“Playfulness isn't just adaptive; it's essential for exploring new options without fixating on outcomes. I argue it's the optimal state for human beings—it promotes agility, collaboration, and openness.” Chris Marshall
Chris Marshall is a futurist, behavioral scientist, and founder of the Playfulness Institute. Futurism is not about predicting the future, but it involves looking beneath surface-level events to identify trends that drive seismic changes. Chris's journey as a futurist highlights the importance of curiosity. In his experience, being multi-passionate and embracing diverse interests is advantageous in a world of rapid change and disruption. A curious mindset fosters resilience and creativity, allowing entrepreneurs to adapt more effectively to uncertain environments.
Stephen Matini: Who is a futurist?
Chris Marhsall: A futurist is not about sci-fi or predicting the future, as many mistakenly believe. It's not about having a crystal ball and saying, "This will happen at this date and time!
I focus on the major drivers, trends, and mega trends that bring about significant change, often beneath the surface. A futurist looks beyond surface-level events to understand what's happening beneath, which isn't always covered by mass media. When we grasp this perspective, we realize everything is constantly in flux—this isn't a new idea. Eastern philosophies have long discussed the natural law of impermanence.
As a futurist, I analyze current trends and what's shaping society, whether in philosophy or business technology. I also consider emerging trends that could potentially dominate in the future. From there, I develop scenarios that explore these intersections. I also look at developments right at the fringes, although these are less certain.
This approach helps to stay informed about what's happening and what could impact the world, markets, or organizations. It's a scenario-based method that contrasts with traditional business plans focused on optimistic projections of market share.
Futures thinking aims to consider various scenarios and evaluate their pros and cons, highlighting what we should be mindful of in each scenario.
SM: When did you discover your passion for seeing patterns in everything?
CM: I've lived in North Wales all my life. Over 1,000 years ago, the Romans came and conquered Britain. Welsh roads wind and turn every 30 centimeters, said to have started as sheep paths. In contrast, Roman roads are straight, supposedly for quicker travel and to deter bandits lurking around corners. I've always been intrigued by these lasting marks on the landscape from past eras, like scars. These pivotal moments and paradigm shifts fascinated me from an early age and drove my curiosity down many paths.
Throughout my life, I've worn many hats: master distiller, psychotherapist, performance coach, behavioral scientist, futurist, investment manager—the list goes on. It wasn't until I was researching for my book Decoding Change that I realized these seemingly disparate roles and my curiosity actually overlap.
For years, I've been drawn to various interests and pursuits, which some might call distractions. But in hindsight, these experiences have equipped me with transferable skills and insights that now converge beautifully in my work.
Around seven or eight years ago, it clicked for me that all these diverse experiences and skills could intersect, forming a sort of Venn diagram where everything comes together. I constantly draw on this wealth of knowledge and expertise in my work.
SM: It seems you needed a variety of tools to navigate effectively. Do you think you were building resilience rather than being unfocused?
CM: Absolutely, yes. Most of my work now draws on these diverse skills and also helps individuals integrate them into their own lives. It's not to say that being highly focused on one job or project is negative—both types are essential in the world.
However, in modern society, there's a strong emphasis on continuous specialization from school onward, resulting in hyper-focused expertise in niche areas. Creative solutions often emerge from diverse influences. Einstein likened this process to combinational play, where creativity arises from the collision of disparate ideas rather than from singular focus.
This dynamic interaction occurs in committees, teams, organizations, and also within individuals. For someone like myself, who embodies multiple passions. The question, "What do you do?" becomes challenging. The standard 30-second or 60-second elevator pitch doesn't accommodate multi-passionate individuals, often leading to perceptions of being unfocused or a "jack of all trades.”
In today's era of rapid social change and disruption, I believe that having a multi-passionate, highly curious mindset is a distinct advantage. While historically less emphasized, this mindset allows individuals to navigate stress-inducing and anxiety-provoking situations with a broader skill set and diverse perspectives. As we move into an increasingly disruptive era, this multi-passionate mindset becomes crucial.
SM: Do you think your enjoyment in working with entrepreneurs stems from their need to wear many hats and make the most out of limited resources?
CM: Yeah, absolutely. I think it applies to creatives in general. I've founded two companies focused not just on entrepreneurs, but on multi-passionate, curious individuals—creatives, however they choose to define themselves.
The first company, the PPM method or "Pause Play Move" method, offers a decision-making framework that encourages people to pause more and approach decisions playfully. We can delve into why these aspects are particularly relevant.
This framework helps individuals cope with the constant demands of wearing multiple hats and being pulled in different directions. When you look at stress levels and burnout rates, entrepreneurs often rank high. There's a downside to being multi-passionate as well. That's why, as a psychotherapist, I established The Refuel Clinic—a small psychotherapy practice tailored specifically for multi-passionate and creative individuals.
These individuals face unique challenges with burnout, stress, and anxiety due to their constant task-switching and varied responsibilities. They often find themselves playing catch-up due to less structured organization, firefighting as they go.
Overall, I find this community incredibly rewarding to work with—it's my tribe of creative, insightful, and innovative people.
