The Analogue Renaissance – A return to real-world connection

A macro trend that has been gaining momentum since the pandemic is the Analogue Renaissance trend. A return to real-world connection and human-first experiences, this episode of RAPT BizTrends TV explores this trend with Carmen Murray, the founder of Carmen Murray Communications.

Murray also calls herself a cultural translator and creative provocateur. At the heart of her approach is the Authentic Intelligence Framework, a proprietary system and a method of cultural research and a model for developing the soft skills, emotional resilience, and human capacities needed for the future of work.

Murray also started the Conscious Leaders Network after a client told her how she felt she could not be her authentic self in an organisation and needed a space to do this.

She says it was a pivotal moment for her. “I wanted to be a change agency and bring women together.”

Digital fatigue

In this episode she looks at how we are reclaiming our humanity and boardrooms to empowering women leaders across Africa, and why empathy, clarity, and culture are the real keys to transformation and how organisations can prepare for seismic shifts, from the rise of AI to the erosion of trust, by transforming how they listen, communicate, and lead.

She explains the Analogue Renaissance trend as a tension between dystopian aspects of our digitised world, which has led to "protopia," a gradual progression toward a better, more connected world.

“We are constantly behind our screens, and there is a real digital fatigue - there is even digital ADHD - so we need to get our digital wellness in order, and we want human connection, so we are trying to find ways to go back to nostalgia, to the past."

This is why we are seeing the rise of retro tech, elephant companies and cohousing.

“It is no longer about information, but about wisdom. It's not about words, it’s about truth. And people want to feel that, that you have the best intentions at heart.”

Speaking your truth

She takes this further as she differentiates between an honest answer and speaking your truth. “Transparency is speaking my truth even if it's uncomfortable, and that is the authenticity that we need to get to.”

This is what we are starting to see offline, she explains, because people feel they cannot speak their truth online. “We are in an age where we are facing a fraud crisis, and deep fakes mean that we cannot tell if something is true or not.”

Organisational death and decline

The risk for organisations is that as people are more exposed to authenticity, and vote for it with their wallet, organisations on the wrong side of this will face organisational death and decline.

She says this is not new, and it first took place in the 60s when the hippies bought brands that stood with their values, and embedded these brands into the values of their movements.

Connecting authentically

This renaissance is taking place in Africa and South Africa. "We are going back to our indigenous roots. People want to understand their culture, remember their past, speak their mother tongue."

The result is the rise of joy protests, choir pop-ups, and more book clubs and retreats with no agenda. “Communal spaces are bringing people back to who they are, and it is here where innovation is really going to pivot."

What this means for brands

There is no replacement for human connection, Murray says, and this applies to brands too.

For brands to authentically connect with embodied human beings and communities, they need to build something with love and care because authenticity is coming back to purpose and understanding that purpose.

"There is not just human loneliness, there is also brand loneliness if you're not really putting the effort into connecting with the people that you want to trade with."

Brands need to look at what is happening within their culture. "How are you creating community within your organisation?" she asks.

If brands want to get it right, she says they need to understand the cultures of their environment, which is not the same as organisational culture. “Then you need to recognise that it's not about you. You are embedding yourself in the value system that you cannot influence, but if you connect people, they will be loyal to you.”

Remember, she says I don't want to hear from brands. “I'm running away from an online world that's always trying to get my attention. I just want to be. So be there and facilitate, don't interrupt.”

Looking forward, she sees a move away from traditional capitalist structures towards reimagining economics with practices such as bartering and other grassroots exchanges coming to the fore.

As such, Murray advocates for a balanced approach that incorporates digital and real-world engagements. "Brands will only be able to better navigate these future challenges if they embrace this duality."


 
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