In my recent post, Too Few Hands, I wrote about a world still rich with purpose—but starved for the people to carry it. Hospitals with beds but no nurses. Orchards with fruit but no ladders unfolded. Classrooms full of hope, yet always one step behind a shifting future.
This video takes those moments off the page and puts them in motion. You’ll see the quiet rooms, the empty fields, the lone figures still showing up when the weight is heavier than it should ever be. It’s the story of work undone—not for lack of will, but for lack of fit—and what it feels like when the cracks in our systems become canyons.
In a recent post, The Year the Playground Went Quiet, I explored the deeper story behind declining fertility rates—beyond statistics and headlines. It’s not just about fewer children; it’s about the future of communities, economies, and what we value as a society.
Today, I’m sharing a short video that brings those messages to life. It captures the emotional and systemic dimensions of this global shift—why it matters, what’s driving it, and what it means for all of us. Watch and reflect on how the choices we make now may shape generations to come.
In my recent post, Invisible at Rush Hour, I explored how aging populations are reshaping the rhythms of everyday life—often in ways we fail to see. From shifting commute patterns to the quiet rise of elder influence, the signs of demographic transformation are everywhere. This short video builds on that reflection, offering a visual lens into what it means when society moves faster than some of us can keep pace.
What happens when the world still has work – but not enough people to do it?
The Snapshot
By 2030, something strange had taken hold in the global economy.
It wasn’t a recession. It wasn’t a collapse. In many ways, it looked like prosperity: demand was strong, innovation surged, and open roles stretched across nearly every sector. But quietly, and then all at once, we ran into a different kind of scarcity:
This blog series is more than a collection of observations. It’s a way of seeing. A way of holding space for the deep human shifts unfolding around us—and telling the stories that make those shifts real. From cognitive decline to fertility collapse, from extended lifespans to rising caregiving demands, each post in this series centers a human truth: that the future does not arrive all at once. It emerges through patterns, decisions, tensions, and tradeoffs. It emerges through people. And it emerges unevenly.
What it feels like to grow old in a society speeding past you.
The World Is Getting Older—Fast
Across the globe, populations are aging at unprecedented speed. By 2030, more than 1 in 6 people worldwide will be over 60. In countries like Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Germany, that number will be closer to 1 in 3. The dependency ratio is tipping. Pensions are under strain. Healthcare systems are overwhelmed. And in many cities, there are now more people leaving the workforce than entering it.
What falling fertility rates are telling us – and where the silence leads
Across the globe, people are having fewer children – and having them later, if at all.
Fertility rates are falling in nearly every major economy, and not just slightly. In country after country, birth rates have slipped well below the 2.1 births per woman needed to maintain a stable population. South Korea now sits below 0.8. Japan, Italy, Spain, and China all hover below 1.4. Even in the United States – long a statistical outlier – births have declined steadily for over a decade, hitting a 30-year low during the pandemic.
A short story from a near-future we’re already building
Every Sunday, Layla walks three blocks through the city to visit her mother, June.
It’s a quiet ritual in a world that’s grown louder—drones overhead, screens on every corner. Layla still carries groceries in her arms. Still buys the same tea: jasmine and orange peel, just like her mother brewed when she was little.
As mentioned in my recent posts, it was 2017 when I participated in a discussion with TCS CTO Ananth Krishnan and CIO extraordinaire Hassan El Bouhali. An animated video was produced to capture a dialog that was initiated as part of an online leadership course focused on the future. The first post launched segment one, which focused on Seeing the Future. The second described the need to relentlessly Rehearse the Future. Given the number of shifts likely to occur, and the pace at which they arise, our ability to adapt is of utmost importance. Here is the abstract for this series followed by the final segment focused on adaptability and resilience.
ABSTRACT: Perspectives on the Journey
A key message in the Reimagining the Future body of work is that our rapidly emerging future challenges every aspect of how we do business, how we govern and how we live. It will drive significant strategic, tactical and structural changes and fundamentally alter our long-standing beliefs, success strategies and institutional constructs. We’re already seeing it. Just look at companies like Amazon, Uber, Airbnb, Tencent, Google, Alibaba and Facebook. They are rewriting the rules and redefining how value is created and captured, using digitally-centered platforms and ecosystem-enabled business models.
As complexity and pace continue to intensify, uncertainty increases and volatility comes to the forefront. Our daily challenges do not disappear however, making the balance between pragmatism and future thinking critical. I invited two business leaders to share their insights and perspectives on the complexity of this transformative journey and the leadership challenges that emerge.
As mentioned in my recent post, it was 2017 when I participated in a discussion with TCS CTO Ananth Krishnan and CIO extraordinaire Hassan El Bouhali. An animated video was produced to capture a dialog that was initiated as part of an online leadership course focused on the future. The earlier post launched segment one, which focused on Seeing the Future. Given the uncertainty, volatility, and pace of our world, we can only see possible paths. That makes the second piece of the discussion critical: rehearsing the future. Here is the abstract for this series followed by segment two.
It was 2017 when I participated in a discussion with TCS CTO Ananth Krishnan and CIO extraordinaire Hassan El Bouhali. An animated video was produced to capture a dialog that was initiated as part of an online leadership course focused on the future. Upon a recommendation from Hassan, we did a follow-up session several weeks back. This iteration of perspectives on the journey looks back at our original discussion and then ventures into the future. As we did in the first iteration, we broke the dialog into three pieces: seeing the future, rehearsing it, and adapting to its eventual shifts. I will share each video separately starting with “SEE”. We will then animate shorter versions that capture key aspects of our discussion and share them as they become available. As a reminder of what we focused on in this series, here is the original abstract followed by the “SEE” video.
When describing possible futures, storytelling is a powerful way to make that future real. I have the benefit of being surrounded by strong storytellers, some with great narrative skills and others with strong visualization skills. All of them possess that rare gift of taking complex topics and making them simple. In a world as complex and uncertain as ours, I highly value those skills. Short videos have proven to be a strong communication vehicle – and animated videos are even better. Our YouTube Channel has several animated examples. April Harris is a visualization specialist and colleague. She has been creating short videos to amplify messages from the various Blog Posts I produce – this one below supports my thoughts on Life After Coronavirus. Thank you, April, for the creative ways in which you support storytelling. The rest of the story tellers include: Bill Quinn, Kevin Mulcahy, Bill Bosak, Kevin Benedict, David Kish, Rose Rodriguez, and Neeraj Sharma. My thanks for your support in creating a dialog around our emerging future.
Reimagining the Future 