Implications and opportunities for brand owners and founders
More and more, the bedrock of modern life is seeing some truly tectonic shifts.
Groan, not another article on trends. No, shifts aren't about a subtle change in emphasis or direction. Shifts speak to a change in structure; a change in the balance of power.
Consider the workplace. According to Gallup, 60% of all employees now work remotely some of the time, a fourfold increase since 2010. Around 70% of the office space in America's major cities lies empty, as knowledge workers telecommute or use other digital tools to work asynchronously with co-workers.
This seismic shift in how we define what a workplace is raised an important question in our minds: What other pillars of our modern lives are buckling beneath our feet?
According to veteran adman and business philosopher, Rishad Tobaccowala, four profound shifts are transforming life as we know it:
- Technology Shifts - innovations like AI, crypto, and biotech are remaking industries
- Power Shifts - move from institutions to individuals driving societal change
- Boundary Shifts - barriers fading between work/life, private/public, human/machine
- Mind Shifts - evolving values and worldviews
These shifts aren't just redefining business; they're also scrambling the fuzzy yet crucial collection of aspirations that we colloquially call The Good Life. This is of crucial importance to brands owners because, whether you run a new brand or an established brand, you now have an opportunity to surf these waves of epoch-defining change to find innovative solutions to society's evolving aspirations.
To echo a now-famous Rishadism 'The Future Does Not Fit In The Containers Of The Past'. And if you're a CMO or a CXO, you should view this as a blessing not a curse.
Let's dive into a world transformed.
The Remote Work Revolution
Remote work was already becoming common prior to the pandemic, but it was still a novelty. But stand at a train station in one of our major cities, and you can clearly feel that office worker foot traffic is 50% off its peak in 2019. Millions of people can now afford to trade the corporate hamster wheel for sweatpants.
Which begs the question: is the corner office still a status symbol, or is fulfillment the new flex? A recent Deloitte survey found that 60% of millennials are motivated by personal values rather than career status. For some of us, at least, work-life balance seems to matter more than climbing ladders.
The Digital Commerce Identity Crisis
You don't need us to tell you that e-commerce has exploded since the pandemic, putting limitless consumer choice at millions of people's fingertips. However, as shopping shifts from face-to-face experiences to faceless apps, our online identities and real world aspirations are now becoming even more entwined with our purchases.
The problem with this is, according to a 2017 study published by the American Psychological Association, our materialism has some nasty impact on our happiness.
“While today’s cultural aspirations center on self-expression, the longing for community remains innate,” says psychologist Robert Biswas-Diener. Are our purchases an expression of our personal values, or are they inadvertently reinforcing the old materialistic codes of the old The Good Life?
Climate Change Recalibrates Values
The current climate crisis demonstrates the dangers of our unrestrained consumption. But renewable energy is currently the fastest-growing industry. And in Europe, EVs outsold diesels in new car sales last year.
Futurist Alex Steffen offered this opinion “The Good Life will mean moderation and sustainability rather than excess."
But it can't just be about individuals taking environmentally friendly actions; it’s about changing our collective mindset and behavior. Can society as a whole reimagine The Good Life in terms other than consumption and materialism in time?
The Streamification of Pop Culture
Endless streaming platforms cater to our on-demand, personalized desires. However, they create isolated cultural experiences rather than collective cultural moments.
As leading psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar argues “The Good Life requires participating meaningfully in the world and making real human connections."
According to an American Psychological Association survey, loneliness has now reached epidemic proportions. What is being gained and what is being lost as communal rituals such as movie theaters and appointment television fade?
The Online Dating Paradox
Online dating provides convenience, but at the expense of depth. And while some recent research by Stanford has found couples who meet online have stronger long-term relationships, psychologists warn of the onset of "paradox of choice" in online dating forums. Additionally, multiple studies have linked heavy social media use to increased isolation. What type of mate are we looking for online as our companion in The (real) Good Life?