SM: Your method, "Pause Play Move," is similar to the tagline of my podcast, Pity Party Over, “Pause Learn Move On." Why did you choose that word “play”?
CM: This was, again, research into what makes us resilient. At the time, one avenue I explored was setting up a micro distillery in the UK in 2014. The reason was simple: I was working in investment management but wanted something more creatively fulfilling. Investment management has its creativity, but I craved something more tangible.
I noticed a growing desire for authenticity, artisan products, and small batches. I almost opened a brewery but discovered I was gluten intolerant, so that plan fell through. Distilling appealed to me because it's akin to chemistry—an adult chemistry set with a delightful end product you get to enjoy.
Alongside running the distillery, I was deep into research on behavioral science, specifically resilience. Ironically, during this time of studying mental toughness and resilience, I experienced burnout. Lying in a hospital bed for three days made me realize something profound: despite studying these concepts meant to shield us from stress, I had succumbed to it myself.
I come from a background in professional sports, having been part of the British ski team until my late teens. Mental toughness in sports differs vastly from its application in business. The mistake, I believe, is transplanting sports' mental toughness directly into entrepreneurship. Unlike sports with its defined seasons and breaks, entrepreneurship demands constant resilience. It's chronic, not acute. This realization led me to explore what was missing.
I stumbled upon research on adult playfulness, an overlooked area. Encouraging playfulness in adults, especially in professional settings, often raises eyebrows. Yet, playfulness fosters cognition, creativity, curiosity, and collaboration—it enhances our human potential.
Drawing parallels from animal behavior, playfulness isn't just adaptive; it's essential for exploring new options without fixating on outcomes. I argue it's the optimal state for human beings—it promotes agility, collaboration, and openness.
This insight guided me to incorporate playfulness into the PPM method, alongside mental toughness and resilience pillars. It aimed to address the void I identified—why even with resilience and commitment, I found myself burned out.
Stress played a pivotal role in this discovery. Stress today isn't just about immediate threats but a constant, cumulative burden affecting our bodies and minds. Our stress response, evolved for physical dangers like predators, now triggers from emails or work pressures.
Playfulness correlates inversely with stress levels. It thrives in lower stress states, fostering creativity and adaptability. In contrast, high stress levels engross us in survival mode,
hindering playfulness and creativity.
Since the '80s, societal stress levels have risen dramatically, leading to widespread anxiety and burnout. We need new coping mechanisms to navigate today's disruptive world effectively. This realization propelled me to develop the PPM method—to offer a fresh approach amid societal inadequacies in stress management.
In summary, playfulness isn't just a luxury but a necessity in our modern, stressful world. It's crucial for enhancing resilience, creativity, and overall well-being in both personal and professional domains.
SM: How do you stay positive despite the overwhelming challenges faced by entrepreneurs and small businesses today?
CM: I am a positive person. You know, I have my own doubts. I think the important thing is, when you're looking ahead to the future, there's a lot of fear and anxiety. And I think we need to address this.
One of the key things that both your brain and mine, and everyone else listening to this podcast, dislikes, is uncertainty. Our brains will go to great lengths, even deceive ourselves, to establish certainty, because uncertainty poses the greatest threat to us as organisms.
If we really consider the brain's fundamental role, it's not just about performing complex calculations or launching rockets into space. Its primary function is to keep us alive. That's its core purpose. We've adapted it for other remarkable tasks, but fundamentally, it's about survival. And it can't fulfill that role effectively if it can't grasp the environment due to uncertainty.
So when disruptive changes occur, bringing with them uncertainty and multiple scenarios, our stress levels rise. The stress response energizes our body and brain to seek more information, to solve the problem of uncertainty, to determine the outcome—even if it's unfavorable, we'd rather know than be in the dark.
Moreover, as stress intensifies, so does pessimism. It's understandable: the stress response focuses on detecting threats, not seeking optimism. It's a state of heightened vigilance against perceived dangers. Combining these factors—increased disruption, higher stress levels, and greater uncertainty—is it surprising that anxiety and fear about the future are on the rise? Not at all.
On top of the challenges we face, there's an added layer of psychological fear. We can trace this fear back to other historical periods of radical change, such as the Industrial Revolution. The Luddites, feeling threatened by industrialization, resorted to drastic measures because they feared losing their livelihoods.
Yes, we have obstacles to overcome. But one of the most significant lessons I gleaned from writing Decoding Change is that humans, at our best, are incredibly creative and innovative beings. When we pause and reflect, we tap into our optimal state. We are adaptable, flexible, collaborative, and cooperative.
History shows us that despite seemingly insurmountable challenges, humans have navigated through crises. My optimism stems from observing how our species can harness these qualities. If we collectively strive towards our optimal state, embracing these human traits, the results can be astounding. We're capable of achievements beyond our imagination.
Consider the Industrial Revolution again: despite fears of job displacement, new industries emerged. Every technological leap and cultural shift reshapes our world. As we discussed earlier, there's no such thing as a stable status quo—it's always evolving. Stress makes us want to cling to stability, but change is inevitable, and often brings unforeseen opportunities.
