From Pessimism to Possibility and Competence as Escapism
The weekly look at three curious points of tension, plus positive ‘what if’ ideas for what to do moving forward.
Are we all just downstream of dystopia?
“The greatest threat to the world economy is now a politics shaped by pessimism itself.”
Well well well, if it isn’t our collective negativity becoming a drain on the global economy. Now, I’m no economist, but I can’t say I’m surprised [insert chandler I KNEW IT gif etc.] After all, it goes: Mindset → behavior → action
Moving Forward: Have we tried switching it all off and on again? Ok, sure there’s no simple, elegant, overnight solution here but I’d imagine this ones for the creative leaders and community folks, less brand-side: when aestheticising decline leads to more decline, its high time for reclaiming imagination and hopefulness (with a very long-term view).
2. Good Friction > Bad Friction
Bakerl0.0 sure, but Oxf0.0rd Circus?
The f-word we’ll be chatting about a LOT in 2026 is Friction. Last week, as anyone lurking LinkedIn knows, Marketers were either celebrating (so fun!) or criticising (so inaccessible!) that Heineken 0% ad placement as the Bakerloo tube map. And that’s without mentioning they got the stations in the wrong order, according to the good folks of Reddit. Generally I’m so here for a tfl takeover, but when desperately chasing cut-through leads to real sad ads-as-wayfinding, I am 100% on team accessibility.
Moving Forward: Let the functional be. Leave the “but they’re talking about it!!” energy in 2025 and channel more competence than idiocy (see: below). Because behaving this way just adds your product to the list of “things we know about against my will and will happily never try.”
3. Competency as Escapism becomes the signal to watch this year
Have you watched The Pitt yet and if not, why not? “Because, in 2026, when it feels like the entire world is being run by people who wouldn’t be able to successfully locate their own bottoms with their hands tied behind their backs, nothing is hotter than basic competency.” Suddenly mad kings and chaos reigning aren’t so fun to watch, but calm af doctors in an emergency? 100 seasons pls. TV - and behavioural signal - worth watching.
Moving Forward: At the risk of being repetitive, and very as per my last email: “make intergenerational knowledge transfer a design principle inside your org.”
Signal tracking and tension mapping is where the thinking starts. The real-world work happens when we make it truly actionable inside teams, systems and strategies that set the future in motion.
If you’re curious about applying this kind of thinking to your brand, check out how we work below.