Leading psychologist Sherry Turkle sees similar clouds on the horizon, writing that “As we immerse ourselves in digital spaces, we must reflect on how technology impacts identity and empathy".
The Passion Economy Boom
Citizen creators are creating huge fandoms to monetize their niche interests. According to SignalFire, this passion economy will be worth more than $100 billion by 2025. Evidently, climbing the corporate ladder is no longer the only option.
“The old corporate ladder mindset no longer resonates. Living purposefully in the moment is the new success metric,” says futurist Jacob Morgan.
YouTube stars, Substack writers, and Udemy instructors are making a living off of their idiosyncratic interests. But doing what you love is still hard work, with its own set of challenges. Seems like maintaining a work-life balance is still a challenge for influencers in The Good Life 2.0, AI or no AI.
Imagining ‘The Good Life’ Amidst Uncertainty
While seismic societal shifts cause human beings great anxiety, they also open up new possibilities. This turbulent, uncertain era will require us to reimagine what we mean by success, fulfillment, and actualization. Old dreams fade, and progress will be dependent on cultivating new dreams and alt wisdom.
Futurist Vanessa Mason has it this way “Amid turbulent technological change, timeless truths around empathy and community endure".
Threading the Needle (Carefully)
Today's companies operate in an environment where seismic shifts can, and will, occur on a rolling, rather than incremental, basis. In this operating environment, short-term, linear thinking fails. Adaptability is mandatory.
Patagonia is a great example of a modern-day business that's fully adapted to the new aspirations of The Good Life through its environment consciousness matched to high-performing outdoor gear. And it's not just gearing its brand to the needs of its current customers, its gearing its entire business model to the changing needs of the Mother Earth.
Some other companies which are helping us embrace this new world, include:
- Remote work platforms like GitLab embrace “the future of work is remote.”
- Social apps like Strava and Peanut build community, not isolation.
- Passion economy platforms like Teachable and Patreon enable niche creators.
- Wellness and mindfulness apps like Calm promote digital balance.
The future is unknowable and unknown. However, as patterns emerge, we can see tectonic societal shifts accelerating. Work and commerce are becoming more digital. Your time is still being auctioned off to the highest bidder. AI may help but also hurt your long term career prospects. Nonetheless, one desire persists - our longing for genuine human connection.
“We’re in an era of dramatic social change,” says Adam Grant, organizational psychologist at Wharton. “While the particulars are new, the human yearning for purpose and connection endures.”
The seismic shifts of the 21st Century will not define The Good Life's destination, but they are illuminating some potential paths forward for brands that are paying attention. As brand owners and consultants, our ability to walk the line between nostalgia and unbridled technophilia will be critical.
Timeless, But Timely Redefinitions
Today's changes seem chaotic and rapid, particularly since new cultural aspirations usually emerge gradually over generations. Might looking to the past provide some useful context for thinking about changes to The Good Life?
In the 1950s, the suburban nuclear family and consumer convenience goods epitomized what it meant to be living The Good Life. “Homeowners sought well-stocked kitchens and social backyard barbecues,” says historian Laura Shapiro.
However, the counterculture of the 1960s, and the environmental movement of the 1970s, sparked a desire for work-life balance and sustainability over workaholism and materialism. If your Mum and Dad were hippies then maybe congratulate them for being way ahead of their time.
In the 1980s, wealth and status markers resurfaced at the center of The Good Life, but with a focus on lifestyle enhancement. However, all that ostentatiousness and exuberance waned after the 2000s housing bubble burst in the US and Europe.
Today’s Whiplash Needs a Worldview Shift
Today's era of whiplash change requires updating our perspectives. “The opportunities unlocked by technology must align with life’s deeper promises,” urges philosopher Roman Krznaric.
Many other respected thought leaders of our era are also preaching holistic wellbeing and personal purpose above all.
“The specific aspirations morph, but the human quest for belonging remains constant,” observes futurist Dr. Jennifer Gidley. "Cultivating hope and resilience helps navigate uncertainty."
