury as timeless and regenerative, appealing to new generations of consumers who equate value with responsibility. By managing a portfolio of brands with creative independence but shared resources, LVMH captures both scale and scarcity. Its growth comes from a powerful cycle: cultural relevance creates desire, and desire creates long-term pricing power.

Crocs … From Ugly Duckling to Fashion Phenomenon

Once mocked as unfashionable, Crocs has staged one of the most remarkable brand turnarounds of recent years. Its growth strategy is built on radical reinvention—turning its clunky foam clogs into a canvas for self-expression and cultural play. Through collaborations with fashion houses like Balenciaga, musicians like Post Malone, and influencers across TikTok, Crocs repositioned its brand as cool, ironic, and endlessly customizable. The introduction of Jibbitz charms transformed shoes into personal statements, driving repeat purchases and community engagement. Operationally, Crocs has streamlined its product line, focused on direct-to-consumer sales, and used social listening to anticipate trends in real time. The result: a brand once written off has become a global growth engine, doubling revenues and capturing a new generation of fans. Crocs shows how even the most unfashionable company can accelerate growth by leaning into cultural currents, embracing partnerships, and making its brand a platform for creativity.

BYD … Driving the Global EV Transition

China’s BYD (Build Your Dreams) has grown from a battery maker into one of the world’s largest electric vehicle producers, rivaling Tesla. Its growth strategy is rooted in vertical integration—BYD makes its own batteries, chips, and key components, giving it cost and supply chain advantages. This allows it to offer a wide range of affordable EVs and hybrids, making clean mobility accessible to the mass market, not just premium buyers. BYD is also expanding aggressively into buses, trucks, and global markets, from Europe to Southeast Asia. Backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, BYD has leveraged scale and technology to accelerate adoption of EVs worldwide. By focusing on affordability, range, and reliability, BYD captures segments often ignored by Western competitors. Its growth demonstrates how emerging-market champions can leapfrog by aligning with megatrends like electrification, while rethinking value chains to gain speed, resilience, and market dominance.

On … Making Sportswear Cool

Swiss sports brand On has accelerated growth by reinventing running shoes with its distinctive “CloudTec” cushioning technology, making performance both functional and stylish. Its early adoption by elite athletes, combined with partnerships with fashion retailers, positioned On at the intersection of sport and lifestyle. Growth has been fueled by a strong direct-to-consumer model, global expansion, and a community-driven marketing strategy that emphasizes storytelling around innovation and sustainability. On has also pioneered circular business models, such as a subscription service for recyclable running shoes, appealing to environmentally conscious consumers. Its IPO in New York validated its status as a global challenger to Nike and Adidas, with revenues soaring. By blending Swiss engineering, design flair, and digital-first engagement, On demonstrates how a challenger brand can accelerate growth by creating a differentiated product experience and expanding into adjacent markets like apparel and outdoor gear.

DBS Bank … From Traditional to Digital Powerhouse

Singapore’s DBS has transformed itself from a bureaucratic state bank into one of the world’s most innovative financial institutions. Its growth strategy is built on digital transformation—not as a bolt-on, but as a complete cultural reinvention. DBS embraced agile methods, customer journey redesign, and AI-driven services, branding itself as the “Digital Bank of Singapore.” It launched digibank, a mobile-only offering in India and Indonesia, acquiring millions of new customers at low cost. The bank also integrated sustainability into its growth, financing renewable energy projects and helping clients transition to greener operations. By rethinking itself as a tech company with a banking license, DBS boosted profitability, customer satisfaction, and international reach. Its story illustrates how even incumbents in highly regulated industries can accelerate growth by reimagining their culture, customer experience, and business model around digital-first principles.

IKEA … Democratising Sustainable Living

IKEA has accelerated growth by making sustainable living affordable and aspirational. The Swedish retailer is rethinking its entire model—from using renewable materials and circular design to offering services like furniture rental and buyback. It has invested in renewable energy, owning wind and solar farms to power its stores and supply chain. At the same time, IKEA has doubled down on digital, expanding e-commerce, experimenting with virtual showrooms, and partnering with platforms like Alibaba. Its growth is also geographic, with rapid expansion into India and Southeast Asia. IKEA’s strength lies in its ability to democratize design and now sustainability, positioning itself as the brand that helps millions of households live better within planetary boundaries. By aligning growth with purpose, and innovating across product, service, and market models, IKEA shows how legacy retailers can accelerate into the future without losing their core identity.

Unilever … Purpose and Performance at Scale

Unilever has pursued growth by embedding sustainability into its business model. Its “Sustainable Living Brands”—such as Dove, Hellmann’s, and Ben & Jerry’s—grow faster than the rest of its portfolio, proving that purpose can drive performance. Unilever has focused on reducing plastic, cutting carbon, and reshaping food portfolios around plant-based products, while also leading in social issues from diversity to hygiene access. Its growth strategy is to meet shifting consumer values while using its global scale to accelerate systemic change. Investments in AI-driven marketing, direct-to-consumer platforms, and partnerships with startups also keep it relevant with new generations of shoppers. By aligning profit with positive impact, Unilever has repositioned itself as a growth company fit for the 21st century—winning not only consumers but also employees, investors, and regulators. The company’s example shows how legacy players can accelerate growth by making purpose inseparable from their brand and innovation strategy.

Ads inspire, ads engage, ads become iconic.

While the marketing world has hugely shifted over the last 35 years since I worked on my first ad (a spot for British Airways creating a global image of people around the world, which became quite iconic), ads still have an important place in building brands, connecting with people emotionally and aspirationally, and becoming reflections of culture and creativity.

Today’s marketing world is driven by a much more individual, intelligent and interactive focus on consumers. From AI and data analytics, to digital platforms and mobile apps, personalisation and gamification, social influencers and live events. The marketing mix has become more science than art, but there is still a place for ads … Here are my favourites of 2024:

“Introducing Icons” by Airbnb

I love Airbnb, for its unusual, interesting places to stay.  Its Icons series of experiences includes the opportunity to stay at Prince’s Purple Rain house, the Clock Room at Musée d’Orsay in Paris, and the Ferrari Museum in Italy, as well as the Up House, created in meticulous detail by Verb to celebrate 15 years since the Pixar film Up was released.

“Is it even a city?” by Visit Oslo

I love Oslo, and in particular the Bislett Stadium, the spiritual home of distance running. It’s a great city, with a designer waterfront including its spectacular Opera House. An antidote to holiday ads that are all smiles, this deadpan ad from Visit Oslo delivers the city’s charms in a left-field way via one very bored resident.

“The Co-Worker” by Ikea

Ikea opened its game The Co-Worker on Roblox, offering players a chance to experience the working world of Ikea (kinda) on the platform. A genuine recruitment drive, the campaign gave audiences the opportunity to apply for one of ten paid roles in the virtual store. The open call to become a virtual Ikea co-worker amassed over 178,000 applications over the two-week application window.

“If you’re into it, it’s in the V&A” by V&A Museum

Museums can seem old, boring, stuffy and irrelevant. But they don’t have to be that way, as London’s V&A has demonstrated through many innovative exhibitions. This ad campaign for the V&A planted its message in dozens of objects hidden across the UK, particularly shone for its unusual approach to promoting a venerated institution and its commitment to craft.

World Cup Delivery by PedidosYa

Argentina’s passion for football reached new heights as Lionel Messi, after enduring numerous lost finals over 36 years, finally clinched the World Cup victory. Breaking a spell that had loomed over the nation for more than three decades, Argentina erupted in unprecedented jubilation. Amidst the euphoria, everyone wanted to know when the team would arrive home?

“Gamechangers” are individuals, companies, innovations, or events that significantly alter the status quo in their respective fields. They often introduce new ideas, technologies, or practices that disrupt existing norms and pave the way for new opportunities, improved efficiencies, or entirely new markets.

Almost 10 years ago I wrote the book “Gamechangers” which won awards and was translated into over 30 languages. It featured disruptive companies like Airbnb, shaking up the world of hospitality, cryptocurrencies, harnessing the power of network technologies, and even Elon Musk, with a mindset for disrupting any industry.

