The Progress Index

The

81% of people Index

report for
Progress

29–09–2011
Johnnie Walker
An Independent
surveyed
believe
success in
life
is having the means
to give back to others
76% say that
the journey is
more
important
than the goal
42% say
material
goods
don’t signify
success

p4 1 overview
p9 2 The new stages of Progress
p17 3 The new Personal economy
p24 4 games, goals, greatness
p26 5 Collaborative Arts and Culture
p32 6 Progess Futures
p36 7 Country snapshots
p48 8 Bibliography and sources

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Introduction

Introduction
globally, men and women are
reconsidering what personal progress
looks like and reassessing what
achievement means. Turbulent times
mean traditional models of success are
becoming less relevant. Today, personal,
individual and collective progress are
interdependent. enabled by digital
connectivity and empowered by global
change, a generation is emboldened by
a new sense of collective responsibility.
3 The Progress Index — An Independent report for Johnnie Walker

1 overview
Around the world, people are redefining the meaning of success and achievement.
opulence and excess are ceasing to denote personal progress. our survey
sees recognisable shifts in attitude towards achievement, with many cultures
beginning to prioritise collective progress above personal progress.

Kunsthalle Athena,
Greece. A flexible art
centre dedicated to
visualizing contemporary
culture through
co-production. Exhibit -
Lets Make Lots Of Money
by Matthieu Laurette.
Photo by Robert Pettena


1 overview

methodology
1.1 the new stages of progress This report by Future Poll, the research
division of The Future Laboratory,
This report sees the way the world measures success can was commissioned by Johnnie Walker
be divided into three stages. stage one’s status symbolists to investigate how the concept of
subscribe to a traditional framework of personal progress, personal progress is changing and
where material goods and ‘not what you know, but who you will evolve in the coming decade.
know’ signify success.
A combination of quantitative and
stage Two’s Ambitious Altruists still see material success as qualitative research and analysis underpins
valuable, but for them philanthropy and cultivating personal this report, spanning extensive desk and
relationships start to take precedence. stage Three’s visual research, expert interviews and a
Co-operative Collaborativists are working towards ambitions consumer survey to expand on key themes.
starkly different from those of status symbolists. They
measure their achievements by the positive effect of their Eleven surveys, conducted in July 2011,
actions on others. polled the opinion of more than 11,000
respondents aged 25–45, living in Brazil,
Bulgaria, China, Greece, Lebanon, South
1.2 the progress index Africa, Spain, Thailand, Vietnam, the
United Kingdom and United States. Ten of
Thailand, China, Lebanon and Vietnam are the status the surveys were conducted online, with
symbolists of our international sample, placing importance participants recruited using a random
on traditional signifiers of success. sixty four per cent of stratified sampling method. They were
Thai respondents believe success in life is based on wealth, sourced from eRewards’ online panel and
for example, while more than one in five (21%) of Lebanese are incentivised for their participation in
respondents believe material goods do not signify success. the survey, to help ensure reliable levels
of response and that time is given for
greece, south Africa, Bulgaria, Brazil, the UK and Us are considered responses. The survey in Lebanon
the Ambitious Altruists. These countries largely believe was conducted via in-person interviews
(55% of greeks, for example) that material goods do not and respondents were recruited using a
signify success. stratified opportunity sampling method.
Respondents are evenly spread between the
The only Co-operative Collaborativists in our survey are the ages of 25 and 45 and the global sample
spanish: 68% of those surveyed believe goods do not signify comprises a 60:40 male-female split.
success, higher than any of the other markets.
Unless otherwise stated, all statistics
within this report refer to this survey,
and should be credited thereafter as
‘Future Poll for Johnnie Walker, 2011’.

5 The Progress Index — An Independent report for Johnnie Walker overview — Key Take outs

1 overview

1.3 optimism index 1.6 collaborative arts and culture
Times are tough: more than half of our international sample digital democratisation, collaboration and co-creation are
believe that achieving success will become more difficult in opening up the arts to people and areas where access to
the future. however, there are some that see brighter days culture may once have been limited. In our survey, better
ahead – Bulgaria and Brazil, for example, are among the more access to arts and culture was seen as making success
optimistic nations in our survey. increasingly achievable for 33% of Brazilian respondents and
nearly a quarter (23%) of respondents in Vietnam.

1.4 the new personal economy
1.7 progress futures
Instability and hyperconnectivity are fuelling cultural change.
new collaborative business models, social and environmental As a generation of digital natives comes of age in the next
innovations and entrepreneurial thinking are transforming how decade, they will become leaders of a world where the ability
people achieve success. Laurence Kemball-Cook’s Pavegen, to collaborate – virtually, across borders and eventually with
for example, sources kinetic energy from pedestrian footfall. digitally connected things – will be the biggest signifier of
Meanwhile, community projects that galvanise local action success. The shift from ‘me’ to ‘we’ that this report has
to solve social issues are becoming ubiquitous and family is identified will gather momentum, influencing businesses,
increasingly the new bottom line: nine out of 10 people believe communities and culture across the globe.
success in life is about security for their family.

1.8 country snapshots
1.5 games, goals and greatness
Key data from each of the countries in our survey: Brazil,
games will soon become one of the primary methods we all Bulgaria, China, greece, Lebanon, south Africa, spain,
use to measure our progress. Learning, collaborating and being Thailand, Vietnam, the United Kingdom and United states.
rewarded by games will have a greater effect on our daily lives
than the rise of social media.


