This article explores the power of collective sensemaking in innovation and strategy. Discover how integrating diverse perspectives helps organizations navigate rapid societal and technological changes, avoiding common pitfalls of superficial innovation for more meaningful, resilient outcomes.

This article examines global population decline through Hunome's collective sensemaking platform, where diverse participants explored the complex factors behind falling birth rates in developed nations. Led by foresight specialist Adam Sharpe, the group identified nine key drivers including shifting social priorities away from traditional family obligations, economic barriers making children unaffordable, women's increased education and career focus, environmental toxins potentially harming fertility, and growing eco-anxiety about bringing children into an uncertain world.

This article announces a SparkMap project titled "The Future of Work – What's Next?" that examines the evolving workplace landscape characterized by flexibility, adaptability, and increased technology integration. The project explores shifts away from traditional 9-5 office jobs toward remote work and automation, examining various perspectives on these changes and their impacts. Led by Nicky Dries, who heads the Future of Work Lab at KU Leuven's Faculty of Economics, the SparkMap aims to interconnect global examples, innovative practices, and experiences with concepts like the gig economy and zero-hour contracts. The lab focuses on social imaginaries for the future and developing insights for tomorrow's workforce.

This article argues that leaders should balance data-driven decision-making with understanding human factors affecting customers, employees, and communities. It contrasts "leading with people" versus "leading with data," suggesting that while metrics like productivity and revenue are readily available and useful, they miss crucial human motivations and needs. The piece uses examples like furniture sales data (showing increased sales but missing customer preference for sustainable materials) and Dan Price's decision to implement a $70,000 minimum wage at Gravity Payments after learning about employee financial struggles. The article claims that human-aware leadership leads to better employee motivation, customer engagement, and business outcomes, recommending that leaders actively seek diverse perspectives and look beyond numerical data to understand the people their decisions impact.

This article discusses applying human-centered design principles to help businesses build resilience during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. It outlines four core principles: understanding the fundamental problem rather than just symptoms (using the example of remote work solutions that address broader business continuity rather than just providing laptops), focusing on all impacted people by understanding their needs and involving them in solution development, considering entire systems rather than isolated components (illustrated by chatbot implementation that might solve wait times but create misdirected queries), and iterating quickly through prototyping and testing. The piece references examples like Zoom's rapid scaling and Airbnb's pivot to homestays, emphasizing that companies following human-centered approaches during uncertain times should shift perspective from what's right for the company to what's right for the people surrounding it.