• Be the Gamechanger … 10 ways to change your game, from strategic purpose to target audiences, unusual products to unexpected services, customer experiences to new business models
• 100 Leaders … profiles of game changing leaders, from Anne Wojcicki to Bernard Arnault, Cristina Junqueira to Ben Francis, Zhang Ruimin to Zhang Yimin, and many more.
• 250 Companies … case studies of gamechanging companies, from 1Atelier to 77 Diamonds to A Boring Life, Aerofarms to Alibaba, Babylon to Boom Supersonic and many more.
• Gamechangers Latin America … from Camposol to Cariuma, NotCo to Nubank … Learning from brands thriving in adverse and volatile markets
• Gamechangers Turkey … from Appsilon diamonds created in the lab, to Biolive plastics made from olive stones … Oleatex’s plant-based vegan leather, and WeWalk’s smart canes.

So who are the Gamechangers of 2025?

I’m looking for companies who are disrupting markets, challenging the conventions, shaping the new behaviours, and succeeding. They might do this by reimagining products and services, channels and pricing, business models or ecosystems.

Take the purest spring water, for example, and think how you can make it more engaging to young people. Liquid Death has become a cult brand, and highly profitable business. Or consider Athletic Brewing, a great tasting beer, perfect after a workout. And with zero alcohol.

Here’s my shortlist:

• Abridge: Using AI to transcribe doctor-patient interactions and generate medical notes, improving healthcare documentation and patient care.
• Adyen has transformed the payment industry by providing a single platform for businesses to accept payments anywhere in the world, both online and in-store.
• Agility Robotics: Developing humanoid robots that can walk, grasp, and carry objects, revolutionizing logistics and manufacturing.
• Arabica: Coffee shops with Asian minimalism, African coffee roastery, and Arabic meeting place. Founded by Japanese entrepreneur seeking to “See the World Through Coffee”.
• Athletic Brewing:Whether you’re looking to cut out alcohol for life or just for a night, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice your ability to be healthy, active and at your best, to enjoy great beer.
• Agua Bendita produces super-luxury handmade bikinis, inspired by their Colombian roots, and made by a team of 700 single mothers from off-cuts of fabric.

• Beauty Pie: Subscription based platform
• allowing members to purchase products directly from top-tier labs at a reduced price.
• Bumble: A social discovery app empowering women to make the first move in dating, friendships, and professional networking
• Canva: An online design tool making graphic design accessible to everyone with easy-to-use templates and collaboration features.
• Colossal Biosciences seeks to reawaken the past, to bring back extinct species using CRISPR technology, through genetic rescue, to support biodiversity
• Duolingo, the language learning app has transformed the way people learn new languages by making the process fun, accessible, and gamified.
• EcoSpirits: Introduces new pricing models that incentivize consumers to return bottles for recycling, promoting a circular economy.
• Ecovative uses mycelium, from mushrooms, to grow category defining products ranging from leather like textiles to sustainable packaging.

• Elf: A beauty and skincare brand known for its affordable, clean, and effective products. 100% vegan, no animal testingand made without the nasty bad-for-you stuff.
• FanDual. Online fantasy sports and sports betting platform, transforming the way fans engage with sports, providing an immersive and interactive experience.
• Fenty: Known for its inclusive beauty products, Fenty continues to disrupt the beauty industry with its wide range of shades and innovative formulations.
• Fervo Energy: Innovating in geothermal energy to provide a sustainable and reliable source of clean energy.
• Gorilla Glass. Known for its durable and damage-resistant glass used in smart phones and other electronic devices
• Halo Top Creamery is attracting more ice cream lovers with a promise of lower calories and less guilt.

• Helsing: Specializing in AI-powered defence solutions, Helsing is transforming how military operations are conducted.
• Impossible Foods has revolutionized the food industry by offering sustainable and delicious options that closely mimic the taste and texture of traditional meat.
• Impulse Space: Working on space propulsion technology to make space travel more efficient and cost-effective.
• Ipsy: Personalized makeup and beauty products by monthly subscription, exclusive offers, and how-to video tutorials from the brand’s stylists.
• Iqos. Heats tobacco instead of burning it, producing a vapor that contains nicotine but has less ash, smoke, and odour compared to conventional cigarettes
• Jio: An Indian telecommunications company providing affordable internet services and revolutionizing digital connectivity in India.
• Klarna. Known for its “buy now, pay later” financial services, Klarna has revolutionized the way consumers shop online by offering flexible payment options

• Liquid Death: Known for its bold branding and canned water, Liquid Death has disrupted the beverage industry.
• Meati: This company produces high-protein, sustainable meat alternatives made from mushroom roots.
• Miniso: “It isn’t just a store; it’s a playground of endless fun and excitement” with 6,000 stores worldwide in 100 countries.
• Mirror: This reflective screen offers personalized workouts with top trainers, providing a virtual fitness studio experience.
• Nextdoor: Transformed the way neighbourhoods connect and communicate by providing a platform to share news, events, recommendations, and services.
• Niyara India: This brand has quickly become a go-to for modern Indian women, blending elegance, comfort, and affordability.
• NotCo: Using artificial intelligence to create plant-based alternatives to animal products, NotCo is revolutionizing the food industry.
• Oatly: This plant-based milk brand has gained significant market share by appealing to consumers looking for sustainable and healthy alternatives to dairy.

• Octopus Energy: A renewable energy supplier in the UK, committed to providing affordable and sustainable energy solutions.
• OpenAI: Continues to lead the AI revolution with its generative AI models, impacting various industries from cybersecurity to agriculture.
• Parkrun: A global initiative that organizes free weekly 5km events in local parks, promoting community and fitness.
• Peloton: Known for its interactive fitness equipment and online classes, Peloton has revolutionized home workouts.
• Quibi. Known for its short-form mobile streaming platform, quick, engaging content designed for mobile devices, catering to the modern, on-the-go consumer.
• Reformation: This brand focuses on sustainable fashion and has a strong online presence, making it a leader in digital marketing and e-commerce.
• Revolut. The money superapp, or neobank, enabling everyday banking, currency exchange, stock trading and more. With a particular focus on travellers.

• Seedlip: Partners with bars and restaurants to offer non-alcoholic cocktail options, promoting the idea of “mindful drinking.
• Skims: Sells underwear, loungewear and shapewear, and focuses on body positivity and sizing inclusivity.
• Smarter: This company brought the Internet of Things (IoT) to consumers with products like Wi-Fi-connected kettles and fridge cameras.
• Surreal Cereal: Disrupting the breakfast scene with their delectably nutritious, zero-sugar, high-protein cereals,
• Sway: A beverage brand that has made waves with its innovative flavors and sustainable packaging.
• Tony’s Chocolonely wants to make all chocolate 100% slave free. Not just our chocolate, but all chocolate worldwide.
• Too Good To Go is a mobile app that connects customers to restaurants and stores that have unsold, surplus food

• Tru Earth: A laundry detergent brand that offers eco-friendly and waste-free packaging, appealing to environmentally conscious consumers.
• Unmind. Provides a digital platform offering tools and resources for employees to manage their mental well-being,
• Varda Space Systems: Developing space infrastructure to support the growing space economy, including satellite manufacturing and space logistics.
• Waabi: Focused on autonomous driving technology, Waabi is making strides in making self-driving cars safer and more reliable.
• Who Gives a Crap: A toilet paper brand that donates 50% of its profits to build toilets for those in need around the world.

• Whoop: A wearable tech company that provides detailed insights into athletes’ performance and recovery.
• Xero. Transformed how medium-sized businesses manage their finances by offering user-friendly and efficient tools that streamline accounting processes.
• Youfoodz. Revolutionized the convenience food market in Australia by offering fresh, healthy, gourmet meal options that are delivered directly to your door.
• Zepto: A rapid delivery startup that promises delivery within 10 minutes, disrupting the food delivery market.
• Zipline: A company using drones to deliver medical supplies to remote and hard-to-reach areas.

Decarbonisation is the priority for many business leaders.

While value creation, making sense of changing markets, exploring new growth markets and unlocking emerging technologies, rethinking business models, reducing costs, and driving growth all matter, decarbonisation is the obvious, urgent agenda that stands out for many of the leaders I meet.

From airlines to automotive, construction and energy, fashion and food, there is a huge priority placed on reducing carbon emissions through new materials, processes, and ways of working.

Look at the investor presentations of companies from British Airways to Volkswagen, Holcim and Shell, Inditex to Nestle, in each case “decarbonisation” is the keyword. How to reduce the emissions of existing ways of working, how to transition to new business models. And for investors, how to reduce risk, tap into growth markets, and deliver growth.