1 overview

1.9 expert list
Brad Armitage, south Africa: Journalist, consultant and Zeina Daccache, Lebanon: An actress, director, drama
entrepreneur. Armitage is a contributor to gQ and Monocle, therapist, psychologist and activist. In 2009 daccache directed
has developed a luxury range of beers under Collective Twelve Angry Lebanese, a drama starring the inmates of
são gabriel and continues to work in the realm of roumieh prison. It won the People’s Choice Award at dubai
brand development. International Film Festival 2009 and first prize at dox Box
International documentary Festival 2010.
Dr Mark Ashwill, Vietnam: A previous director of World
Language Institute (Us) and founder of Capstone Vietnam, an Ze Frank, Us: An online performance artist, composer,
overseas study service. Ashwill’s book Vietnam Today gives humorist and public speaker. seen as a main influence on a
profound insights into the most important cultural influences generation of digital native YouTubers, Frank crowdsources an
in Vietnam. entire section of his online show: using collaborative tools, he
invites viewers to select the words and props.
Rachel Botsman, global: social innovator and author of
What’s Mine is Yours: The rise of Collaborative Consumption. Laurence Kemball-Cook, UK: Inventor of Pavegen, an
Botsman writes, consults and speaks about the power of energy-harvesting paving system that generates power
collaboration and how sharing through current and emerging whenever a pedestrian walks over it.
network technologies will transform business, consumerism
and the way we live. Steven Keil, Bulgaria: A sofia University lecturer,
accomplished speaker and entrepreneur. Keil’s goal is to
Sebastian Deterding, global: A researcher and designer create companies around big social and environmental goals.
working on user experience, persuasive design, video At TedxBg in sofia, Keil talk called for a return to play to
games and gamification. his Phd at the research Centre revitalise the economy, education and society.
for Media and Communication at hamburg University looks
into the use of game-design to motivate user behaviour in Sotiris Milonas, greece: entrepreneur and creator of
non-game contexts. green hotels, a website devoted to green hotels and green
travel in greece. It’s said to be the first network of greek
eco-hotels and it ranks lodgings based on criteria proposed
by the International Tourism Partnership.


1 overview

Martin Raymond, UK: Co-founder of The Future Laboratory. Stan Stalnaker, global: Founding director of hub Culture, a
raymond is an acclaimed author with titles including creATe, social network service that operates Ven currency and is the
The Tomorrow People and The Trend Forecaster’s handbook, first to merge online and physical world environments.
the definitive work on trends and the trend-forecasting arena.
he is also a regular contributor to the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. Bernardo de Tomás, spain: Founding partner and investor
at okuri Ventures, Tetuan Valley, Arbco and Tailored Market
Paijit Sangchai, Thailand: Ceo and founder of Flexoresearch. Monitor. okuri Ventures is a professional services firm, focused
sangchai has developed a series of blended enzymes that can on aiding and investing in startups.
recover fibre from laminated paper, which were previously
hard or impossible to recycle. For every 300 tons, sangchai Eric Whitacre, Us: A classical composer who, in 2010,
produces 270 tons of recycled pulp. encouraged a collaborative culture by creating a crowdsourced
virtual choir of 185 singers from 12 countries. This year’s
Ana Santi, Brazil: Commissioning editor of leading trends and Virtual Choir 2.0 is an order of magnitude larger, with 2,052
fashion magazine drapers and drapersonline.com. santi is also singers from 58 countries.
the founder of influential blog Born In Brazil.


2 The new stages of Progress
‘What does success look like?’ motivational speakers, sports coaches and
management consultants are fond of asking. It’s a technique designed to get
individuals and teams to visualise their goals and imagine achieving them.

81%
81% in our
international
survey believe
that success in
life is having
the means to give
back to others



2.1 introduction 2.2 but what form does this progress take?
eighty one per cent of international respondents believe that This report finds that the way people across a country think

76%
success in life is having the means to give back to others. about progress can be described in one of three ways. They
identify a discernable shift in many cultures: what people think
seventy six per cent of respondents in our international survey constitutes success and progress is changing.
say that when it comes to achievements in life, the journey is
more important than the goal.

Across the world, many people are asking the same question.
What individual success and personal progress looks like
for people across the world has changed. In the wake of
social and political turbulence, as a result of increased digital
connectivity and alongside the rise of a new middle class in key
markets across the world, traditional models of progress are
becoming less relevant. new models are emerging. Individuals
are measuring their progress in life against new criteria.
ostentatious wealth and conspicuous consumption are no
longer straightforward signifiers of success, while dog-eat-
dog competitiveness no longer characterises the path to
achievement. Instead, a move from ‘me, me, me’ to ‘we, we,
we’ is discernable across different cultures and countries.

76% say when Individual societies’ customs and traditions may differ, but
it comes to one idea is shared across the world: people need to feel that
achievements in they are making progress in their lives. In our international
life, the journey survey, 96% of respondents said that ‘It is important for me
is more important to continually improve as a person’.
than the goal

Bicicloteca. A tricycle
adapted to function
as a mobile library,
created by the Institute
of Green Mobility in
Brazil. Books are
received by donation and
stamped to remind the
reader to pass them on,
creating a continuous
cycle of reading



stage one: the status symbolists
This is the traditional ‘fortune and fame’ idea of personal Businesses measure how well they’re doing by the people they
progress. An individual’s achievements can be reflected by benefit, as well as the profit they make. People take intrinsic
his or her material possessions: sports cars, multiple homes pleasure in leisure activities that also help to build communities.
and designer labels are the ultimate in social capital. Personal There’s a new currency around successful parenthood.
success at any cost characterises both male and female
mindsets, and celebrities and Ceos are the cultural and The careers people choose, and the lifestyles they aspire to,
financial power-brokers. show a move away from traditional structures that measure
success by the size of your office or even your pay packet.
The acquisition of wealth, defined social-positioning and The idea of exclusive value – that the rarer something is, the
conspicuous consumption are at the heart of this stage. more valuable it is – moves instead towards an idea of inclusive
People like to show their success in life by flaunting their value: the more people use something, the more valuable it is
money and showing off the fruits of their achievements. to everyone.

stage two: the ambitious altruists
from me culture to we culture
This is a more considered and self-aware concept of personal
progress. People take a longer-term view of what progress in Across the world, we can already see
their life means: some material status symbols are still valued, evidence of the beginnings of this move
but personal relationships and philanthropy begin to be from a Me Culture to a We Culture
valued more.

