Mark Wilson: Preparing businesses for their future state

We sat down for a conversation with Mark Wilson. Mark is a business strategy expert who founded Wilson Fletcher, an innovation consultancy that helps to transform digital companies through strategy and design. He has recently released a book, Futurestate Design, which aims to help entrepreneurs think differently about the future of their business.

Here's what we discussed:

• What does a digital strategist do? (00:49)
• How did you decide that you wanted to be a strategist? (03:42)
• Are there similarities between architecture and digital strategy? (05:08)
• When did you realise you were going to start Wilson Fletcher? (06:21)
• Did you feel that starting your own business gave you a good idea of how to help your clients strategise for growth? (07:26)
• What excites you about strategy? (09:59)
• What is a futurestate design? (11:10)
• What would you say to a business that would say 'Why can’t we just imagine a strategy with the tools we have today?' (16:12)
• Within the concept, you bring up the importance of a business imagining what their future customers will be like - how can a business do this when the pandemic/Ukraine war/inflation have all recently shown how unpredictable consumer behaviour is? (20:41)
• In your book you say tools such as data, commercial results, looking at what competitors and customers do and market research all inhibit a futurestate mind. This is a bold statement. Why do you think this? (24:10)
• What are recent shifts that we’ve seen in the digital economy? (27:41)
• How did the pandemic impact the digital economy? (30:25)
• Is there a particular innovation in the digital space that you think is really exciting at the moment? (32:29)
• What advice would you give to a business that is finding itself stagnant? (36:37)
• You’re given $150,000 that must be used to start a business. What kind of business do you open up? (39:26)

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