Work in Progress with Phoebe Dodds
Three quick questions on creating better futures. Chatting work, change, hope and sharing what’s currently a work in progress this week is Phoebe Dodds. Phoebe is a global connector and ecosystem builder living between Paris and NYC. She runs Social Capital, a growth agency working with brands like Apple, Airbnb and the Michelin Guide, and is the author of the Social Currency substack.
What are you working on right now?
How long do you have?!
I recently wrapped up an amazing year consulting for Airbnb, and am working on an exciting project with Apple in Paris later this year. I’m busy working on Social Capital, the business I run with two friends in Europe, and writing my Substack, Social Currency. I’ve been doing an MBA for the past year as well, with the first half in Sydney and the second half in New York.
I moved over to NYC a few weeks ago and it’s minus 19 degrees… so I’m mostly working on staying warm.
If you could change one thing about the world of work right now, what would it be, and why?
That people aren’t having enough fun.
Whether it’s freelance friends who are stressed at dips in income, or friends in full-time jobs who are bored and uninspired (sorry for the generalisation!), a lot of people around me are finding the world of work pretty tough at the moment, which isn’t surprising with everything that’s going on at a wider level.
I wish people were able to have more fun, because we spend so much of our lives working, and we might as well enjoy it — but of course it’s difficult when you’ve got lots of pressure on your shoulders or your mind’s elsewhere.
What’s giving you hope right now?
That people are really going hard on offline connections.
After 5+ years of zoom calls and life lived online, it’s nice to see that we’re all collectively entering our analogue era, whether that’s hosting game nights with friends, giving film photography a go, or simply putting our phones away for a few hours each day. People are excited about connecting with each other again, both in work and in life, and it’s really nice. I’ve been having some great coffees with new connections, and it’s always such a breath of fresh air to meet cool people doing cool things (Caitlin, you’re one of those!).
More of this in 2026 please!
The best ideas rarely arrive fully formed.
The good stuff happens somewhere in the messy middle, where ideas are still taking shape and optimism is a choice we make daily. If you’re navigating change and want a thinking partner along the way, explore how we work.