In this way of thinking, personal achievement is linked to a
• In our international survey 88% of
respondents say that they achieve
wider social awareness. It’s less about simply ‘making it’ and more by working together than alone
more about ‘giving something back’: the Ceo-philanthropist
is the person others look up to. People begin to measure
their progress in terms of the respect they get from their
• Nearly one in three in our
survey (31%) say they will
international
be able to
peers. status symbols begin to include a person’s networks, call themselves successful when they
experiences and knowledge. can help those around them to succeed

stage three: the co-operative collaborativists • Only one in five (21%) say they
would be willing to have personal
success at the expense of others
stage Three is subtly but importantly different from stage
Two. Instead of working hard to achieve success in order to
give something back, people in stage Three measure their own
• Among men, 24% would be willing to
succeed at the expense of others – the
success by the success of people around them. same is true for only 16% of women



2.3 the progress index
stage one: These countries are more likely to link their personal
status symbolist countries in our survey progress in life to their career success. Forty six per cent of
Vietnamese, 43% of Chinese, 38% of Lebanese and 37% of
In China, Lebanon, Thailand and Vietnam we can see that, Thai respondents said that one of their chief aspirations was to
for a significant proportion of the population, the traditional get ahead in their careers. By contrast, people in the UK (20%)
signifiers of success are still important. These are the and Us (16%) least aspired to this.
countries most likely to say that material goods are what
shows that someone is successful. For Thai people, owning Things are not static in any of these countries, however. There
multiple properties is what shows you have made it (40%). is evidence that, for many people in these societies, there is a
move towards a different set of ways to measure progress
In Thailand (32%), China (32%) and Vietnam (29%), being and success.
written about in the press and appearing in the media are also
seen as things that signify success – much higher than the ‘Vietnam is firmly situated in stage one,’ says Vietnam expert
international average of 15%. dr Mark Ashwill. ‘The economy has been on fire, with most
of the increases in income and wealth occurring in the past
decade or so. People who were poor not long ago suddenly
72% have more money than they ever dreamed of – almost
overnight – and if you’ve got it, you flaunt it.
64%
61% ‘But there are indications that the second stage is emerging
– companies setting up foundations, individuals of means
52% 50% supporting various charitable causes not limited to countryside
pagodas, and so on. I think it’s a natural progression: once
42% one’s basic needs have been met and much more, what’s next?’
Zeine dacchae thinks that things are changing in Lebanon,
36% too. ‘I think more than half of our Lebanese society is in stage
one. But I do see more of a civic society growing. Things are
21% 28%
25% heading in the right direction for us.’
Lebaanon
ThaLiand

ThaLiand
Lebanon

VieTnam

VieTnam
China

China

Key
‘success in life is ‘material goods do not
•
•
Global average
Countries in
based on wealth’ signify success’
our survey



stage two:
ambitious altruists in our survey
Most of the countries in our survey are in stage Two, the Many south Africans, says Brad Armitage, are on the cusp of
Ambitious Altruists. In these countries, we can see that a stage one and stage Two. he talks about the influence of ‘the
significant proportion of the population is moving away from traditional Afro-notion of Ubuntu: ‘I am what I am because of
considering that material goods are the only way to show how who we all are.’ education and greater employment, he says,
a person has progressed in life. In south Africa, for example, will begin the shift into stage Two and stage Three, but ‘with
94% of our sample say that ‘success in life is having the means extremely high levels of unemployment in south Africa, this is
to give back to others’. But it’s not all selflessness and altruism. still very much a developing trend. Material goods are still the
Around one in five in the UK, Bulgaria, Brazil and south Africa, primary signifiers of success. But this is where I think Ubuntu
for example, still think what car you drive is a signifier of your has implications, in that community progress and connection
success in life, while in the UK 34% still judge someone’s continue to play a role in the south African psyche, no matter
success by what their home looks like. what car you drive or where you live.’

For other countries, such as Brazil, less affected by global
economic turmoil, experts predict an accelerated move
towards more philanthropic activities. only 30% of Brazilians
in our survey thought the national economy was preventing
them from progressing (compared to say, greece, at 61%).
With a 2011 Ipsos Public Affairs poll placing Brazil far ahead of
24 other countries in terms of optimism about the economy,
55% 55% McKinsey Consulting has predicted Brazil’s potential for
philanthropy at $9.4bn per year.
49% 49%
42% 42%
39%
SoUTh afriCa

bULGaria
GreeCe

braziL
UK
US

Key
‘material goods do not
•
•
Global average
Countries in
signify success’
our survey



stage three:
ambitious altruists in our survey
The only country in our survey already beginning to enter ninety five per cent of those surveyed in spain say ‘it is
stage Three is spain, where 68% of respondents indicated important for me to continually improve as a person’.
that goods did not signify success, far higher than any of the
other markets. seventy one per cent of our spanish sample seventy four per cent of those surveyed in spain think that,
believe that success in life is not based on wealth, while a mere when it comes to achievements in life, the journey is more
12% say that owning many homes is a signifier of success – important than the end goal.
the lowest for all the countries in our survey.
Whatever its current economic challenges – in our survey,
spain was second only to greece in saying that unemployment
(55%) and the national economy (51%) were standing in
the way of progress – experts point to spain’s long history
of collaboration and co-operation. harvard law professor
Yochai Benkler, author of The Penguin and the Leviathan:
how Cooperation Triumphs over self-Interest, singles out the

95% 68%
way thousands of farmers in spain have been managing their
access to water through self-regulated irrigation districts for
more than five centuries. dr Marta rey, assistant professor
at the school of economics and Business of the University of
A Coruña, spain, meanwhile, focuses on the way the right to
endow a foundation is protected in spain’s constitution.

Today, spanish entrepreneurs are harnessing this collectivist
idea of progress – what the founders of the Tetuan Valley
startup school (a not-for-profit pre-accelerator programme
for businesses) call ‘a state of mind’. In our ‘hyper-connected
world, where flat is the norm and frontiers are just lines in a 2d
map,’ says co-founder Bernardo de Tomas, what’s needed is ‘a
place where you can empower your ideas with the aid of other
like-minded people’.