Energy companies are obviously at the forefront of this. Some of my clients like Enel and Iberdrola are leading the energy transition, and others like Siemens are finding ways to accelerate it. In construction, Holcim is regenerating cities out of existing waste materials, rebuilt with green cement, and with more sustainable designs for ongoing use.

Volkswagen in a desperate situation, unable to transition from ICE to EV world. In fashion, brands like H&M to Patagonia embrace reuse and up cycling, recycled fabrics, while new fibre emerge that can do more. In food, companies like Danone and Nestle are actively changing how we farm, and what we eat, while Too Good to Go ensures our food doesn’t go to waste.

So what does it take? And who are the companies accelerating a better future, with less carbon, and sometimes more positive impact too?

Low Carbon Energy: Renewables and Hydrogen

Most CO2 emissions arise from burning fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum, for energy sourcing. As a result, utilities and energy providers are promoting energy transition. Some of the renewable energy systems include advanced photovoltaics (PV) that capture solar energy more efficiently and wind turbines that eliminate the need for huge installations or high-low wind speeds. Additionally, companies are making significant innovations in the areas of hydroelectricity, geothermal energy, and biofuels.

• Geothermal: Celsius Energy is a French startup that uses geothermal energy for heating and air conditioning buildings. It uses a heat transfer fluid that circulates in a 200-meter-deep heat exchanger. A heat pump then exchanges the calories with the basement to supply heat to the building during winter and extract them in summer. Additionally, a digital control system minimizes electricity consumption by optimising subsurface operations and heat pumps in real time. Thus, Celsius Energy allows commercial buildings to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels by utilising a local renewable source of energy.
• Green Hydrogen: Versogen is a US-based startup that creates an electrolyzer for low-cost green hydrogen production. Its proprietary platform technology, PiperION,  applies advanced anion exchange membranes that enable the use of low-cost construction materials in electrolyzers, fuel cells, and other electrochemical devices. This makes them more economical than conventional proton exchange membranes (PEMs). Hence, Versogen solves the main challenge in large-scale green hydrogen production and accelerates the global transition toward net zero.

Carbon Capture

While low carbon energy sources are critical in the fight  climate change, they alone are not enough to reverse the effects of global warming. Hence, startups are working on carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies, driving decarbonization across industries. Top priority is direct air capture, i.e., capturing CO2 directly from ambient air instead of point sources such as power plants or factories. This opens up concentrated opportunities for carbon sequestration and utilization.

• Direct Air Capture: US-based startup Heirloom develops a cost-effective direct air capture solution. It deploys carbon mineralization technology with widely available, low-cost minerals to produce oxides that naturally bind to CO. The process doesn’t rely on energy-intensive and high-cost air contractors. Heirloom injects the captured carbon underground into geological structures. There, it remains permanently trapped away from the atmosphere.
• Vehicle Emissions: Remora is another US-based startup that develops a retrofit carbon capture unit for semi-trucks. The device attaches to the vehicle exhaust pipe and captures up to 80% of total emissions. It uses carbon scrubbing technology to strip greenhouse gases from the tailpipe and release clean air.  The solution automatically compresses the CO2 and stores it in onboard tanks. Once the offload tanks fill up, the startup picks up the CO2 with a tanker truck and delivers it to concrete producers or other end-users who store it away for a long time.

Low Carbon Materials: Construction and Fashion 

There is a huge scope for decarbonisation in changing the type of materials used. For the construction industry this includes cement, asbestos, vinyl flooring, and polystyrene insulations that are highly toxic to the environment. Low carbon construction materials such as self-healing concrete, 3D graphene, aerographite, modular bamboo, and wool bricks are gaining popularity as sustainable alternatives.

• Alternative Cement: Betolar is a Finnish startup that makes Geoprime, a sustainable cement alternative. It is a geopolymer-based low carbon material that the startup uses to create cement-free construction materials. To further sustainability, Betolar utilizes side streams of energy, steel, paper, pulp, and mining industries to produce these construction materials including stabilization, precast, and ready-mix concrete. By providing low carbon materials, Betolar enables the construction industry’s transition to carbon neutrality.
• Sustainable Fibres: Indian startup Canvaloop produces a carbon-negative textile fibre for slow fashion. The startup’s proprietary technology converts hard barks of Himalayan hemp into a soft cotton-like form. It is then processed into sustainable fibre, HempLoop+. Besides selling fiber and yarns, the startup uses its fibre to make sustainable jeans, yoga mats, and masks that are plastic-free and prevent the release of microplastics in the wastewater stream. Hence, by using a crop that naturally captures CO2, Canvaloop enables decarbonization in the fashion industry.

Low Carbon Travel: Airlines and Automotive

Trains, planes and automobiles are one of the largest carbon-emitting sectors and the most efficient way to decarbonise the industry is electrification. While battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have been here for some time, fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are emerging to be more effective. This is because they are powered by hydrogen and emit only water vapor and warm air. However, even with BEVs, widespread usage is still a challenge due to the non-availability of EV charging stations and range anxiety. To resolve this, startups are developing EV charging station networks as well as modular charging solutions.

• Charging Stations: Indian startup Charzer provides Kirana Charzer, a low-cost, compact, IoT-powered EV charging station. It is installable in shops, restaurants, houses, and offices, among others. The startup also offers a mobile app that allows riders to locate the nearest charging point and book slots from a network of 300+ charging stations across India. By converting local groceries, malls, and even small tea shops into EV charging stations, Charzer creates a vast charging network for EV riders, accelerating EV adoption.
• Green Hydrogen: Danish startup Everfuel offers green hydrogen supply and fuelling solutions. The system produces hydrogen using renewable electricity only during the availability of surplus energy to reduce energy costs. This approach also provides the power grid with efficient energy storage and enhances the efficiency of renewable energy production. Everfuel connects vehicle manufacturers to the complete hydrogen value chain, ensuring a supply of clean hydrogen fuel to their customers.

Low Carbon Nutrition: Food and Drink

Meat accounts for the majority of the CO2 emissions in the food production industry. But, the demand for meat is only going upward. This is why food tech startups are constantly looking for alternative protein sources including plant products like soybean, pea, chickpea, and nuts, as well as fungi and insects. Some startups are genetically modifying plants to mimic the taste and texture of animal meat while retaining the original nutritional qualities. Others are taking it a step forward by leveraging food ingredients like spirulina, which naturally captures CO2.

• Plant-Based Foods: UK-based startup Moolec creates plant-based alternative proteins through molecular farming. The startup’s process induces animal proteins’ gene DNA codes inside the genome of plants to produce proteins the way animals do. Each protein is selected to add value in terms of targeted functionality like taste, texture, and nutritional values. Thus, Moolec is enabling the food sector to reduce its reliance on animal-based meat and, thereby, decrease its carbon footprint.
• Positive Drinks: Dutch startup FUL offers climate positive drinks with spirulina, nutritious blue-green algae. This superfood is climate-friendly as it captures atmospheric CO2 and converts it into oxygen and nitrogen. Moreover, the startup enables CO2 recycling by using carbon dioxide to grow spirulina. FUL is thus decarbonizing the food and beverage industry by flipping the tradition of emitting CO2 in the production process.

Walking into Starbucks is more than asking for a tall skinny latte. It’s an immersive lesson in brand psychology.

From the size of cups (why is Tall the smallest size?), to the structure of its pricing menu (which size seems best value?), to the handwritten name and emoji written on your cup. There is fascinating science to each of these seemingly unimportant factors.

Behavioural sciences explores the psychological, emotional, and cognitive factors that influence human behaviour, and these principles have found wide applications in marketing, customer experience, and business strategy. Below is a summary of 25 of the most impactful behavioral science concepts, particularly in relation to customer behavior, along with examples of how brands have successfully applied them.

1. Loss Aversion

Loss aversion, a principle from Prospect Theory, suggests that people are more motivated by the fear of losing something than by the desire to gain something of equivalent value. In a marketing context, this is used to push customers toward action by emphasizing what they stand to lose.

• Example: Airlines and hotels often use limited-time offers and emphasize the idea that a price or discount is “disappearing soon” to encourage customers to book immediately, highlighting the potential loss of the deal.

2. Scarcity

Scarcity occurs when something is perceived as limited in availability, which increases its value and desirability. This taps into the human tendency to want things we can’t easily get.

