Do you have anything tokenised on the menu?
- How was your holiday?
- I can’t complain. We had a full week of SPF 50 weather.
- Sounds nice.
The waiter puts a carafe of ice-cold water on their table and pulls out a tablet.
- Are you ready to order?
They look at the menus quickly, sharing an uneasy smile.
- Sorry, we need two more minutes.
- Do you have anything tokenised on the menu?
- Sure thing. All our meals can be tokenised. There is a preview tag you can scan next to each item. I’ll check back on you in a minute.
- Thanks.
- Getting back in shape? Are we?
- I’ve been on a diet since April.
- Nice. How much have you lost already?
- Nothing.
- Haha.
- That is why I decided to try tokenised food this time. You scan the standardised codes, and your diet assistant keeps track of everything you eat and drink, like calories, macros, and all that jazz. Instead of menus and meal plans, it tells me which things to eat more to keep my diet balanced.
- It sounds too easy to work.
- Look here. I’m doing okay with energy today, but I could eat more fish this week.
- You sound like you have everything sorted out. SPF 50 holidays, a tokenised diet, and a brand new joywatch on your wrist to ensure you experience enough positive emotions every day. So why the long face?
- Oh, I’m in recovery mode. Today was a disaster. I forgot my desk pet and bombed my performance review.
- You’re full of surprises. What is a desk pet?
- It’s a cybersecurity pet that doubles as a performance tracker, like a super useful artificial human companion. It tracks your progress, maps your achievements, and handles all the stats and reporting, so you don’t need to do anything. And it’s cute.
- As long as you have it.
- I had absolutely nothing quantifiable to show for my progress this month.
- Mmm. As much as I like working with a group of people, I envy you being able to work anywhere off any computer.
- It has its upsides, but every now and then, I feel like my work is not real.
- So it’s not real if you can’t track it with your performance… tracker thingy…
- Desk pet.
- If you’ve lost your desk pet, nothing can save you.
The waiter appears again with a tablet and a smile.
- You should give something from our menu a try.
- Ok. Your catch of the day looks like something that could bring back some hope.
- Excellent choice. And for you?
- If so, let’s make it a double catch.
- Perfect. Once the kitchen tokenises your meal, your food tags will appear on the receipt.
- Thank you.
Hello Practical Futurists,
Welcome back from the future, where meals can get a digital representation, making it easier for an AI dietitian to digest.
Let's jump into our weekly workout, where we use futures thinking and product sci-fi to boost your strategic imagination and prepare your leadership for the future.
Weekly Self-Reflection Prompts
Let’s begin by making products and services mentioned in the story more relatable by grounding them in your personal life.
You can start with this quote for extra inspiration.
“Real generosity towards the future lies in giving all to the present.”
Albert Camus
Personal life reflection prompts
If one thing in your life could get an easy digital representation, what would it be?
For me, it would be clothes.In which 2 areas of your life do you prefer a standardised approach, and in which do you look for one-of-a-kind things?
What is more important for maintaining a positive mindset: a consistent energy level or staying in a good mood?
What 3 things do you usually try to get you back on track when working towards a goal and not getting the results you expected?
How does tracking performance affect your motivation and the feeling of achievement? Would using a "desk pet" or a similar tool make you more or less effective?
Nice work!
Let’s move on to the context of the industry, organisation, team, service, or product you are working with.
Professional life reflection prompts
If something in your industry could get a digital representation, what should it be to have the biggest impact on your team’s performance?
What is the best short-term and long-term indicator of your progress?
In what 2 ways do you ensure that your team has a clear sense of progress?
If things are not going as planned in your current organisation, is it easier to change the plan or to get extra help to get the team back on track?
How important are quantifiable metrics to showcase your progress and accomplishments during performance reviews or evaluations?
If your company were to introduce virtual work companions, what 3 arguments would you use to convince sceptical team members?
Name two colleagues whose advice on performance management was spot on. What was it about?
You did amazing!
Hungry for more? Try the recommended follow-up story next:
Thank you for expanding your imagination with us. Leaders with bold ideas move our world forward.
Think bright, and see you soon.
Pawel Halicki
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