‘it is important for ‘material goods do
me to continually not signify success’
improve as a person’



2.4 a global shift technological ubiquity
We can see that this shift from a ‘me culture’ to a ‘we culture’ Access to technology is another determinant in enabling
comes about from the confluence of two important global personal progress. What progress means is shifting for the
forces. The combination of turbulent times and technological inhabitants of online communities, who know no national
ubiquity means that across the world, men and women are boundaries. new ways to spread ideas worth sharing are
reconsidering what the path of personal progress looks like emerging, both as a result of and to cater for the demands
and reassessing what achievement means. of an increasingly digital planet.

For 39% of our global sample, improved technological
testing times infrastructure in their country has made progress in life
easier: a feeling that is especially strong in Vietnam (58%),
recessions, natural catastrophes and political rebellions have China (48%) and Thailand (48%). And globally, men (42%) are
propelled many to pause and evaluate their values. Financial significantly more likely than women (34%) to say that better
uncertainty, in particular, is driving people to reassess what’s technological infrastructure in their country has made it easier
important to them. Unsurprisingly, people in greece believe to achieve success in life. The ability to share information
unemployment in their country is the biggest barrier to their electronically has also proven key for people in south Africa,
success (60%). half of Bulgarians, 43% of south Africans and who said email has been the most important contributor to
32% of Americans feel the same. making personal progress easier in their country (53%).



2.5 optimism index
We can see evidence of the continuing after-effects of For Brazilians and the Vietnamese (both 37%), on the other
economic turbulence when we look at how optimistic countries hand, there is the belief that personal progress is easier now.
are about the future. greece, for example, is still battling
economic difficulties; this is reflected in the fact that 78% But does the future look brighter? For some it does. globally,
of those surveyed believe it’s harder to be successful in life more than half (57%) of our survey thinks achieving success
now than it was 20 years ago. will become harder. however, Brazilians and Bulgarians
optimistically believe it will be easier (33%). Thai and south
greece
68% African respondents are most likely to believe that achieving
success will only get harder (66%).

45%
thailand
39% 35%
29%
south bulgaria
africa us spain

46% 44% uk lebanon

36% china

32% 11%
13
vietnam
%
brazil

harder easier

greece 36% 32%
49
us thailand
% south
46% 46% 45% 45%
uk lebanon
africa spain

•
Key

Is it harder
china

35% 20%
brazil
or easier to be
vietnam

23%
successful now,
compared to
20 years ago?

• Will it be harder
or easier to be
successful
4% bulgaria
in 20 years time?
harder easier


3 The new Personal economy
Together, the turbulent times and the new digitalised democracy we live in are
driving a cultural transformation. People are beginning to seek meaning outside
of traditional structures and systems. And this, in turn, means that the ways
in which personal progress is defined and measured are changing.

I Wish This Was project
by Candy Chang,
New Orleans. Chang’s
project enabled
residents of New Orleans
to have input into
the neglected areas
of their city



‘of all the events 3.1 movers and makers
that have the experts from many disciplines point to our need to find seventy nine per cent of our global survey believe mankind
purpose in what we do. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s work on the will come up with the solutions it needs to solve the world’s
power to excite psychology of ‘flow’ has helped us understand why we are problems. In China and Vietnam, 90% of respondents agree.
and engage happiest when utterly absorbed in an activity. We’re completely Forty four per cent of Vietnamese respondents, 43% of
in the zone and nothing else seems to matter. he says we need Bulgarian respondents and 30% of Brazilian respondents
people, the purpose, because it provides ‘activation energy for living’. In believe an increased culture of innovation in their country
single most drive: The surprising Truth about What Motivates Us, dan Pink is making success more achievable.
sees people placing equal emphasis on purpose and profit in
important is their personal and professional lives. A new breed of pioneers, innovators and trailblazers are
making progress.’ showing how the next generation of businesses combines
Psychologist and director of research at harvard Business entrepreneurial spirit with collective purpose, in order to
school Teresa Amabile, author of The Progress Principle, says tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges.
Teresa Amabile, that what motivates people the most on a day-to-day basis is
psychologist making progress on meaningful work. ‘of all the events that ‘The recession has been an accelerator of consumer values,
and director have the power to excite people and engage them,’ she says, but also an accelerator for where people are looking for the
of research ‘the single most important is making progress – even if that next generation of businesses and recognising that the model
at Harvard progress is a small win.’ has changed,’ observes rachel Botsman, author of What’s
Business School Mine is Yours: The rise of Collaborative Consumption.
What matters to people is changing. And when people no
longer have to fit into traditional structures of work and These three pioneers making progress across the world show
success, the elements that make up their personal economy how this already is being done.
change. We can see this in new collaborative business models,
the new breed of innovators leading them and a growth in the
importance of community collateral. wealth from waste
nearly half (48%) of south Africans, more than a third (37%) Thai pioneer Paijit sangchai converts waste into wealth.
of Brazilians and 34% of Thai respondents said they would his firm, Flexoresearch, has developed a series of blended
consider themselves successful once they could help enzymes that can recover pulp or fibre from laminated paper
others succeed. such as cigarette packets, stickers or milk cartons, all of which
were previously hard or impossible to recycle. The resulting
pulp can be used to produce new paper products, thus saving
trees, or turned into building materials. This technique, the first
of its kind, also produces clean plastic that can be recycled and
used to make new products.



a step-change for sustainability
‘People are unlikely to change their lifestyles overnight,’ admits
Laurence Kemball-Cook. ‘But, as an industrial designer, I know
sustainability is very important. I wanted to create a way in
which people could save energy without realising it.’ Kemball-
Cook’s innovation, Pavegen, is a pavement slab, made from
100% recycled car tyres, which harvests energy. Whenever
a pedestrian walks on it, 5% of the energy created is used to
power its central Led light and the rest is stored in a battery
(for up to three days), which can then be used for applications
such as street lighting and advertising displays. ‘I can imagine
Pavegen in more remote areas of India, for instance,’ he says.
‘There’s huge footfall there, but where there is power it’s
polluting, fossil-fuel energy. This could be transformative.’