• Example: Fashion brands like Supreme and Nike use limited-edition products and “drops” to create urgency and increase demand.

3. Anchoring

Anchoring refers to the human tendency to rely heavily on the first piece of information offered (the “anchor”) when making decisions. In sales, the initial price or offer can dramatically influence how customers perceive the value of a product.

• Example: Many retailers display a high-priced item first, followed by a mid-range price. The high price serves as an anchor, making the second item seem like a better deal.

4. Framing Effect

The framing effect refers to how information is presented, which can significantly influence decision-making and judgment. Positive framing tends to produce more favorable outcomes.

• Example: A restaurant might describe a dish as “80% lean” rather than “20% fat” to make it sound healthier and more appealing.

5. Social Proof

Social proof refers to the idea that people are more likely to engage in a behavior if they see others doing it. This is often used in marketing to increase credibility and desirability.

• Example: Amazon uses customer reviews and ratings to provide social proof. Consumers are more likely to purchase items that have high ratings and positive feedback from others.

6. Reciprocity

The reciprocity principle states that people feel a psychological obligation to return favors. Brands leverage this by offering free gifts, samples, or services with the expectation that customers will reciprocate by making a purchase.

• Example: Online retailers often offer free samples or discounts on the next purchase to encourage return business.

7. Commitment and Consistency

Once a person commits to something, they are more likely to stick to it due to a desire for consistency. Brands can use this principle by getting customers to make small commitments that lead to larger actions.

• Example: Subscription services like Netflix or Spotify offer free trials to get customers to commit to a service, which increases the likelihood of them continuing the service once they’ve already made a commitment.

8. Endowment Effect

The endowment effect suggests that people tend to assign more value to things they own compared to things they don’t. This can be leveraged by brands offering free trials or samples.

• Example: Apple’s free trial of its ecosystem (iCloud, Apple Music) makes customers more attached to the products, increasing the likelihood of continued use or purchasing.

9. Default Bias

People tend to stick with pre-set options rather than making a choice. Marketers often exploit this by setting beneficial defaults, leading customers to make decisions that they might not otherwise.

• Example: Many subscription services set auto-renewal as the default, leading customers to continue the service without actively opting out.

10. Overchoice (Paradox of Choice)

The paradox of choice suggests that offering too many options can overwhelm customers and result in decision paralysis. Brands can use this insight by limiting options or simplifying choices.

• Example: Apple offers a limited selection of products, which makes decision-making easier for customers compared to tech companies with a wide range of options.

11. Urgency

Creating a sense of urgency by highlighting time-sensitive deals or limited-time offers motivates customers to act quickly rather than delay their purchase.

• Example: Websites often use countdown timers for flash sales or “only X items left in stock” to prompt customers to make immediate decisions.

12. The Power of ‘Free’

Offering something for free taps into a deep-seated psychological response. Free items, even if of low value, can spur higher conversion rates or engagement.

• Example: Dropbox’s free storage offer significantly contributed to its growth by encouraging users to try the service and refer friends.

13. Trust and Authority

People are more likely to follow advice or recommendations from perceived authorities or experts. Brands use endorsements, certifications, or influential figures to leverage this bias.

• Example: Brands like L’Oréal use dermatologist endorsements or celebrity influencers to gain trust and increase sales.

14. Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance occurs when people experience discomfort from holding conflicting beliefs or behaviors. Brands can reduce this discomfort by providing reassurance or confirming customers’ decisions.

• Example: After a purchase, brands like Apple often send thank-you notes and customer satisfaction surveys, reinforcing the consumer’s decision.

15. Paradox of Familiarity

Humans tend to gravitate toward what’s familiar, even if it’s not necessarily the best option. Brands use this to make customers more comfortable and increase repeat business.

• Example: Coca-Cola and McDonald’s maintain consistent branding and messaging, which creates familiarity and comfort for their consumers.

16. Emotional Appeal

Emotional connection is a powerful motivator. Brands often tap into emotions like happiness, fear, or nostalgia to build strong relationships with customers.

• Example: Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign tapped into personal connections and happiness by using customer names on bottles.

17. Visual Cues

Humans are highly influenced by visual stimuli. Brands use design, color, and imagery to guide customers’ decisions.

• Example: Companies like McDonald’s use red and yellow in their branding, as these colors are associated with energy and hunger.

18. Frugality Bias

People tend to value things that seem like a good deal. The perception of getting value for money can be a strong motivator.

• Example: Costco’s bulk-buying model creates the illusion of getting more for less, which appeals to customers’ desire for savings.

19. The Mere Exposure Effect

This principle suggests that people tend to develop a preference for things simply because they are familiar with them.

• Example: Advertising heavily, like Nike’s continuous brand exposure, leads to greater consumer familiarity, which in turn boosts brand preference.

20. Nudging

Nudging is subtly guiding people toward a desired behavior without restricting their choices. It’s an ethical way of influencing behavior.

• Example: Supermarkets often place healthier foods at eye level to nudge customers toward healthier choices.

21. Conformity

People often align their behavior with that of others in order to fit in. Brands can use group-based appeals to encourage customers to act a certain way.

• Example: Social media platforms like Instagram use likes, shares, and comments to encourage conformity to trends and behaviors.

22. Intermittent Reinforcement

Intermittent reinforcement occurs when rewards are given at unpredictable intervals. This unpredictability can increase the likelihood of a behavior being repeated.

• Example: Loyalty programs that offer occasional unexpected rewards (such as a surprise discount) motivate customers to keep returning.

23. Time Discounting

People tend to devalue rewards the further away they are in time. Brands can exploit this by offering immediate rewards or discounts.

• Example: Credit card companies often offer immediate cashback or sign-up bonuses to encourage consumers to choose their cards over others.

24. Self-Perception Theory

People form their attitudes and beliefs based on their own behavior. If a customer behaves in a certain way, they may justify it by changing their attitudes or beliefs to align with their actions.

• Example: After purchasing an eco-friendly product, customers may develop more pro-environmental attitudes, reinforcing their purchase decision.

25. Priming

Priming occurs when exposure to a certain stimulus influences how a person responds to a subsequent stimulus. Brands can prime consumers’ minds to think positively about their products.

• Example: Luxury brands like Rolex prime consumers by showcasing high-end, aspirational imagery in their marketing materials, leading to increased desire for their products.

Behavioral sciences provide critical insights into customer behavior, and brands that apply these principles effectively can create more engaging, persuasive, and successful marketing strategies. By understanding and leveraging concepts like loss aversion, scarcity, social proof, and reciprocity, companies can better influence consumer decisions, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive loyalty. Whether through framing choices, nudging behavior, or creating emotional connections, these psychological insights allow brands to craft experiences that resonate deeply with customers and improve long-term business performance.

Seeing the Unseen

A century ago, the world’s most valuable companies were measured by how much land they owned, how many tons of steel they produced, or how many barrels of oil they extracted from the ground. Today, the most valuable companies own few factories and carry little inventory. Their value lies not in what you can touch—but in what you cannot.

Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia are trillion-dollar businesses not because of their physical assets, but because of the brands they’ve built, the ecosystems they’ve cultivated, the trust they’ve earned, the data they control, and the software they deploy at planetary scale. What makes these businesses so valuable is largely invisible—intangible assets that never show up fully on a balance sheet, yet define competitive advantage in the modern age.

We are living through a silent revolution. According to Ocean Tomo, intangible assets made up just 17% of the market value of S&P 500 companies in 1975. By 2020, that number had soared to over 90%. The traditional accounting lens—designed in the industrial era—struggles to capture this shift. In boardrooms and spreadsheets, what matters most is often missing. Leaders trained to manage physical assets and short-term profits are now navigating a world where value lives in code, content, relationships, creativity, culture, and algorithms.

This book is about that unseen world. It is about the hidden engines of exponential growth, the value drivers that define market leadership today, and the reasons so many companies still overlook them.

The Intangible Economy Is Already Here

The signs are everywhere. A shoe company like On Running can IPO with billion-dollar valuations thanks to its cult brand and community before turning a profit. A firm like OpenAI can become one of the most watched organizations on earth while giving away its most valuable product for free. A cosmetics company like LVMH can dominate not by owning raw materials, but by commanding desire, loyalty, and prestige.

These examples point to a profound truth: in an age of abundance, what’s scarce is trust, attention, belief, identity, and insight. Intangible assets are the levers that create this scarcity—and therefore, value.