My optimism isn't blind; I acknowledge the myriad issues we face. The changing natural environment will reshape how and where we live. Technological advancements will transform industries and careers. Cultural philosophies are evolving, with younger generations influencing the older, creating a new dynamic of collective wisdom.
This diversity of perspectives, despite causing friction, is invaluable. Embracing collective wisdom fosters collaboration, creativity, and innovation—essential for any organization or team striving to excel. In essence, it's not just about diversity and inclusion as checkboxes—it's about creating environments where diverse perspectives thrive, fostering the most innovative and creative outcomes possible.
SM: If we could invite a couple of great minds from the past to join us right now, who would you choose?
CM: I think I'd have to go with the physicist Richard Feynman to start. That's probably a controversial choice because he was pivotal in the development of the hydrogen bomb. But what resonates with me about Feynman is his perspective on learning—how everything is interconnected.
When you begin to see things clearly, you understand how different elements work together and how skills can be transferred from one domain to another. His approach is inclusive; nothing is dismissed outright. He embraces a playful way of thinking, saying, "Okay, this is new to me. How does it fit with our current model?" rather than being defensive and rejecting it because it doesn't align with his current understanding.
SM: One person I've always been curious about because of his versatility is Leonardo da Vinci. Talking about someone who could multitask! He was such a disruptor in his time.
CM: I had three names in mind. One would definitely be Sir Ernest Shackleton. He actually features in my TEDx Talk as someone who exemplifies a playful attitude even in the most extreme circumstances.
For those unfamiliar with his story, Sir Ernest Shackleton was the captain of the Endurance. He embarked on a mission to cross Antarctica, spanning thousands of miles of pack ice—an incredible feat considering they were using wooden boats. Disaster struck just one day's journey from their intended landing as temperatures plummeted and the ship became trapped in ice.
What many don't realize is the remarkable rescue mission that followed—a journey of 800 miles in a small lifeboat not designed for such travel. Prior to this, they spent 10 months stranded on the ice. Shackleton embodied a sense of playfulness even in such dire circumstances. In discussing how he selected his crew, there's a profound quote from him about enduring thirst with laughter and song.
In my TEDx talk, I argued that if Shackleton were alive today, his attitude wouldn't just be optimism but rather a deep sense of playfulness. Enduring the agony of thirst with laughter and song isn't merely about looking on the bright side—it's about continuously reframing a dire and life-threatening situation.
SM: Have you seen any video of Mikaela Schiffrin, the champion skier?
CM: Yeah, absolutely. Interestingly, I came across a piece about her recently because I keep up with the World Cup Circuit. She mentioned drawing inspiration from Taylor Swift's approach.
I found this intriguing because, regardless of opinions on her music or persona, Taylor Swift has consistently produced music that resonates with the current cultural trends and amassed a huge following. I would place her alongside other artists who have sustained multi-decade careers, like Elton John.
Schiffrin pointed out how Taylor Swift has been an inspiration not just for her ability to create music that helps her navigate emotional challenges, but also for her continuous adaptability and flexibility. This is crucial for remaining relevant in a changing environment.
We don't often discuss or teach these aspects, but bringing it back to our earlier discussion, Schiffrin has had an absolutely incredible career. It's fascinating how she finds inspiration from another artist who is of a similar age—around 33. They seem to be navigating life-changing moments together in a virtual way, while Taylor Swift also demonstrates remarkable adaptability and flexibility.
SM: I draw inspiration from various sources, as we discussed earlier. It's important to have that cross-pollination of ideas.
CM: In Decoding Change, I explored these major driving forces and stumbled upon what I term information revolutions. It ties into the point you're making. Technological revolutions occur roughly every 50 to 60 years, a pattern consistent since the Industrial Revolution. The last was the semiconductor in 1971, paving the way for AI, machine learning, and robotics 53 years later. However, information revolutions unfold at much longer cycles.
The first I'll mention is the Gutenberg press, which suddenly enabled widespread sharing of knowledge through books, marking a significant cultural shift, especially during the age of exploration with voyages by Columbus, Diaz, and Vasco da Gama.
These periods saw not only positive advancements but also some darker times. Yet, bringing diverse voices and philosophies to the table fostered incredible creativity.
Similarly, the introduction of the telephone—often overlooked today—was revolutionary. Before its advent, communication relied on slow transcontinental ship journeys for letters. Steamships sped things up, but it still took days. Then the telephone arrived, allowing instant voice communication and immediate responses—a profound leap in information richness and speed.
Today, the Internet marks the next information revolution, accelerated by AI. Technologies like this enable rich, instant global communication, exemplified by how we're recording this podcast—me in one location, you in another, yet conversing as if across a table. This wealth of data, including visual cues, brings diverse voices together, enhancing collaboration and innovation when embraced.
Understanding and leveraging these skills can accelerate businesses, organizations, and teams. We're amidst multiple disruptive trends and mega-trends, not just AI or environmental shifts, highlighting why we're at such a transformative point in history.
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