Affinity

Today feels like a day where some good news might be valued! 😊

https://www.positive.news/society/total-net-greenhouse-gas-emissions-in-the-eu-dropped-last-year

Together, people and businesses have the power to make this world a better place to live in. Value for people = Growth for business.

Total net greenhouse gas emissions in the EU dropped by 8% last year The reduction is close to that recorded in Europe at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, when flights were grounded and factories shut

We love this.

Cleaning and tidying are good for the mind, not just your environment.

And, typically, the same principles apply to branding, experience design and organizational culture. Less clutter = more effective. And continuous, iterative improvement produces the best outcomes.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/world-economic-forum_as-well-as-decluttering-your-mind-cleaning-activity-7098982118931714048-BZyO/

www.linkedin.com

WHAT DO WE DO WITH AI?

Last week’s letter from 300 leading AI experts on “mitigating the risk of extinction from AI” inevitably created a Tsunami of doomsday forecasts.

It could potentially evolve beyond our control, destabilise whole societies through misinformation and/or put 300 million people out of work. It could even be weaponised for cyber and other forms of warfare with catastrophic outcomes.

Yet, on the flips side—and as my LinkedIn feed loves to tell me—it could usher in a new era that transforms our entire world for the better.

Beyond the hype and drama, it feels like we really need to give AI’s impact a lot more ‘action-focussed’ thought. All of us. Governments, businesses, charities, think tanks, Joe Bloggs. There are sooo many questions we need answers to…

How do we authenticate what we see online? How do we harness the power of AI to solve our toughest, planet-wide challenges? How do we ensure AI is doing jobs accurately and safely? How do we develop and adapt ourselves for what’s coming? How should we cooperate on AI internationally?

For starters—and yes, we know we're biased—we feel design has a key role to play…

Design Thinking and similar methodologies put human needs at the centre of problem solving. They also simplify complex challenges by solving them collaboratively, iteratively and ‘piece-by-piece’. Two mandatory start points for tackling the challenges and opportunities AI creates.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Is the world falling out of love with remote working?

According to the BBC:

“The most recent official figures suggest the majority of people - 63.9% - never work from home, while 21.4% work from the office and remotely. Just 7.8% of workers were based at home permanently, the survey found.”

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/blackrock-call-staff-back-office-least-four-days-week-memo-2023-05-16/

Let us know your thoughts.

BlackRock to call staff back to office at least four days a week - memo BlackRock Inc , the world's largest asset manager, has asked its staff to return to office at least four days a week, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.

“To build brand love, companies need to do more than just tell customers what they offer or how they stand out. They need to fully understand their customers’ journeys and find meaningful ways to impact and improve their lives.”

This is one of the key reasons we founded Affinity.

Click the link for the rest of this short but excellent article by Hang Nguyen—Associate Professor of Marketing at Michigan State University

https://venturebeat.com/enterprise-analytics/to-build-love-for-your-brand-focus-on-customer-experience-and-innovation



https://www.linkedin.com/in/hang-hannah-nguyen-9ba35a8/

Hang (Hannah) Nguyen - Associate Professor - Michigan State University | LinkedIn View Hang (Hannah) Nguyen’s profile on LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional community. Hang (Hannah) has 7 jobs listed on their profile. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover Hang (Hannah)’s connections and jobs at similar companies.