What makes this shift difficult for many leaders to grasp is that intangible assets don’t behave like physical ones. A factory depreciates over time. A brand, when nurtured, can appreciate. A machine wears out. A great culture compounds. A physical product scales linearly. A software product scales exponentially, at zero marginal cost. In the industrial economy, more capital meant more capacity. In the intangible economy, more creativity, trust, and data mean more leverage.

What We Fail to See, We Fail to Manage

For all their importance, intangible assets remain poorly understood. Many leaders default to thinking of them as “soft,” “fluffy,” or hard to quantify. They focus on what they can measure—plant, property, and equipment—while ignoring what truly drives performance.

The consequence is a profound misalignment. Businesses underinvest in brand, culture, design, and systems thinking because they don’t appear as “assets.” They overlook customer data as a strategic asset. They treat software as an expense, not an investment. They outsource creativity while trying to own factories.

Meanwhile, the companies that win today—from Tesla to TikTok, from Figma to Ferrari—build their entire business models around intangible leverage. They invest in creating ecosystems, not just products. They design brands with emotional resonance. They use culture as a strategic weapon. They understand that what people feel, believe, share, and remember matters as much as what they buy.

From Value Chains to Value Loops

Industrial-era thinking treated businesses like linear machines: input goes in, value is added, and output goes out. But the intangible age favours loops—feedback systems, compounding advantages, and reinforcing dynamics.

A strong brand attracts customers, which improves data, which improves products, which deepens loyalty, which strengthens the brand. A thriving culture attracts talent, which builds better software, which drives customer satisfaction, which attracts more talent. These loops don’t just create value—they accelerate it.

That’s why intangible assets matter more than ever: they don’t just create one-time benefits; they create flywheels. The most successful businesses build, protect, and invest in these flywheels. The least successful ones treat them as “nice to haves.”

The Blind Spots of Traditional Management

There is a paradox at the heart of modern capitalism. What creates long-term value—brand equity, trust, culture, intellectual property, proprietary data—is largely ignored in quarterly earnings calls. Analysts ask about costs and margins, not community or design. Boards evaluate risk in terms of financial compliance, not reputational fragility.

This isn’t just a gap—it’s a governance crisis. When leaders don’t understand what’s driving 90% of their company’s value, bad decisions follow. Cost-cutting initiatives gut creative teams. Rebrands miss the cultural moment. Technological capabilities are treated as IT problems, not core strategy. Culture is seen as HR’s domain, rather than the foundation of execution.

To succeed in the era of intangible value, we need to upgrade our models—not just our metrics, but our mental models.

The New Literacy of Leadership

What’s needed is a new literacy for leadership—an ability to see, value, and build the invisible. This includes:

• Understanding how brand equity compounds and how to measure it
• Treating data not just as a byproduct, but as a core asset
• Investing in software and design as growth multipliers
• Leading culture not through slogans but through systems
• Designing ecosystems that scale beyond the firm

The most successful modern leaders—from Satya Nadella to Melanie Perkins—have embraced this shift. They’ve moved beyond managing inputs and outputs to curating experiences, enabling ecosystems, and empowering cultures of innovation.

This is not about softening business. It’s about sharpening it for the realities of the new economy.

Welcome to the Invisible Business

The age of tangible advantage is over. We’ve entered a new era—one where unseen forces determine success. If we can learn to see what others ignore, we can unlock extraordinary value.

This is your guide to the future of value creation. Welcome to the invisible business.

From Steel to Stories, How Value Has Shifted

In 1911, U.S. Steel became the world’s first billion-dollar corporation. Its value was measured in iron ore, blast furnaces, railway lines, and rolling mills. Capital investment meant physical scale, and industrial power meant control over supply chains and manufacturing capacity. Business success was made of concrete, steel, and sweat.

Fast forward to today, and the world’s most valuable companies look entirely different. Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta sit at the top of the list—not because they produce more physical goods than their rivals, but because they dominate in software, platforms, ecosystems, brand trust, user data, and design. Their true value lives not in things, but in intangibles: code, ideas, relationships, culture, and networks.

We have undergone a profound shift in the way economic value is created, measured, and understood. The industrial economy rewarded those who built the biggest factories and shipped the most units. The post-industrial economy—our economy—rewards those who build the strongest brands, harness the most useful data, and design the most engaging experiences.

We have moved from steel to stories—from atoms to bits, from scale to networks, from ownership to access, from extraction to attention.

The Age of Tangibles

For most of the 20th century, economic success was synonymous with industrial prowess. Oil giants, car manufacturers, mining conglomerates, and heavy engineering firms defined global capitalism. Value creation was linear and physical: extract raw materials, transform them through machinery, and distribute them through logistics networks.

Business models were built on vertical integration and economies of scale. The goal was efficiency, the metric was output, and the advantage was size. This was the age of assembly lines, smokestacks, and scale economics. Companies built value by owning more—more factories, more assets, more inventory, more people.

Accounting standards were designed to measure this world. Balance sheets captured physical plant and equipment. Profit and loss statements tracked input costs and unit margins. Depreciation schedules mirrored asset wear and tear. Tangible assets dominated both corporate strategies and financial reports.

But as the century wore on, something began to change.

The Rise of Intangibles

In 1975, the average S&P 500 company derived 83% of its value from tangible assets. By 2020, that number had reversed: more than 90% of corporate value came from intangibles. Brands, patents, software, algorithms, relationships, customer lists, organizational know-how, and proprietary data now drive the lion’s share of enterprise value.

This shift wasn’t just a feature of tech companies. It was everywhere. A luxury goods firm like Hermès generates value through scarcity, craftsmanship, and storytelling. A media platform like Netflix wins on user experience, original content, and engagement data. A company like Tesla builds not just electric vehicles but a cult-like brand, proprietary AI systems, and a massive software-defined platform.

What these companies have in common is that their most valuable assets are not visible on a factory tour—and in many cases, not fully captured on a balance sheet.

Why This Shift Matters

Intangible assets behave differently than tangible ones. They scale faster, last longer, and interact in more complex ways.

• Brands compound emotional trust, allowing premium pricing and customer loyalty.
• Software can be duplicated at near-zero marginal cost, enabling exponential scaling.
• Data gets more valuable the more it is used, especially in machine learning.
• Culture drives internal performance and external perception.
• Networks grow stronger with every new node, creating winner-take-most dynamics.

[I know these are not the right ISO categories, you can correct the details]

These properties create new kinds of competitive advantage. While tangible assets depreciate, intangible assets—when well managed—often appreciate. A factory may produce a million units a year. But a viral app, a trusted brand, or a magnetic story can reach billions—instantly.

The best companies build intangible flywheels. For example, Amazon collects customer data to improve recommendations, which increases engagement, which attracts more sellers, which improves selection, which brings more customers—who then provide more data. This self-reinforcing loop creates momentum that is hard to replicate with physical assets alone.

The Industrial Mindset vs. the Intangible Reality

Despite this profound shift, many leaders and organizations still operate with industrial-era mental models. They view value creation through the lens of control, ownership, and output. They prioritize efficiency over emotion, scale over meaning, and cost-cutting over trust-building.

This creates strategic blind spots. For example:

• A company cuts its marketing budget to protect margins, eroding brand equity that took decades to build.
• A business outsources its software development, losing control over its core platform.
• A team undervalues culture as a “soft” issue, only to suffer high turnover and low innovation.
• A firm treats its customer data as a compliance risk rather than a strategic asset.

These are not minor missteps—they are existential risks in an era where intangibles define market leadership.

The iPhone Moment

The story of Apple and Nokia offers a stark illustration of this shift. In the early 2000s, Nokia was the world’s leading phone manufacturer. It had factories across the globe and a dominant market share. Apple, on the other hand, had no experience in phones—but it had a powerful brand, a design philosophy, and an ecosystem mindset.

When the iPhone launched in 2007, it didn’t just introduce a new product—it redefined the value equation. Apple focused on the user experience, the emotional connection, the app ecosystem, and the seamless integration between hardware and software. Nokia, focused on cost-efficient manufacturing and feature lists, couldn’t keep up.

Within a few years, Apple became the most valuable company in the world. Nokia exited the phone business. Tangibles lost to intangibles.

The Intangible Economy

Today, value doesn’t reside on the factory floor. It lives in the minds of customers, the relationships between users, the algorithms inside platforms, and the ideas embedded in design. The most important assets are often invisible—until they’re gone.

