We’ve embarked on the transformational decade of the 2020s. In the first chapter, we’ve briefly discussed the transformations people seek to pursue. Now, we delve deeper into these transformational trends.
In this chapter, we will argue that people want to transform every moment in life, from running and ageing to dying or dealing with death. These Personal Transformations touch on aspects that previously did not receive sufficient attention. But (personal) science, cultural changes and new aspirations are transforming all these moments in our lives.
People also look beyond themselves to make a transformational impact. We live in an increasingly polarised society with not enough (focus on) equity, diversity and inclusion. Meanwhile, loneliness prevails, reality shifts, and change accelerates. Hence, people aspire to change society like never before. Contributing to these Social Transformations is becoming crucial for governments and corporations alike. Many social constructs are actively being transformed to achieve more equity, diversity and inclusion. The human aspiration for togetherness drives this. We are social animals, after all. We are stronger together.
Finally, the third transformation is also vital to tackle together. We realised that climate change is a health issue and that no healthy people can exist on a sick planet. Governments, businesses and organisations must aspire to a sustainable strategy that nurtures nature and allows us to nurture in nature.
At the end of these subchapters, you will understand how these three transformations are essential and omnipresent in today’s reality. You will comprehend how people are driven to impact moments and parts of their lives that previously were untouched and for which they are looking to every business for help. These transformations are the drivers of the Transformation Economy. Including these transformations (personal, social, planetary) in your strategy will be critical for the near future of your business, whatever industry you are in. Chapter 3 will then explain how you can create value for your customers by focusing on these Transformations.
I hope I grow old enough to see it. Or do I?
Of course, all the innovation, progress and success stories delaying ageing aren’t without their fair share of controversy. We live on an already overpopulated planet increasingly marred by social inequality, polarisation and the scarcity of basic resources. Rather than working on transforming ageing, surely we should be coming up with a solution to war, poverty, famine and drug addiction? And that’s not to mention the risk that ageing solutions could deepen the divide between rich and poor, between those who can afford to live longer, healthier lives and those who can’t. And how do we fund the lengthening lifespans of those who have already retired? In 2023, Emmanuel Macron’s retirement reform, raising the French state pension age to 64, wasn’t met with open arms even though it is still lower than those in surrounding countries. While it can feel morally dubious to invest in solutions to prevent ageing, it will happen regardless. And it will affect every business, no matter the sector.
But there’s another troublesome aspect to prolonging life spans. Although many scientists are convinced that ageing will be solved earlier than most diseases, regulatory authorities – such as the US Food and Drug Administration – don’t (yet) consider ageing to be a disease. In other words, it isn’t yet possible to file a drug that targets ageing. In any case, we’re nowhere near creating a drug that is able to rejuvenate people. Understanding the processes of how we age on a physiological level is extremely complex. However, the good news is that the progress being made will help us understand the biological consequences of ageing: age-related diseases.
And this is important, because more than half of people over the age of 65 are living with two or more long-term health conditions. This phenomenon is called multi-morbidity. Although many diseases are typically ‘clustered’, each disease is treated by different specialists with a particular care pathway and disease-specific medications. Medical research, drug development and healthcare systems are mainly centred on a specific disease, which makes it hard to understand the correlations between those clustered diseases.
health – nature. The medical research community fully recognises this daunting perspective. In 2021, more than 200 medical journals joined together to release an unprecedented statement citing climate change as the “greatest threat” to global public health. In an open letter to G20 leaders, more than 40 million health professionals urged political leaders to engage in a healthy recovery from COVID-19 in which nature can thrive. A healthy recovery, the letter states, should bolster efforts to fight pollution, climate change and deforestation. This will be critical to prevent “new health threats from emerging for vulnerable populations”.
However, the relationship between climate and the healthcare industry is complex because it is considered to be one of the biggest polluters, even exceeding aviation. Ironically enough, the sector’s damage to the climate affects our health considerably, potentially even worsening a vast range of diseases and increasing mortality rates due to rising temperatures.
HEALTHCARE’S FOOTPRINT
Hospitals use a lot more energy than other buildings – more than double per room every day in fact. Per day, they also use a lot of water, up to 568 litres, and generate around 1.5 kilograms of medical waste, such as used bandages and needles. Things like cleaning chemicals, medicines, disposable items, moving patients and workers, handling waste, and preparing food all harm our environment.
The Global Green and Healthy Hospitals is an association with over 1,600 health organisations from 78 countries. They work to make hospitals better for the environment by using less water and energy, making it easier to get to and from the hospital, building healthier buildings, buying things that are better for the environment, and managing waste well. Meanwhile, some countries are starting their own projects like the KLIK green project in Germany. This project is helping 250 hospitals and clinics to eliminate 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents in the next three years.