streets ahead
When social entrepreneur Bahi ghubril became frustrated by
the lack of a comprehensive, up-to-date street map of Beirut,
he set out to map the city himself – walking the streets to
check place names against old atlases; roads and alleyways
against satellite images. on more than one occasion, he
was taken away in an unmarked vehicle and questioned by
the authorities about his activities, but months of pavement
pounding paid off and Zawarib Beirut (Beirut Alleys) is now
expanding to cover neighbouring cities. There’s also a pocket
version, with eight different covers designed by local artists,
and ghubril is also creating the first Beirut bus map. The
project was born from a need to organise the city, but also
as a socio-political project to help residents and visitors see
Beirut in a different way.

Pavegen by Laurence
Kemball-Cook, United
Kingdom. Pavegen
sources kinetic energy
from pedestrian
footfall to sustainably
create electricity



3.2 community is the new collateral
A solve-it-yourself culture is emerging. Local heroes are not Candy Chang’s ‘I Wish This Was’ project is enabling residents
afraid to take matters into their own hands, make the first step, of new orleans to have civic input in the neglected areas of
or take a chance in the belief that others will follow. the city, for example, while seeClickFix helps people document
non-emergency issues using mobile phones and Facebook, so
‘People are coming out of an age of hyper-individualism and they can be fixed.
there is a massive resurgence of need for community,’ says
rachel Botsman. ‘We are expressing ourselves by what we In Cape Town, south African design organisation and magazine
belong to, versus what we individually own.’ design Indaba is challenging local creatives to submit ideas for
transforming local streets – from garbage collection and crime
This can be a community that’s geographically local. In our prevention to murals and vegetable gardens. Ideas are judged
survey, 86% of our international sample say that supporting on criteria including generosity, feasibility and fun. And after
community action to resolve local and social issues is an riots damaged cities in the UK, architects Lee Wilshire and
important part of their personal progress. nick Varey launched riot rebuild, a community-driven website
to coordinate the construction workers, architects and interior
designers needed for repair and reconstruction.

Wind and Water Café,
Vietnam. Created by
architect Vo Trong
Nghia to demonstrate
the use of indigenous
resources like fast-
maturing bamboo and show
how modern architecture
should be available to
everyone in Vietnam



‘there’s a huge 3.3 realising the potential of
collaborative innovation
ambition to use
Thanks to online connections, communities can also be virtual our experts see the beginnings of a new wave of innovation
technology to and global. ‘Increasingly, people look around and realise and entrepreneurialism that challenges conventions and
make the world a the world isn’t that divided,’ says hub Culture founder stan looks to crowdsourcing, collaboration, customisation and
stalnaker. ‘There’s a huge ambition to use technology to make conversation to find solutions to economic and environmental
better place.’ the world a better place.’ issues. In this way, they say, the successes of individuals can
help the progress of entire countries.
stalnaker developed hub Culture to provide a community
Stan Stalnaker, for people looking to make an impact on the world through ‘The only way greece can move on from our current economic
founder, Hub different technologies, inspired by ‘the idea that collectively situation is to invest in innovation,’ says entrepreneur sotiris
Culture we can help each other and help those at large. The more Milonas, founder of the green hotels network in greece.
people that join the network, add resources, the better we can ‘People are slowly starting to understand this and developing
tackle larger projects.’ Already a global network of more than social businesses because of it.’ Milonas is among many
25,000 professionals and entrepreneurs, hub Culture combines experts who think that growing awareness of the need
virtual networking and physical workspaces where people can to address global sustainability issues, coupled with local
connect and work together. economic difficulties, is providing the perfect opportunity
to foster change.
The advent of networks, online and off, is transforming how
people around the globe can achieve success and how their Ana santi, Brazilian journalist and blogger, adds that
successes are recognised. In Vietnam, for example, ‘your social sustainability and business go hand-in-hand in Brazil.
network is a major contributing factor to success in many ‘environmental consciousness is very important to Brazilians
areas, including education, business and investments,’ says and, I think, part of this is driving the innovation in our country.’
dr Mark Ashwill. ‘Connections determine what doors can be Brazilian doctor-turned-fashion-entrepreneur oskar Metsavaht
opened. With a diverse and reliable network, good things can describes this spirit as ‘the ‘Brazilian soul’ – binding our natural
happen quickly.’ resources with our social and environmental sustainable-
development projects is a mandate that we are given. I like
In south Africa, Brad Armitage adds, technology ‘is playing to say Brazilians conquer by seducing, not by aggressively
a huge role in shaping the lives and goals of south Africans. competing to be champions.’
More people have access to mobile phones in south Africa
than running water: this has opened a world of communication
in areas such as banking, electricity, basic sharing of
information and the development of cost effective peer-to-
peer communications platforms, such as Mxit.’



But challenges remain. Paijit sangchai is hopeful for the
future, but thinks Thailand could do more to cultivate
entrepreneurialism and innovation. ‘The next generation are
going to be the rising stars of innovation. They have better
education and access to information unlike before. Together,
this is a powerful combination for change.’

Brad Armitage echoes this: ‘south Africa is fertile soil for
entrepreneurs. Apart from finance there are few barriers to
entry, and younger generations seem a lot less risk-averse with
a new, independent attitude to business. Collaboration among
the smaller players and start-ups will play a role in assisting
this change.’

Bernardo de Tomas, co-founder of startupbootcamp
Madrid, however, warns that embedding innovation in a
generation is not straightforward. ‘To encourage investment
in entrepreneurs, we need continuous success stories of
start-ups in spain. We also need real, hands-on training for
entrepreneurs, because a good idea isn’t enough. You need
guts to start or work for a start-up.’