To lead in this world, businesses must learn to see, measure, and manage these new value drivers. That requires letting go of outdated assumptions and building new capabilities. It means investing in creativity, culture, brand, and systems. It means designing business models that harness flywheels, data loops, and network effects.

Most importantly, it means telling better stories—not just to customers, but internally, to guide strategy, mobilize teams, and shape identity.

Because in the age of intangibles, stories scale better than steel.

Airbnb: Unlocking Trust

Airbnb has built a global hospitality empire without owning a single hotel. Its core asset isn’t real estate—it’s trust. From its early days, Airbnb recognized that enabling strangers to stay in one another’s homes required more than a clever platform. It needed to create a global sense of safety, community, and emotional connection. By investing heavily in design, reputation systems, host standards, and a narrative around “belonging,” Airbnb turned trust into its most valuable currency.

Its brand identity—rooted in local experiences and authentic connections—differentiates it from traditional hotel chains. Features like verified ID, guest reviews, and Super host status create reputational capital. Meanwhile, data from millions of stays feeds into pricing algorithms, fraud detection, and personalized recommendations. Airbnb’s flywheel is intangible: more trust leads to more listings, more guests, better data, and greater network effects.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Airbnb doubled down on community. While travel plummeted, it nurtured its brand and experience design, supporting hosts and pivoting to long-term stays and online experiences. This intangible focus allowed Airbnb to emerge stronger, culminating in one of the most successful tech IPOs of the decade. Its physical footprint may be light, but its intangible ecosystem—trust, brand, and community—is enormous.

BYD: Unlocking Ideas

BYD (Build Your Dreams), China’s electric vehicle and battery giant, has quietly become one of the most valuable and innovative manufacturers in the world. While its competitors emphasize scale and hardware, BYD’s real strength lies in mission, culture, and intellectual property.

Founded in 1995, BYD began with rechargeable batteries, later expanding into EVs and energy storage. Today, it produces not just cars, but entire clean energy ecosystems. Its success is rooted in deep in-house R&D, holding more than 40,000 patents globally. But beyond patents, BYD’s innovation edge comes from cultural alignment. It operates under a clear mission: to “cool the earth by 1°C.” This shared purpose fosters internal cohesion and long-term thinking.

BYD has vertically integrated most of its operations, but not to control supply chains—instead, to protect its core intangible capabilities in software, powertrain design, and battery tech. It is now exporting vehicles and tech worldwide, surpassing Tesla in EV unit sales in 2023.

Its intangible strength lies not just in technical knowledge, but in how that knowledge is embedded in its culture and purpose—a model for mission-driven innovation at scale.

Canva: Unlocking Community

 Australia’s Canva is a breakout SaaS success story built entirely on design simplicity, user experience, and community. Founded in 2013, Canva set out to democratize design for non-designers. It didn’t compete with Adobe on technical depth—instead, it focused on intuitive UX, brand templates, and cloud collaboration. This user-first design became its key intangible asset.

Canva’s growth has been driven by viral loops: users invite collaborators, share designs, and embed Canva content across the web. It has also built an emotional connection through a mission of empowerment—making everyone feel like a creator. Canva now supports 170+ languages, with over 175 million users worldwide.

Beyond product simplicity, Canva has nurtured an internal culture that emphasizes humility, learning, and impact. Co-founder Melanie Perkins often credits the company’s success to a relentless focus on culture and purpose.

Its valuation—exceeding $25 billion—reflects the value of its intangible ecosystem: loyal users, a trusted brand, design templates, cloud-based collaboration, and a culture that attracts top talent.

LVMH: Unlocking Brands

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is the world’s leading luxury group, and a case study in how brand equity, storytelling, cultural capital, and craftsmanship can drive enduring value. While its physical products—watches, handbags, wine—are beautifully made, the real value lies in perception, status, identity, and heritage.

LVMH owns over 75 brands across fashion, jewellery, cosmetics, and spirits—including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Tiffany & Co., Fendi, and Dom Pérignon. These brands trade on their legacy, exclusivity, and cultural resonance. LVMH carefully nurtures the intangible magic of each brand while using centralized platforms for digital, data, and retail operations.

CEO Bernard Arnault describes luxury as “the business of selling dreams.” This requires controlling not just design and distribution, but also intangible experience design: exclusive events, influencer partnerships, artistic collaborations, and storytelling that taps into desire and meaning.

LVMH invests heavily in human capital—artisans, designers, brand curators—recognizing that its value lies in symbolic power as much as physical product. Its pricing power, margins, and customer loyalty are grounded in decades (often centuries) of carefully cultivated emotional capital.

NVIDIA: Unlocking Technology

NVIDIA started as a GPU manufacturer, but has become a foundational company in the AI economy. Its rise is driven by a rare blend of technological imagination, ecosystem thinking, and platform innovation—a masterclass in unlocking and layering intangible assets.

Originally known for gaming graphics cards, NVIDIA saw early the potential of GPUs in parallel computing. It built CUDA, a proprietary platform that allowed developers to write software for its chips. This transformed NVIDIA from a component vendor into a core enabler of AI, autonomous driving, robotics, and the metaverse.

Today, NVIDIA’s value comes not just from chip performance, but from the developer ecosystems, AI models, research partnerships, and software platforms it supports. It owns key layers in the AI stack, from hardware to simulation to neural network training.

NVIDIA’s brand is synonymous with innovation—trusted by startups, academics, and tech giants alike. It has built a flywheel of technical leadership, community engagement, and platform lock-in. Its market value now rivals legacy hardware firms many times its size.

NVIDIA doesn’t just build chips. It builds the future’s imagination infrastructure—intangible, invisible, yet incredibly powerful.

Ping An: Unlocking Platforms

Ping An, one of China’s largest financial services companies, has transformed from a traditional insurer into a tech-driven ecosystem by investing in data, AI, platforms, and digital trust. Ping An has evolved from an insurance provider into a platform-powered technology and health ecosystem, redefining financial services through intangibles like data, algorithms, trust, and cross-sector integration.

The company’s core strategy hinges on “finance + technology” and “finance + ecosystem.” With over 220 million retail customers, Ping An uses AI and cloud infrastructure to personalize risk assessment, predict customer needs, and optimize lifetime value. The firm holds over 100,000 patents, most related to fintech, AI, and health tech.

Ping An Good Doctor, its AI-powered health platform, serves hundreds of millions of users. Its smart city solutions manage traffic, identity, and urban services in real time. These platforms generate intangible capital in the form of proprietary datasets, behavioural insight, and public trust.

Unlike many insurers that outsource tech or treat digital as a channel, Ping An has vertically integrated its data infrastructure and built a culture of digital-first thinking. Its value proposition is not just better insurance—but smarter, more holistic life solutions.

By reimagining itself as an AI-powered, ecosystem-based enterprise, Ping An has become one of the most forward-looking financial institutions in the world. Its real assets are invisible: platforms, people, and predictive intelligence.

Spotify: Unlocking Data

Spotify redefined music not by owning content, but by owning data, algorithms, and user experience. With over 600 million users and 200 million subscribers, Spotify’s power lies in how well it understands what people want to hear—and when.

Its algorithmic playlists like “Discover Weekly” and “Release Radar” generate intense engagement. Spotify collects listening data, mood, location, time of day, and device usage to personalize the experience in real time. This data flywheel is a potent intangible asset: more engagement means better data, which improves personalization, which boosts retention.

Spotify has also invested in audio storytelling—from podcasts to original content—shaping the future of sound and attention. It builds emotional bonds through shared playlists, artist fan experiences, and cultural relevance.

What makes Spotify unique is how it translates data into emotion and identity. In doing so, it’s not just streaming songs—it’s curating culture. Its intangible edge lies in combining data science, emotional resonance, and creative expression.

Tencent: Unlocking Ecosystems

Tencent is one of the world’s most successful digital ecosystems, with value creation built not on products, but on platforms, data, networks, and trust. Best known for WeChat, China’s “everything app,” Tencent has created a digital operating system for everyday life—messaging, payments, gaming, commerce, content, and public services—within one unified interface.

What makes Tencent extraordinary is how it turns intangible relationships into exponential value. WeChat isn’t just a messaging app—it’s infrastructure. The platform handles over a billion daily users and connects families, businesses, governments, and brands. By embedding payment and service layers into chat, Tencent unlocked new business models powered by convenience, loyalty, and data.

