Our Philosophy to Thrive in the Future
At KRAF-10, we’re not just another digital comms agency. Instead, we’re building something we wanted for ourselves. A place of like-minded people who understand that the old workforce model is becoming obsolete and that we need to renew ourselves to thrive in the future. People who are kickass at what they do but remain curious and open for change. People who understand that sustainable businesses start from within.
The world is changing. We all know that. But do you know how fast?
Ray Kurzweil, futurist and Director of Engineering at Google, has developed a model of how the world is changing. He is well-known for being extremely accurate in his predictions about the future, and he says that by every 10 years, the speed at which the world is changing is doubling. This means that 20 years from now, the world will change 4 times faster. And in 40 years from now, the world will change 16 times faster — meaning you’ll experience a year of change in less than a month. So how do we equip ourselves to meet this complex future?
Big consultancy companies keep on publishing reports on what skills you’ll need in the future. Those reports are relevant; however, at KRAF-10, we often feel something is missing. Of course, you can always learn a new skill if you know what to learn. But how do you actually know what skill you should learn?
We believe it starts with three important mental shifts that equip us to meet this complex and ever-changing future. This way, we’re better equipped to succeed as individuals, in business, and to help our clients grow.
Antifragility Makes Us Stronger
In today’s society, we have become great at predicting risks. For example, we build houses based on predicted levels of weather fluctuations. We build investment portfolios to distribute risk. And we base our education choice on a prediction that a certain profession will be needed in the future.
Our ability to calculate risks serves us well — until something unpredictable hits. The financial crisis in 2008 and the pandemic are just two examples of unforeseen events, yet they had massive consequences. The entirety of our society is based on the presumption that tomorrow will look approximately like yesterday, yet this is probably not true.
In a world that is changing at exponential speed, what would be a better way to approach the future?
The author Nassim Nicholas Taleb says the answer is found in nature. He has introduced a concept called “Antifragility.” Think of a parcel that says, “Fragile — please do not shake.” What would the opposite of that be? Robust? Not quite — the opposite would go beyond that. The opposite would be “Antifragile — please shake.” The parcel’s content would grow stronger and become even better than before when shaken. This is, in fact, how it works in nature — when we go to the gym, we grow stronger. When we get vaccinated, our immune system increases. Everywhere in nature around us, the world is antifragile. So why shouldn’t we also base our societies and business models this way?
Learning to thrive in chaos is key, not only in the future of work but in life in general. By developing this mindset for ourselves, we are better equipped to stay adaptable, agile, and attentive to the future of our clients.
Antifragility starts from within, so the next time disruption and chaos hits, we are ready to embrace change and work with our clients to solve it.
Systems Thinking Makes Us Wiser (Hopefully)
Systems thinking means understanding the ecosystem you are navigating, understanding the ripple effects of ripple effects, and seeing where the world is going. Being able to visualize how we are all interconnected in today’s complex societies and understand what’s next before it’s already a fact. Navigating this complexity could help you make wise decisions in life and business.
At KRAF-10, we believe systems thinking can help us pinpoint the next business opportunity and help us understand emergent challenges, and quickly adapt to a changing environment. By developing this mental thinking for ourselves, we can help clients with new perspectives and new ideas and navigate the marketing landscape just a little smarter.
“Systems thinking — the term given to the modern rebirth of holistic thinking in academic and professional fields — compels us to listen to our instincts, break down barriers, see the bigger picture, explore possibilities, and relearn much of what we’ve already known.” (resilience.org)
We’re constantly following the progress in the world, adding new talents and skills to our own KRAF-10 ecosystem so that we can grow in tune with the world. Systems thinking is the lens through which we see the world because we believe it makes us just a little wiser.
Stillness Is the Recipe for Efficiency
Our society today is obsessed with efficiency. Aided by technology, our productivity has been boosted to record levels, but we just keep finding new tasks to tick off our lists. Instead of seeing automation as a threat, how about embracing it as an opportunity for everyone to slow down and spend some deep focus time on value creation every day?
According to Asana, we spend approximately 60% of our workday on “work about work”: for example, scheduling meetings, answering emails, preparing for meetings, etc. If technology helps us to remove time-consuming activities, imagine what we could achieve with all of this free time to think instead?
“I don’t think the world’s information workers have people who are shepherding their time for creative work. I think servant leadership is all about how do you protect the flow time of creative people to do great things.”
- Alex Hood, Chief Product Officer at Asana
At KRAF-10, we don’t glorify busyness. We glorify creativity and problem-solving abilities. And in order to become creative, we need distraction-free time to focus on what matters the most. Who hasn’t come up with a great idea whilst taking a shower or cooking food? Einstein himself said he saw relativity after a period of illness and time to think.
We believe stillness will fast-forward our talents’ path to success. So we respect everyone’s time, creative process and way of working so that we can all excel at what we do.
It’s a win-win for ourselves, our talents and our clients.
Ready to join our ecosystem? Apply and join the force.