New York Pavilion by
Hub Culture and
Sportmax, New York.
The Pavilion was
designed to enable
collaboration for
those involved in New
York Fashion Week and
as a hub for those
interested in the global
world of fashion



‘in times of family first
uncertainty, Family is the new bottom line: 84% of our global survey say ‘There has been a big reappraisal of people’s values and
that in life ‘you have to look out for number one and take care what represents personal stability,’ says Martin raymond,
people return of yourself and your family’. Forty per cent of 25-29-year-olds co-founder of The Future Laboratory. ‘In times of uncertainty,
to families and want most to start a family and be a good parent in the future. people return to families and to the values attached to them.’
to the values dr Ashwill agrees: ‘In Vietnam, family is the only unit you can
attached trust in a society where many of the bonds of the past are
fraying at the seams. Children remain the most important
to them.’ legacy. This, combined with the value placed on education
and the success of one’s children, explains why investment
in education is so high and why parents are willing to make
Martin Raymond, so many sacrifices to ensure the success of their children.’
co-founder, The
Future Laboratory
90% 66% 51%
84% 60%

‘you have to look out ‘success ‘knowing my family ‘my family’s opinion ‘i will feel truly
for number one and in life is security will be secure in the of my personal successful when
take care of yourself for my family’ future is how i want successes are i have raised
and your family’ to be rewarded in life’ most important’ successful children’


4 games, goals and greatness
social networking was the technological enabler that redefined the past decade.
gamification – where the mechanics behind games of all kinds are applied to the way
we measure progress in our daily lives – will change the next decade even more.

Urbanology by the mobile
BMW Guggenheim Lab,
New York. An online
game where people can
create their own urban
policies in virtual
cities. Its aim is to
provoke discourse about
pertinent city-life
issues like housing,
health care, education
and infrastructure


4 games, goals and greatness

In the past 10 years, social networking has radically Increasingly, gaming is becoming the default way in which
changed the way we interact with each other, created a new individuals – especially generations weaned on technology
transparency between consumers and brands and even helped and connectivity – measure success and rank their progress

33%
to facilitate social and political change across europe and the against self-defined goals and against each other. Commuters
Middle east. download brain-training apps to improve their mental
prowess. Across the Us, China and India, gild – a platform
In the next few years, a ‘game layer’ will be integrated which combines social gaming and career advancement for
into the way we live and work, with similarly far-reaching developers – adds programming puzzles and coding tests
consequences. For the Bleisure generation, who see no to job postings, ranking applicants on their scores. seattle-
boundary between their business and leisure lives, game based Mindbloom’s Life game enables players to set realistic
mechanics will be the essential, accepted way they measure priorities in their lives and then measure their progress against
progress in their everyday lives. them – whether it’s learning a musical instrument, managing
finances or building better relationships.
The devices and dynamics that games use to compel us to play,
replay, achieve and succeed tap into our deep-rooted urge to ‘The best games motivate us because they provide us with
compete, collaborate, succeed and exert power. Importantly, challenges tuned to our capabilities,’ says leading games-
games measure progress and provide intrinsic rewards designer sebastian deterding. ‘games are motivating and
for success. engaging, because they deliver an experience of mastery and
overcoming challenges in a limited, clear activity space.’
Partly this is because we are hard-wired to use play to help us
progress, according to Bulgarian entrepreneur and academic In our international survey, respondents are most likely to
steve Keil. ‘Playing is universal. We are designed by nature say that ‘better education opportunities’ (52%) and ‘better
to play from birth to old age. And it’s got huge benefits. For technological infrastructure’ (38%) were the things that had
33% of our example, it’s been shown that we develop better decision- most helped their own progress. education is particularly
international making ability and bigger emotional capacity. Play improves important in Vietnam (70%) and Brazil (60%). We can see the
survey say our work. It stimulates creativity. It increases our openness to confluence of these factors in the way academic institutions
technology has change and provides a sense of purpose and mastery, which are using game systems and the notion of edutainment to
made it easier to increases productivity.’ create a new framework for progressing learning. new York’s
achieve success Quest to Learn school, for example, which describes itself as
in their life a ‘school for digital kids’, applies game techniques to everyday
learning. Universities, borrowing from World of Warcraft, are
even awarding xPs (experience points) as part of their grading
systems. Meanwhile, the organisers behind the forthcoming
olympic games in London and rio are already looking to see
how game mechanics, coupled with our urge to compete, can
be harnessed to facilitate the behaviour change necessary if
we are to combat global environmental challenges.


5 Collaborative Arts and Culture
digital technologies are also enabling people across the world to access, engage
with and collaborate in the creation of a wide range of arts and culture.

Virtual Choir by
Eric Whitacre. Whitacre
crowdsourced vocal
lines of one of his
choral pieces via
video, then combined
the video entries from
185 respondents and
12 countries to create
a virtual choir



In our survey, better access to arts and culture was seen as ‘older generations are more limited in their use of many
making success increasingly achievable for 33% of Brazilian kinds of media, while the younger generation is incredibly
respondents, 31% of Chinese respondents and 23% of media savvy: it utilises new media, such as iPad, iPhone and
Vietnamese respondents. computers much more than in the recent past. Through this
access, young people are interacting more with fine art and
Jorn Middleborg, owner of the renowned Thavibu gallery in design, also including textiles and fashion.’
Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam, sees younger generations in
Thailand and Vietnam heavily influencing the art scene through not only is the accessibility of arts and culture for a community
their digital empowerment. seen as an enabler of individual personal progress, many art
forms now thrive on co-creation.

