Oona Horx Strathern
THE future possibilist
“I believe the world can be transformed –
even, and especially in difficult times!”
For 30 years, I have been involved in trend and future research – with stage experience at major international conferences and as a speaker for numerous companies in (almost) all industries. I see myself as European, speak German and English and have lived, worked and travelled in many different cities and countries. My passion is the search for social change – and how we can translate this change into corporate cultures, urban planning, design development, and future-oriented ways of thinking.
Speech Themes:
NEW – Surfing for Future Business
What does the cult sport of surfing have to do with the future, with management, and change? Surfing is about keeping balance in a dynamic environment. Maintaining equilibrium in dynamic processes while staying in the flow. If you succeed in doing this, you gain strength and resilience—and great vitality. As a passionate surfer, Oona looks at the turbulence of our time from the perspective of the board. She looks at organizations, companies, and our path into the future.
A New Narrative:
Everything you wanted to know about the future but were afraid to ask. Trends, Megatrends, countertrends, and trend transformations; how to understand and plan for the future in times of disruption and insecurity. Female and male futures – what are the differences? What can we best predict, why are countertrends important and what is the monkey trap of linear thinking? From digitalisation and the revenge of the analogue to individualisation and new generational thinking.
The Good Company
„Good companies“ are the driver of the so-called „Kindness Economy“ movement. This is bringing new ways of thinking to the workplace such as the power of the „four Cs“ – collaboration, community, comfort, and connectivity. These combine the key elements of New Work culture into a generational, socially and ecologically sustainable concept in which productivity and profit are no longer in conflict with the „human factor.“ Examples from many industries demonstrate how companies can be humane AND profitable, even and especially in a volatile environment.
Living and Building in the Future:
Which are the trends and counter trends that are informing the future of how and where we will live. A look at both the demographic trends and social needs behind the shift to co-cultures and village-isation. Solutions such as urban acupuncture, the new agora or the one minute city show the way to better quality of life in both urban and rural areas. How will we live and work in our homes of the future? Do we need smart homes, or do we need smart thinking? What is the impact of societal shifts such as individualisation, silver society, and new work culture on our homes? From the Conscious Kitchen to the Spathroom, what are the key elements for living in the home of the future – from new design thinking to hero and radical materials.
Beyond Ecology
How do we move away from the unpopular “green” idea of ecology to a new mindset ? The neo-ecology trend gives us a new perspective and focus on how to design, build, do business and consume in the future. Away from the old negative mindset of scarcity and guilt, to a new theory of abundance in terms of materials and energy. A new ecological mindset takes us beyond sustainability to a positive path for planning, building and designing for abundance and consumerism. In this shift from efficiency to effectivity we look at re-use, re-furbishing and above all, re-freshing and re-thinking for the future.
Books
The Kindness Economy
The kindness economy is a powerful new force for change in business and a growing trend that will improve everything from how we work to how we live in our homes, communities, and cities.
In an age of much unkindness, burnout, and some notoriously monstrous management, we need a new, positive vision for the future. In this book I present an optimistic look at how we can create a healthy economy in which we are kinder to people and the planet while still making a profit. Through examples and anecdotes as well as personal and professional insights, The Kindness Economy explores how we can combine values with value and think differently about how we want to spend, work, and live.
A New Future Narrative:
Everything you wanted to know about the future but were afraid to ask. Trends, Megatrends, countertrends, and trend transformations; how to understand and plan for the future in times of disruption and insecurity. Female and male futures – what are the differences? What can we best predict, why are countertrends important and what is the monkey trap of linear thinking? From digitalisation and the revenge of the analogue to individualisation and new generational thinking.
My Work:
speaking, writing, inspiring
As a trend and future consultant I have worked for international firms such as Unilever, Beiersdorf, and the Deutsche Bank. I have spoken at congresses across Europe, from Finland and Portugal to Switzerland and Slovenia, booked by everyone from the IAA, ISPO, Female Future Festival, BMW, Villeroy & Boch, as well as top design, building and architectural fairs, and even a congress for midwives.
I work with everyone from home design and building companies to organisations, associations, local government and city councils. No project, company, event or stage, is too small (or too large).
My Life:
I am proud owner of an Irish passport, have lived and worked throughout Europe, hitched through Africa, and have taken up surfing and boxing the wrong side of 50. I worked for many years as a TV and print journalist for the Observer in the UK and currently live in our experimental self-designed Future Evolution House in Vienna with my husband Matthias Horx, occasionally with our two grown up children, Tristan and Julian, and a mad dog called Bubbles.