CASE IN POINT
The pharmaceutical industry is also making changes. Every year, 4.5 trillion medicines are produced but many are not used. The Sustainable Medicines Partnership, made up of 30 groups, wants to improve the way we get medicines. Meanwhile, companies like ten23 health are creating new ways to make medicines that are good for our planet.
Climate change is a health issue
Climate change activists have been around for decades and many people dismiss them as they would religious prophets, shouting about how the world will end if we don’t change our ways. However, a relatively new phenomenon is the medical prophet. In 2021, at COP26 in Glasgow, the healthcare community had its very own pavilion for the first time at a UN climate conference. Over 60 events were organised in the span of two weeks to showcase the health arguments that support ambitious climate action across many different sectors and topics. Professor David Pencheon, a UK doctor leading the NHS Sustainable Development Unit, urged leaders to treat climate change as a health issue as well as an environmental issue. “It makes it much more immediate to everybody.”
Treating climate change as a health issue makes it much more relatable for everybody.
In fact, consumers already agree with Pencheon’s point of view. Research by Nielsen in 2021 showed that 61% of consumers strongly agree that environmental issues harm our current and future health. And as businesses, we can use this opinion to make a real difference. Because the problem with sustainability is that it often suffers from the attitude that it’s someone else’s problem (commonly known as the freebooter problem): “Let somebody else do the work. I’m just going to continue doing what I always have.” However, when it becomes personal, people change their behaviour. So ‘climate change as a health issue’ might be the greatest opportunity we have to successfully fight climate change. This message has already been shown to have an impact. When asked why they eat organic food, people cite health benefits more often than benefits for the planet. Growth in the consumption of organic foods has come about more due to people’s aspirations for their personal health than for sustainability reasons.
The Life Aspirations Model
PREVENT
Solidarity
Caring
Safeness
Calmness
Clarity
Consciousness
ACCEPT ENJOY IMPROVE
Kindness
Gratitude
Belonging
Realness
Meaning
Self-worth
Nothingness
Spontaneity
Autonomy
Relationships
Loving Joy
Healing
Strength
Energy
Self-development
Creativity
Looking good
RELATIONSHIPS – having meaningful connections
For some people, feeling healthy and happy implies having meaningful connections. Likewise, Relationships contribute to feeling and being healthier and happier.
The quality or state of having meaningful connections or social relationships with others. This aspiration encapsulates the essence of being social and establishing significant relationships. At its core, it indicates a person’s natural tendency to engage in and form meaningful social bonds. This isn’t merely about being active socially, but about having interactions that leave lasting, genuine impacts on both parties. A survey by the German Zukunftsinstitut highlighted that a significant majority of people value relationships, family ties and close friendships. Such connections are two-sided: they provide both support in trying times and joy in celebratory ones, proving their importance in our lives. It’s the act of sharing vulnerabilities, interests and values that makes them profound.
Being social isn’t just about feeling good; it’s about holistic well-being. We thrive in community settings, finding purpose, inspiration and a deeper sense of self when surrounded by meaningful relationships. This sense of shared experience directly affects our mental, emotional and physical health. Surrounding ourselves with positive influences fosters healthier habits, shared activities and mutual support, all of which boost our resilience and overall well-being. Studies further reinforce this, showing that peers influence academic achievements and even decisions about habits like drug use. In essence, who we choose to connect with has tangible effects on our well-being and life choices.
Several companies have recognised the significance of meaningful connections and have tailored their initiatives accordingly. Lidl Ireland introduced ‘The Bakery’, not just as a place to savour baked goods but as a platform for mental health awareness events in collaboration with Jigsaw. Similarly, in Saga City, a dedicated space caters to dementia patients and their families, emphasising connection over direct treatment. Brands like Airbnb and Starbucks are renowned for fostering genuine connections – Airbnb through cultural exchanges with hosts and Starbucks by creating a ‘third place’ between work and home. WW, formerly WeightWatchers, builds communities around health, while platforms like Meetup allow people to bond over shared interests. Through tools like Webex’s Collaboration Insights, individuals can foster inclusive collaboration, further underscoring the broad range of ways companies can nurture sociableness.
