Kaihan Krippendorff identifies the importance of proxemics between product and consumer/user as a key component of growth for businesses. Shuffling through the crowds of Fourth of July weekend shoppers, I spied my prize. The farm stand’s rows were bursting with color—juicy strawberries, rich blueberries, and robust peaches. “Over here,” I called out to my kids to join me. We carefully selected handfuls from the overflowing baskets. Fresh berries would make a perfect addition to our family’s dessert that night. When…

  With global demand for food reaching peak levels, and climate change and diminishing farmland impacting food production, Kaihan Krippendorff’s article on the future of agriculture addresses both the issues and possible solutions.  Earlier this year, I met up with a friend for lunch at a restaurant out on the water. As I twirled fettuccine noodles and chunks of New England lobster around my fork, I couldn’t help but appreciate the connections that I’ve been able to form over shared…

  Kaihan Krippendorff addresses corporate responsibility and climate change and why the energy industry is adding environmental practices to business growth strategies. Our planet is facing an uncertain future. The impact of climate change has reached a point of crisis, and it is up to the organizations of today, and to all of us, to take action. This week our guest on the Outthinkers podcast, Michael Raynor, author of The Strategy Paradox and co-author of The Innovator’s Solution, emphasized the…

  Kaihan Krippendorff provides insight into the rising valuations of tech stocks and attributed the rise of cryptocurrencies, and NFTs (non-fungible tokens). It’s been a while since Saturday Night Live was a staple of Monday morning conversation, but this week as our team gathered around the Zoom screen to join our check-in call, the sketch comedy show was top of mind. I can’t imagine many missed it, or at least the news surrounding it, but last weekend’s episode featured special…

  A crisis often kickstarts innovation in technology and shifts in culture. As working from home options become a more normal structure, how will this impact performance and growth? Kaihan Krippendorff takes a look at the company culture of Netflix to explore the impact of no rules rules. When we think about culture and responsibility in the workplace, companies generally fall into one of two categories. Some seek to monitor their employees and keep them in a structured order by…

  Kaihan Krippendorff shares a post that explains why the trend toward platform and digital requires an entirely new mindset around how you serve your customers. Last week’s trend piece focused on Community Coordination — companies that create a platform for users to communicate and coordinate are better prepared for a future where consumers are using these platforms to connect quickly and make their voices heard. This trend toward coordinating the uncoordinated has been growing for many years and pervades…

Kaihan Krippendorff shares a post that draws attention to current societal shifts and the role that today’s technological innovations play in this post-modern world. In two of our previous trend pieces, The Future of Work and Future Organizational Models, we reviewed how traditional systems of hierarchy are being dismantled in the workplace. But this trend extends far outside the office. It’s touching all aspects of how we form communities within society and how and why we gather in groups. Stay-at-home…

  As civilizations and organizations grow larger, so does bureaucracy, often indicating a slow demise in communication and operations. Kaihan Krippendorff takes a look at a business trend and new organizational model that may indicate a more agile future. As we reenter the post-Covid workplace, many companies are facing a period of reorganization and restructuring. Our research has forecasted and proven that organizations of the future will need to adopt agile approaches and embrace open, networked structures instead of outdated,…

                       Kaihan Krippendorff shares an article that identifies how to take better control of your subconscious to become aware of valuable information.  We have heard the adages like “work on your business, not in it” and “come up to see the forest for the trees.” At McKinsey they urged us to continually take the “top management perspective” by zooming up to look at the business overall before jumping into the details. But we know Bill Gates used to lock himself…

  Kaihan Krippendorff shares a post that identifies the need for agility in the face of major disruptions, such as COVID-19, and explains how companies can adapt their product to meet the shifts in demand. “As the COVID epidemic rounds through its second year, Gen Xers, like me, are happy to avoid airplanes. On average, compared to younger travelers, our houses are bigger (so why risk leaving?), we have kids at home to be with and care for, we have…

  Kaihan Krippendorff provides a framework that can be used to address and adjust the paradigm of your organization.  At Outthinker, we have been tracking a sea change in the idea of a corporation’s shift for two decades. We have witnessed a slow but determined march away from the view that corporations exist to serve shareholders toward one in which corporations recognize they serve many masters: employees, communities, the environment, the world. In our 2012 book, Outthink the Competition, we…

  After the disruption of 2020, your business strategies may need to change to accommodate the cultural shifts.  Kaihan Krippendorff shares business trends that should be taken into account.  This year, as we recover from a massive shock to all forms of structure and life as we once knew it, we have a chance to create the future. We will dust ourselves off, begin to rebuild, and attempt to return to a sense of normalcy. However, we ask that you,…