The Palacio de Velazquez
exhibition, The Art
Project powered by
Google. The Art Project
is a collaboration
between Google and
17 of the world’s
most acclaimed art
museums, enabling
users to explore the
museums using the same
technology used in
Google Street View



Immersive environments and innovative art installations collude Curator and writer Marina Fokidis is the power behind
‘through new with the public as co-conspirators; new forms of culture Kunsthalle Athena, based in one of the poorest precincts of
media, young move away from the traditional mould of artistic and cultural Athens, which is applying this collaborative approach to its
endeavours as expressions of individual creativity and towards flexible art-centre model. This is particularly relevant for the
people in more social and democratic endeavours. people of greece, says Fokidis, since ‘recent socio-political
thailand are events and economic turmoil in the region have made apparent
‘Like so many different aspects of social media today,’ the need for novel, participative and co-operative initiatives in
interacting more says Us composer eric Whitacre, ‘we’re unlocking people’s the field of culture.’
with fine art own creativity, or desire to join a community in a creative
way.’ Whitacre’s Virtual Choir is inspired by a fan’s YouTube In Lebanon, Zeina daccache is the star of a political satire
and design.’ recording of one of his choral pieces. The first version saw sitcom called Basmet Watan (The nation’s smiles). she’s
contributors record vocal lines via video, working to a track also the country’s first drama therapist. ‘I love Lebanon and
produced by Whitacre. The videos were then assembled to I believe in my country,’ says daccache. ‘But the war had a
Jorn Middleborg, create a choir of 185 singers, from 12 different countries. big effect on our society and, as a result, drug-abuse and
owner, Thavibu Virtual Choir 2.0 saw 2,052 singers from 58 countries crime soared.’ Working in Lebanon’s largest prison, daccache
Gallery, Thailand contributing. Ted curator Chris Anderson called it an anthem staged an original drama called Twelve Angry Lebanese with
for ‘the humanising possibilities of a connected world’. 45 inmates, some of whom taught themselves to read in order
to learn lines for the play. ‘It’s my passion to bring theatre to
Us-based online performance artist Ze Frank says that people where theatre is most needed,’ says daccache. ‘Culture can
will take up even more opportunities to explore the power live in the most forgotten places.’
of their creativity in digital and virtual spaces. Ze Frank has
collaborated with his audience to create a series of projects
based on shared emotions, such as pain, fear, or even the
pangs of nostalgia. one of his most well-known projects,
‘Young Me, now Me’, invited participants to send photos of
themselves as children, and then as adults, in the same pose.

‘Progress, as defined by an aggregation of knowledge and skills
– not by material gains – is what is interesting about virtual
culture,’ says Ze Frank. ‘There are untapped resources of skills
and time in the virtual aggregate of the population – an obvious
example is Wikipedia. A person can say, ‘hey, I can hack the
things around me to shift the world that I live in’.’


the success glossary
People around the world consider patience, long-termism
and intelligence to be the crucial characteristics of a truly
successful person. our quantitative analysis shows an evolution
of what it takes to be successful – ‘rich’ and ‘ruthless’ are
conspicuously absent from this list.


character traits for success
56% of the people in the West think being ‘Ambitious’ is
a trait that characterises success, compared to only 38%
of the people in the east. 56% of those in the east think
‘Patient’ and 55% ‘Long-termist’ characterise success,
compared to 36% and 18% in the West.

east
38%
west ambitious

56% 56% patient
ambitious

36% 55%
long-termist
patient

18%
long-termist


icons of progress
We asked our survey who, alive or dead, they most admired for barack obama
the progress they had made in life. The top three answers were
Bill gates, nelson Mandela and Barack obama. America’s first African-American president and recipient
of the 2009 nobel Peace Prize.
These global leaders have all achieved success – sometimes
against the odds. Bill gates dropped out of an Ivy League ‘Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows
university to start up a business; nelson Mandela fought a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of
institutionalised racism and Barack obama became the first yourself. Because it’s only when you hitch your
African-American President in Us history. Through innovation, wagon to something larger than yourself that
victories over oppression and unique leadership, these men you realise your true potential.’
represent progress to millions of people across the world.

bill gates
Founder of Microsoft, one of the wealthiest people in the
world and a leading philanthropist through the Bill and
Melinda gates Foundation.

‘success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people other notable figures named in our survey
into thinking they can’t lose.’
Most admired women
Angelina Jolie
nelson mandela Oprah Winfrey

Former president of south Africa, anti-apartheid activist Most admired revolutionary
and recipient of the 1993 nobel Peace Prize. `
Hô Chí Minh

‘education is the great engine of personal Most admired sportsman
development. It is through education that the Rafael Nadal
daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that
a son of a mineworker can become the head of Most admired parent
the mine, that a child of farm-workers can become ‘My mother’
the president of a great nation. It is what we make
out of what we have, not what we are given, that Most admired scientist
separates one person from another.’ Albert Einstein


6 Progress Futures
What will progress mean to a new generation brought up in digital democracies,
environments defined by connectivity and empowered by ‘design it Yourself’ attitudes?

Ideas.in.th, Thailand.
An online collaboration
platform for social
change, which provides
a place where people
can plan to make
change happen, from
environmental awareness
campaigns to bigger
policy changes


6 Progress Futures

6.1 ‘collabusiness’ will power the economy
In the next decade, a generation of digital natives will come of Within a decade, organisations and institutions will be filled

50bn
age. They will inhabit an open-source world, where knowledge with people for whom the idea that progress is simply about
and ideas are not rare commodities but are instantly and climbing the corporate ladder will seem an archaic ambition.
readily shared. As these heirs of the status symbolists and entrepreneurs and employees will expect work to fulfil their
Ambitious Altruists grow up, they will find themselves as need for meaning and purpose – and begin to demand it as
natural Co-operative Collaborativists. They are the generation a right. Already, the distinction between the virtual and the
for whom collaboration is the biggest signifier of success. physical worlds barely exists for tomorrow’s workers.
When they begin to make their mark on the world, partnership
and problem-solving will become the accepted – and expected Wiki business models will radically transform mass education,
– constituents of personal progress. social welfare and environmental renewal. Collaboration will
be harnessed for good, based on the values of transparency,
In this world, the shift from ‘me’ to ‘we’ that we have begun integrity and community. The guiding hand of gaming
to identify will gather momentum, influencing businesses, psychology will co-opt and coerce, and technology will enable
communities and culture across the globe. looser, more adaptable organisational structures.