Tencent also runs the world’s largest video game business through a network of internal studios and strategic investments (including Riot Games, Epic Games, and Supercell). It applies data-driven insights to iterate game features, optimize engagement, and drive in-game monetization.

At its core, Tencent’s strength lies in intangible assets: network effects, behavioural data, content IP, user habits, and ecosystem orchestration. Rather than controlling everything directly, it enables partners, startups, and developers to build inside its environment, turning scale into stickiness. Tencent doesn’t just create value—it multiplies it across networks.

I grew up in Northumberland, actually born on the banks of the Tyne.

Sting, perhaps, not surprisingly, has been a fixture in my musical life. In fact, when I was at school, he was still a teacher at another nearby school, while playing evenings in local pubs. Then he found his way to London, and the Police.

Born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner on October 2, 1951, in Wallsend, on the banks of the River Tyne, Sting is a globally renowned musician, songwriter, and activist. Rising to fame as the frontman of The Police in the late 1970s and early ’80s, Sting helped define an era with hits like Roxanne, Every Breath You Take, and Message in a Bottle. The band blended rock, punk, and reggae influences, earning multiple Grammy Awards and international acclaim.

After The Police disbanded, Sting launched a highly successful solo career, showcasing his versatility across genres like jazz, classical, and world music. Albums such as The Dream of the Blue Turtles and Ten Summoner’s Tales further cemented his reputation as a thoughtful lyricist and skilled musician.

Beyond music, Sting is known for his activism, supporting human rights, environmental causes, and indigenous communities, notably through the Rainforest Foundation he co-founded. His intellectual curiosity, distinctive voice, and cross-genre appeal have made him an enduring figure in popular culture.

With a career spanning over four decades, Sting has sold over 100 million records worldwide and continues to tour, record, and engage in philanthropy. His impact on music and social issues has made him both a cultural icon and a committed global citizen.

Queen was my first ever live concert. It’s a Kinda Magic, at St James Park in 1986. It was a year after their global iconic moment at Live Aid a year earlier. While Freddie Mercury grabbed the limelight, it was Brian May’s guitar riffs which got me most.

Queen were a British rock band formed in 1970 in London, consisting of Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar), Roger Taylor (drums), and John Deacon (bass). Known for their elaborate sound, theatrical performances, and fusion of rock, opera, and pop, Queen became one of the most iconic and successful bands in history.

Their breakthrough came with Bohemian Rhapsody (1975), a groundbreaking song that combined operatic and rock elements, becoming one of the most beloved tracks in music history. Queen’s ability to blend diverse genres, coupled with Mercury’s powerful voice and flamboyant stage presence, defined their sound. Hits like We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions, Somebody to Love, and Don’t Stop Me Now are still anthems of rock music.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Queen continued to release successful albums, with A Night at the Opera (1975), News of the World (1977), and The Game (1980) further cementing their legendary status. After Mercury’s death in 1991, the band’s legacy endured, with subsequent tours and collaborations, including the partnership with Adam Lambert as their frontman.

Queen’s influence on music, fashion, and popular culture is immeasurable, and their timeless hits continue to resonate with audiences worldwide.

The Beautiful South was the soundtrack of my student years. Paul Heaton is such a master songwriter, but with a gentle Northern lilt. I loved the lyrics, the melodies, and the memories of those carefree years.

They were a British pop-rock band formed in 1988 by Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway, both former members of the Housemartins. Known for their melodic tunes paired with often darkly witty, ironic, or melancholic lyrics, the band carved a unique space in the UK music scene. Their debut album, Welcome to the Beautiful South, featured the hit single Song for Whoever, showcasing their clever songwriting style and instantly recognizable sound.

Throughout the 1990s, the band released a string of successful albums, including Choke, Blue Is the Colour, and Quench, which spawned major hits like A Little Time (a UK number one), Rotterdam, and Perfect 10. Their music blended pop, soul, and alternative elements, often featuring lush arrangements and dual male-female vocals, with Jacqui Abbott joining as a key voice during their most commercially successful period.

The Beautiful South earned a reputation for intelligent, often satirical lyrics exploring relationships, politics, and British life, wrapped in deceptively cheerful melodies. Despite their mainstream appeal, they maintained a subversive edge.

The band disbanded in 2007, citing “musical similarities,” but their legacy endures through their timeless songs and the continued work of its former members, particularly in The South and Paul Heaton’s solo projects.

Crowded House were also my favourites at the time. Neil Finn’s band had a similar gift for a great tune. My abiding memory is driving a rental car from Wellington to Auckland in 1990 and listening to their latest album (cassette) non-stop.

They are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1985 by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn, along with Paul Hester and Nick Seymour. The band quickly gained international recognition for their melodic, emotionally resonant songs and tight musicianship. Their self-titled debut album, released in 1986, featured the global hit Don’t Dream It’s Over, which became an enduring anthem and remains one of their most iconic tracks.

Blending elements of pop, rock, and folk, Crowded House became known for their poignant lyrics, strong harmonies, and memorable melodies. Their follow-up albums, Temple of Low Men and Woodface, included beloved songs like Better Be Home Soon, Weather With You, and Fall at Your Feet. Tim Finn, Neil’s brother and fellow Split Enz alumnus, briefly joined the band during this period, contributing to their rich sound.

Despite internal changes and the tragic death of drummer Paul Hester in 2005, the band has continued to evolve. They reformed in 2007 and released several new albums, including Time on Earth and Dreamers Are Waiting (2021), with Neil’s sons Liam and Elroy joining the lineup.

Crowded House’s legacy is built on timeless songwriting, emotional depth, and a loyal global fanbase that spans generations.

One of the best concerts I ever went to was Prince, at Wembley Arena. I still remember the epic 30 minute version of The Gold Experience which he played towards the end of his show. He was wired, brilliant, enigmatic, and just loved his music.

Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson on June 7, 1958, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was a groundbreaking American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Known for his flamboyant stage presence, incredible musicianship, and genre-defying sound, Prince became one of the most influential and innovative artists in music history. His work blended funk, rock, R&B, soul, pop, and new wave, creating a unique sonic identity that defied categorization.

His 1984 album Purple Rain, and the film of the same name, catapulted him to global superstardom, with hits like When Doves Cry, Let’s Go Crazy, and the iconic title track. Prince was a prolific artist, releasing over 30 albums during his lifetime, often playing most or all instruments on his recordings. He was also known for his fierce independence and battles over creative control and artist rights, famously changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol in protest of his record label.

Beyond his own music, Prince wrote hits for other artists, including Nothing Compares 2 U and Manic Monday. He passed away in 2016, but his legacy endures through his vast catalog, electrifying live performances, and lasting influence on artists across genres. Prince remains a symbol of artistic freedom, creativity, and fearless originality.

Eurythmics created a series of stunning songs. Annie Lennox carried on for years as solo artist. But it was Dave Stewart, songwriter and brilliant guitarist, who I loved most. Even creating the soundtrack for my first ever business presentation.

Eurythmics is a British musical duo formed in 1980 by singer Annie Lennox and musician Dave Stewart. Known for their innovative fusion of pop, synth, and new wave, the duo became pioneers of the 1980s electronic music scene. Eurythmics gained global fame with their 1983 album Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), which featured the iconic title track, a synth-driven anthem that became one of their biggest hits. The song’s haunting melody, coupled with Lennox’s distinctive, androgynous look and powerful voice, defined the band’s unique style.

Eurythmics continued to release successful albums throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including Touch (1983), Be Yourself Tonight (1985), and Savage (1987), blending electronic, rock, and soul influences. Hits like Here Comes the Rain Again, Would I Lie to You?, and There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart) further solidified their reputation as one of the most innovative acts of their era.

Beyond their music, Eurythmics was known for their striking visuals and bold, often politically charged messages. Annie Lennox’s powerful vocals and Stewart’s creative production made them one of the most influential and enduring acts in pop music. After disbanding in the 1990s, they occasionally reunited for special projects, leaving a lasting legacy in music.

Madonna was a supreme artist, constantly reinventing her music and herself. When I bought my first house, well flat, I could play music to my hearts content. It was the time of Vogue, Erotic, and Roy of Light.