Related words: sociable, relations, camaraderie, close connections, friends, family, neighbours, close collaborators, frolleagues, social interactions
ASPIRATIONS ARE UNIVERSAL AND UNIQUE AT ONCE
A teenager might desire to Look good (be attractive); a working mom with a new promotion and 2 young kids might dream of Energy (have vitality and stamina); a grandmother perhaps just wants to live with Autonomy (live independently and autonomously). An epilepsy patient hopes to show Kindness (be kind to myself and others) towards the progression of their disease; a patient with Crohn’s disease wants to feel Safeness (feel safe and protected) to go out and foster Relationships (have meaningful connections); a marathon runner desires to optimise her Strength (have power and resilience)
What these examples illustrate is how simple these Life Aspirations can be. It’s about human dreams and desires that are very mundane. And that’s what our lives are all about, right? But that’s also what it’s all about when we’re sick. People don’t want to be sick. People definitely do not want ‘the disease’ to take away these everyday, simple desires. Therefore, some patients sometimes tend to ignore their illness or ignore recommended prescriptions altogether. Additionally, some diseases come with stigmas people don’t like to face. That is precisely why it is essential to include those Life Aspirations in the solution you offer. And then show your patients how you can help them pursue these aspirations. They will value this more than anything. In the Transformation Economy, people will look for solutions that allow them to grow into their best possible version or, in other words, help them with their Life Aspirations.
EVOLVING TOWARDS CUSTOMER TRANSFORMATIONS IN HEALTH
People need to eat. It’s a nice service if food is made available to you (in a supermarket, for example). It’s a better experience if it is delivered to your door. But it feels great if that food, delivered to your door, can keep you healthy, independent and energetic.
“What does optimal health mean to you?” Women’s health clinic Tia uses this question to unpack the unique goals that patients have for their care journey. It allows Tia to support women on their path, which will almost certainly go beyond one condition. They don’t just want to treat a patient’s disease, they want to set women up for better success. They’re interested in the broader narrative. Their holistic view of health defines the personal experience, including Life Aspirations, and promotes overall health with a care plan that contains daily, weekly and monthly activities to optimise the patient’s health. Like a personal trainer, the Tia care team also meets frequently with the patient to assess their progress and ongoing needs.
EVERY SITUATION HAS RELATABLE ASPIRATIONS
Menopause company Gennev also offers a broad range of services specialising in gynaecology, primary care and lifestyle, while delivering natural wellness products and supplements that benefit the customer’s overall health and lifestyle when dealing with menopause. It’s about Strength (having power and resilience) as well as still living life full of Joy (having amazing experiences), something that can be applied to different parts of the healthcare industry.
And a trendy American telehealth company called Hers has taken it a step further and offers convenient, more affordable access to prescription products and medical advice. They put the focus on healthcare that feels like self-care by combining medical care with health, well-being and lifestyle solutions, and aspire to make women feel healthy and confident in their own skin, with flaws and all, on their terms. This helps women with Self-Worth (feeling good about myself)
For the past 170 years, our healthcare system has focused on solving and eradicating specific diseases, which is ultimately a highly fragmented approach. This leads to poor patient experiences, clinical errors and rising costs. This clinical, science-driven approach is the exact opposite of how we want to feel as human beings. We don’t feel fragmented: we are a single, whole person. The holistic approach to ‘treatment’ offered to women by FemTech and women’s health compa-
her break-ups and friendships (with real human beings), the parties, her jokes, and so forth… Her socials are a documentation of the ‘real’ life of a virtual person. A life that spans 6 years (while she remains 19, of course). Some virtual influencers even look so real that they cause turmoil for not being real. That was the case for Knox Frost, a 21-year-old Virtual Human from Atlanta in the USA. His social media posts talk about how he processes the internet’s mixed reactions to his existence and struggles to fit in. Despite all this, Knox Frost has become the most popular male virtual influencer, so much so that he even collaborated with WHO to inform his million followers about COVID health guidelines. Yes, an international organisation enlisted a virtual influencer to help tackle a very real challenge. Virtual influencers blur the lines between real and unreal, but they can educate people on Safeness (feel safe and protected) like the village physician once did.
Today, we are familiar with Virtual Assistants and Influencers – two separate use cases with different features. But you can expect both to be growing to each other feature-wise. It’s not difficult to imagine the value of Virtual Influencers having conversational features. On the other hand, it could also make sense to add more individual personality traits and ‘life events’ to Virtual Assistants. But what if those Virtual Humans would grow ‘with you’ into a Virtual Individual unique to you? This may sound like the movie HER. The film talks about how the protagonist falls in love with a Virtual Assistant with a sensitive, playful personality who starts to know him. The movie was launched in 2012 but was made a reality
Lil Miquela, the most popular Virtual Influencer on social media