The development of ‘swarm intelligence’ and the ‘Internet of
Things’ will raise collaboration to new levels. The ability of
artificial intelligence to interact, collaborate and learn will result
in the development of a parallel and global-scale network,
where many people will work seamlessly in teams of thousands.

The number of Ultimately what ownership, participation and progress mean
devices that to people will be further redefined, as our individual know-how
Cisco predicts takes second place to the collective knowledge contained
will be connected within our wider networks and our ability to collaborate
to the Internet effectively with others.
by 2020, when
the ‘Internet of
Things’ will raise
collaboration
to new levels


6 Progress Futures

6.2 art will have social value 6.3 upwardly mobile – telecommunications help
communities step forward
Far from being superfluous in a digitally ubiquitous world, The widespread adoption of mobile communication devices
culture and the arts will be the creative capital upon which and systems will enable individuals and families in developing
whole societies are formed. countries to leap the barriers to personal progress.

The democratising power of technology, coupled with new Mobile and micro payments systems – such as square, the
models of small-scale giving, will transform how art is created, mobile point-of-sale system developed by Twitter founder Jack
distributed and accessed in the future. Traditional models of dorsey – are already revolutionising business, enabling farmers
patronage and philanthropy will no longer be the only way or food vendors to take payments anywhere and becoming
to finance cultural projects, as corporate sponsorships and a fast-growing source of barter and currency exchange,
personal bequests are replaced by micro-giving models such particularly in emerging markets where cash may be dangerous
as Kickstarter, the online pledge system that funds to carry and/or non-existent.
creative projects.
Mobiles are also expediting technological innovation in
In a decade that will see still more turbulence and change, countries that may not have the economic infrastructure to
artistic and cultural activities will become mediums for support development. Lebanese engineer and entrepreneur
communities and societies to reflect, communicate and elie-grégoire Khoury, for example, has created the new
co-create, particularly in developing markets where social, technology startup dermander around a panoramic photo
cultural, environmental and political turmoil accompanies iPhone app, securing 200,000 downloads in its first two weeks.
rapid growth.
The mobile revolution will continue to facilitate distributed
‘Most things express themselves in an expression of power, access to medicine in rural areas (MIT Media Lab’s neTrA,
and the art world has traditionally expressed itself through for example, is a mobile eye-testing tool that can screen
monetary value,’ says Ze Frank. ‘The movement away from for common, treatable visual impairments and could help
that will be when you start seeing art expressed in social areas, more than half a billion people worldwide), as well as
where the power of art will manifest in the creation of social provide solutions in times of crisis. students from Thailand’s
status, adding social value to people’s lives.’ Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, for example, have already
developed The Terra Project, which, in the event of a natural
disaster, enables survivors to broadcast their location with one
click through social networks such as Facebook.


6 Progress Futures

• Altrupreneurs will use the power of their global networks
to develop a new generation of ‘not just for profit’ business
models that put making money on the same footing as creating
social change and managing environmental impact.

• stockbrokers will manage the flow and finances of community
resources. Micro-generators in homes and businesses will
sell electricity back to suppliers through the smart grid, for
example, creating a new breed of community power-brokers.

• digital Medicis will leave a legacy of globally funded, locally
created collaborative art projects.

• Value Added Taxonomists will channel the spirit of the great
Victorian explorers and geographers, undertaking worldwide
projects that use distributed computing power and wiki wisdom
to further the progress of human knowledge.

• state-Us Updaters will combine the transparency of social
networking with collective altruism, as people begin to share
real-time data about their community activities across all
digital platforms.

• sixth sensors will be engaged in continuously improving
all aspects of their daily lives. They’ll do this by constantly
filtering and analysing the data provided by some of the 50bn
devices that (Cisco predicts) will be connected to the Internet
of Things by 2020.

Yiuco, Greece. A
web-based service -
the first of its kind
– where people can
sell things as long
as they are recycled,
reused, upcycled or
remanufactered. People
can also use the
site, named after the
Greek word for piled
up clothes, to share
their ideas for reuse
and recycled objects


7 Country snapshots


7 Country snapshots

7.1 brazil
Brazilians are refreshingly optimistic and have high hopes for six in 10 (60%) of people in Brazil recognise that better

85%
the future. Around 37% think it is easier to be successful now educational opportunities have helped their own progress.
than it was 20 years ago (global average 25%) and 33% think it
will be easier in 20 years’ time (global average 22%). Brazilians believe in other people’s success as well as their
own: 37% (compared to 31% globally) of respondents think
Brazilians aspire to living a sustainable life (26%) over having a they will be successful when they are able to help those around
lot of money (18%) and being more attractive (4%). them and 88% agree success in life is having the means to
give back to others.
Family is also extremely important to Brazilians. More than four
in 10 (44%) of respondents believe that being a good parent
and raising successful children are the ultimate symbols of
success. one in three Brazilians (33%) aspires to spending
more time with his or her family.
progress personality traits
In Brazil it’s all about being both smart and driven. Intelligence
(80%) is the trait that best characterises success and 38% Intelligent: 80%
of people think they can only call themselves successful once Confident: 74%
they have become a specialist in a chosen field. Innovative: 64%
Patient: 50%
43% Articulate: 42%
37%
85% of Brazilians 33%
say that they
achieve more by
24% most admired people in brazil
working together 21% 19%
than alone 1. Silvio Santos
Brazilian TV presenter

2. Bill Gates
Brazil versus
US entrepreneur and philanthropist
International i woULd aCCeSS To i beLieVe iT’S
Key
LiKe To be arTS and eaSier To be 3. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
rewarded CULTUre SUCCeSSfUL former President of Brazil
•
•
Brazil
International
by GeTTinG haS made Than 20
To The nexT iT eaSier yearS aGo Other notable inclusions were
LeVeL of for me To Angelina Jolie and Jesus Christ
my job SUCCeed


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