Born Madonna Louise Ciccone on August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan, she became a global pop icon, singer, songwriter, actress, and cultural trailblazer. Rising to fame in the early 1980s with hits like Holiday, Like a Virgin, and Material Girl, she quickly established herself as the “Queen of Pop.” Known for constantly reinventing her image and sound, Madonna pushed the boundaries of music, fashion, and social norms.

Her 1989 album Like a Prayer marked a turning point, blending pop with deeper themes of religion, sexuality, and personal empowerment. Over the decades, she has released numerous chart-topping albums, including Ray of Light, Confessions on a Dance Floor, and Madame X, showcasing her ability to evolve with the times while staying creatively relevant.

Madonna has also made a mark in film, fashion, and business, and is recognized for her boldness and influence on generations of artists. She’s a trailblazer for women in music, openly confronting sexism, ageism, and cultural taboos. With over 300 million records sold worldwide and countless awards, Madonna is not just a music legend—she’s a symbol of reinvention, resilience, and fearless self-expression. Her legacy continues to shape pop culture and challenge the status quo.

U2, for the sheer power and presence of their anthems, is my go to music on stage. For 20 years I hosted a huge conference each year in Istanbul, each year starting with a U2 blockbuster, and ending with a U2 finale to a thousand lighter flames held high.

The Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1976, featuring Bono (Paul Hewson) on vocals, The Edge (David Evans) on guitar and keyboards, Adam Clayton on bass, and Larry Mullen Jr. on drums. Known for their anthemic sound, spiritual themes, and political engagement, U2 rose to global fame in the 1980s with their breakthrough album The Joshua Tree(1987), which included iconic tracks like With or Without You, Where the Streets Have No Name, and I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.

Blending post-punk roots with expansive soundscapes, the band became known for their emotionally charged performances and thought-provoking lyrics. Albums like Achtung Baby (1991) and All That You Can’t Leave Behind(2000) showcased their ability to reinvent themselves while maintaining their core identity.

Beyond music, U2 has been deeply involved in activism, particularly through Bono’s efforts to combat poverty, disease, and social injustice, including initiatives like DATA and the ONE Campaign. The band has sold over 170 million records worldwide and won more than 20 Grammy Awards.

U2 remains one of the world’s most enduring and influential bands, continually pushing creative boundaries while using their platform to inspire change and connect people globally.

Dido was prolific in her far to short career. Maybe it’s a little uncool to mention her, but each song was fabulous, and her voice haunting.  Jump into a taxi in New York or Berlin, and you’re sure to hear her even today.

Dido, born Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O’Malley Armstrong on December 25, 1971, in London, is a British singer-songwriter known for her ethereal voice, introspective lyrics, and genre-blending sound that mixes pop, electronica, and folk influences. She rose to international fame with her debut album No Angel (1999), which became one of the best-selling albums of the early 2000s, fueled by hits like Here with Me and Thank You. The latter gained additional fame after being sampled in Eminem’s Stan, introducing Dido to a wider global audience.

Her second album, Life for Rent (2003), was equally successful, featuring tracks like White Flag and Life for Rent, which showcased her signature melancholy melodies and emotional depth. Dido’s music is characterized by its understated elegance, soothing vocals, and honest storytelling, often exploring themes of love, loss, and resilience.

Despite stepping back from the spotlight for periods to focus on family, Dido continued to release critically acclaimed music, including Safe Trip Home (2008), Girl Who Got Away (2013), and Still on My Mind (2019). With millions of albums sold worldwide, Dido remains a quietly influential figure in contemporary music, admired for her authenticity and timeless sound.

Moby‘s electronica has been a soundtrack to my travels in recent years. I travel a lot – every week for work, around the globe. There’s nothing like plugging in a few familiar tunes to escape the boredom of departure lounges and long flights.

Moby, born Richard Melville Hall on September 11, 1965, in Harlem, New York City, is an American musician, producer, DJ, and activist best known for his pioneering role in bringing electronic music to mainstream audiences. Emerging from the underground rave and dance scene in the early 1990s, Moby gained early recognition with tracks like Go, blending house, techno, and ambient sounds.

His breakthrough came with the 1999 album Play, a landmark release that fused electronic beats with vintage blues and gospel samples. Despite initial skepticism, the album became a massive global success, with all of its tracks licensed for film, TV, and commercials—an unprecedented feat at the time. Hits like Porcelain, Natural Blues, and Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? showcased Moby’s talent for emotional, genre-defying music.

Throughout his career, Moby has released numerous albums spanning styles from punk to downtempo to orchestral. Beyond music, he is a passionate advocate for animal rights, veganism, and environmental causes, often using his platform for activism.

Known for his introspective nature and DIY approach, Moby remains an influential figure in electronic music. His work continues to resonate for its emotional depth, innovation, and message of compassion and social awareness.

Snow Patrol came to fame with their haunting Chasing Cars track. But the best album for me was their Reworked which remixed all of their best songs in hauntingly beautiful ways. They then played Reworked at an incredible Albert Hall concert.

Snow Patrol is a Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. The group is best known for their emotionally charged lyrics, atmospheric sound, and anthemic melodies. The core lineup consists of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Johnny McDaid (guitar, piano), Paul Wilson (bass), and Jonny Quinn (drums). Snow Patrol initially garnered attention with their debut album Songs for Polarbears (1998), but it was their third album, Final Straw(2003), that brought them international success.

Final Straw included hits like Run and Chocolate, both of which became radio staples and propelled the band into the mainstream. Their signature sound, blending indie rock with orchestral arrangements and introspective lyrics, struck a chord with listeners, earning them a dedicated fanbase.

The band continued their success with albums like Eyes Open (2006), which featured the global hit Chasing Cars. The song became one of their most iconic tracks, earning widespread recognition and becoming a staple of TV soundtracks.

Snow Patrol’s music explores themes of love, longing, and loss, often drawing on Lightbody’s introspective and poetic lyricism. With over 16 million albums sold worldwide, Snow Patrol remains one of the defining bands of the 2000s indie rock scene.

Coldplay is, perhaps inevitably, one of my favourite bands today. I love how three student friends can become such a global music writing force. Glastonbury was a highlight, and in particular, that slightly bohemian wonderful song, We Pray.

Coldplay is a British rock band formed in London in 1996, consisting of Chris Martin (vocals, piano), Jonny Buckland (guitar), Guy Berryman (bass), and Will Champion (drums). Known for their soaring melodies, heartfelt lyrics, and stadium-filling sound, Coldplay rose to fame with their debut album Parachutes (2000), featuring the breakthrough single Yellow. The album’s emotional sincerity and atmospheric style quickly won them a devoted global following.

Their follow-up albums, A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) and X&Y (2005), solidified their status as one of the world’s biggest bands, with hits like Clocks, The Scientist, and Fix You. Over time, Coldplay evolved their sound to incorporate elements of electronic music, pop, and world music, as seen in albums like Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends(2008), Mylo Xyloto (2011), and Everyday Life (2019).

Coldplay is known for visually stunning, emotionally uplifting live shows, as well as their commitment to sustainability and global issues. Their 2021 album Music of the Spheres continued their exploration of cosmic themes and collaborations, including a hit with BTS. With over 100 million records sold, Coldplay remains one of the most successful and influential bands of the 21st century.

Of course there were so many more. David Bowie is one of them. Another great innovator. Life on Mars was probably my favourite, an opera in 4 minutes. I still remember the way Lourde sang that song after his death as a tribute to him.

Bowie, born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947, in London, was one of the most influential and innovative artists in modern music history. Known for his constant reinvention, Bowie pushed boundaries in music, fashion, and performance. His career spanned more than five decades, with a chameleonic ability to evolve with the times while maintaining an unmistakable artistic vision.

Bowie’s breakthrough came in 1969 with Space Oddity, but it was his 1972 persona as Ziggy Stardust, an androgynous rock star from outer space, that solidified his place in music history. Over the years, he ventured into genres ranging from glam rock and soul to electronic and industrial, creating landmark albums like The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Young Americans, Low, and Heroes.

Known for his thought-provoking lyrics, experimental soundscapes, and boundary-pushing performances, Bowie influenced countless artists across genres. His iconic tracks, like Life on Mars?, Heroes, Let’s Dance, and Rebel Rebel, remain timeless.

Bowie also ventured into acting, starring in films like The Man Who Fell to Earth and Labyrinth. His final album, Blackstar (2016), released just days before his death, was a haunting and poetic farewell, further cementing his legacy as a true cultural icon.