According to sociologist Margaret Nelson, “Living authentically and seeking purpose now define success more than wealth and status.”
“True success is living with vitality, purpose, and integrity - however that manifests given society’s constraints,” says psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman.
Arianna Huffington advocates “prioritizing wisdom, wonder, mindfulness, and giving" and Adam Grant stresses “learning to let old expectations fade so new dreams can form.”
The precise future of The Good Life remains unknown, but its horizon is broadening. Today's seismic shifts necessitate rethinking cultural metrics such as work, consumption, and technology.
“The notion of The Good Life keeps evolving across generations, always balancing meaning and materialism,” says sociologist Brené Brown. Today’s shifts demand rethinking cultural aspirations. Many brand owners will struggle with this particular truth, but The Good Life is clearly being rewired with a focus on longer-term human aspirations at the expense of short term gratification. Maladaptive practices and unhealthy lifestyles are being shed to make room for progress.
The Good Life continues to evolve across generations. And while seismic shifts are unsettling to those who hold on to its past version too tightly, they can also generate growth and progress.
So, perhaps this stormy era of constant change has a silver lining, giving us marketers the opportunity to redefine outdated notions of success, status, and fulfillment and inject some much needed nuance into the stuff that we make to satisfy people's needs and wants. As always seems to happen, a compelling vision of modern life will eventually emerge, and most likely it'll come about through some alchemic fusion of new technological capabilities with a new cultural consensus. Or, as we’ve written elsewhere, the cross-pollination of code and culture is our best hope to create net new value in the modern world.
Riding New Waves of Change
Seismic shifts in The Good Life require entrepreneurs and brand owners to rethink their products, messaging, and business models. Here's some important questions to consider:
// Founders and Entrepreneurs
Emerging needs: How can your offering add value in the face of societal changes? Can your company help resolve people's emerging pain points as they strive for The Good Life?
Lifestyle integration: How will your company appeal to talent seeking purpose and work-life balance? Can you build remote work, flexibility, and passion project time into your corporate expression of The Good Life?
Digital-first: With online platforms and virtual experiences now being table stakes, how will your company lean into using technology to create net new value for people trying to live The Good Life?
Social values: What specific stance on issues like sustainability and diversity will be meaningful to your consumers as they pursue The Good Life - conscientious, conservative or somewhere in between?
Foster community: How can your company foster authentic communal experiences, both virtual and in-person, that align with people’s evolving social needs? How can you help alleviate loneliness and sadness that seem to plague The Good Life?
// Big Brand CMOs
Brand purpose: Ask yourself: do you have a mission and does it resonate with today's Good Life cultural values? How can you realign it with its emerging values and aspirations?
Employee experience: Can your business model support remote work options, flexibility, and upskilling programs that new talent believes are core to living The Good Life?
Stress authenticity: Through your marketing, how might your brand emphasize real connections and sustainability over aspirational perfectionism?
Feedback loops: How might you leverage data and community input to respond rapidly to shifting consumer sentiments as each new draft of The Good Life is written?
Cultivate partnerships: How might you collaborate with startups to help bridge your current offerings to the demands of The Good Life?
As we've seen, profound changes are redefining our way of life, and they appear to be accelerating. To prevail, our brand and business strategies will need to based on a more nuanced awareness of important shifts as they happen, an empathy for the people that are affected most, and an ability to adapt to face unanticipated turbulence. Our progress will be dependent on our ability to shift our perspectives and our strategies to meet the moment.
By finding innovative solutions to consumers' evolving aspirations, brands can ride these waves of change, whether emerging and established. Businesses with vision and authenticity can play a positive role in helping redefine The Good Life. The future has not yet been written, and to give Mr Tobaccowalla the last word, those who shape it are not bound by the past.
For readers looking to dive deeper into how today’s seismic shifts are reshaping The Good Life, see our full article on Medium or DM us here on LinkedIn.