James Wallman
James Wallman is an international bestselling author, entrepreneur, futurist, and experience strategist/designer. He runs the strategy, innovation, and futures consultancy The Future is Here. Clients include KPMG, HSBC, KFC, IDEO, and Facebook. He has written two best-selling books: Time And How To Spend It (Penguin, April 2019) and Stuffocation (self-published 2013; Penguin, 2015; now in 7 languages). Wallman has advised companies from Absolut to Zurich Financial and has given talks from Amsterdam to Las Vegas; at venues including the Googleplex and 10 Downing Street. He advises the British government and is a 'Sector Specialist, Experience Economy' for the Department for International Trade. His opinions have appeared in the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Economist, and Wired and has appeared on TV and radio from Australia to Brazil and the US. James lives in London with his wife and two children.
3 words to describe Nature?
Green. Furry. Nice
3 things Nature taught you?
Just the one: nature is us and everything in us and around us. It's what we call the crazy random experiment our planet is in the middle of. Everyone and everything here is reaching up for energy from the sun, rising from seed to flower, then falling back again. It's a funny, beautiful journey.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Only 3?? I can’t
First, anywhere with my kids.
Then the view from any mountain in the Alps; the Mediterranean sea; Big Sur; Rhossili Bay; the jungle around the Tambopata River and Platja Mitjorn.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Like I want to jump in and float on, surf on, sails on, get thrown about on the waves.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Like I want to walk through it, climb its trees, hear its silence, its sounds, and just listen.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Like I wish it would explode, but without killing me. Stromboli is good for this :-)
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Grateful that I had that day or that I'm about to have a day. Aware that time is passing.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Yay! The gods are laughing.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Alive
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean, Mountain & Forest. (But Deserts can be fun too)
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
Ha! Trick question. It's essential for all our wellbeing. So much science proves it. Hence 3rd rule of the STORIES checklist - the simple way to remember what you should do to be happy & successful - is Outside & Offline.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
In the late 70s, it used to snow, and way more than it does now. My brother and I got dragged around the garden by our dad on a sled. And then at some nearby hill. Sledding is way too much fun. I miss it.
Also, I remember swimming off Corfu with my mum and my brother in the early 80s. No one was around so we were all swam naked... we were all confident swimmers so we went for a long swim, way out of our depth... the water was so pure and clear, glistening in the sun on the surface but you could see 20-30 feet to the sandy bottom. I get to the Mediterranean most summers... and every time I swim I feel refreshed, young, silly, alive.
Amy Webb
Amy Webb is a quantitative futurist and a bestselling, award-winning author. She is a professor of strategic foresight at the NYU Stern School of Business and the Founder of the Future Today Institute, a leading foresight and strategy firm that helps leaders and their organizations prepare for complex futures. Webb is a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University’s Säid School of Business, a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center, a Fellow in the United States-Japan Leadership Program and a Foresight Fellow in the U.S. Government Accountability Office Center for Strategic Foresight. She was a Visiting Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, where her research received a national Sigma Delta Chi award. She was also a Delegate on the former U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission, where she worked on the future of technology, media and international diplomacy. Webb has advised CEOs of some of the world’s largest companies, three-star generals and admirals and executive government leadership on strategy and technology. She is the author of several popular books, including The Big Nine: How the Tech Titans and Their Thinking Machines Could Warp Humanity, which was longlisted for the Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year award, shortlisted for the Thinkers50 Digital Thinking Award, and won the 2020 Gold Axiom Medal for the best book about business and technology, and The Signals Are Talking: Why Today’s Fringe Is Tomorrow’s Mainstream, which won the Thinkers50 Radar Award, was selected as one of Fast Company’s Best Books of 2016, Amazon’s best books 2016, and was the recipient of the 2017 Gold Axiom Medal for the best book about business and technology. Her bestselling memoir Data, A Love Story is about finding love via algorithms. Her TED talk about Data has been viewed more than 8 million times and is being adapted as a feature film, which is currently in production. Webb was named by Forbes as one of the five women changing the world, listed as the BBC’s 100 Women of 2020, and the Thinkers50 Radar list of the 30 management thinkers most likely to shape the future of how organizations are managed and led.
Amy serves on a script consultant for films and shows about artificial intelligence, technology and the future. Most recently, she worked on The First, a sci-fi drama about the first humans to travel to Mars. She is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and has served as a Blue Ribbon Emmy award judge.
3 words to describe Nature?
Essential. Quantifiable. Mysterious.
3 things Nature taught you?
Humility. Humility. Humility. (Seriously!)
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The hiking paths of Mt. Hayachine, which is part of the Kitakami range in northern Japan.
Walking among the giant redwoods of Sequoia National Park.
Hiking the foothills of Stowe, Vermont, especially in fall.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Concerned. The oceans are a vast ecosystem that we've ignored and polluted.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
At home. There is a concept in Japan known as "shinrin-yoku," which is loosely defined as taking a forest bath. Connecting with trees and the sounds of a forest, breathing in the air, and taking time for contemplation and reflection are ways to improve mental clarity, emotional health and physical stamina.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Curious.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Spirited. Some of my fondest memories are of canoeing and camping in Big Bend National Park in Texas and waking up with the sunrise. Even in the summer, the air is fresh and cool, and there's both a calmness and a sense of anticipation for a new day.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Like I'm at work. When I'm researching, reading and writing, I listen to brown noise, which has lower, thicker tones than white noise. Some of the brown noise tracks I listen to include a continuous stream of rumbling thunder.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Cold. Even if it's not actually cold.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mountain
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
There was a small lake near our house, and it was fully alive: snakes, butterflies, fish, frogs, weeds, flowers, trees, and all sorts of bugs. My dad used to take me there just to walk around, look at tadpoles, and observe nature. One afternoon we found a beehive beneath a pile of boulders. We climbed on top and spent hours watching the bees do their work.
Snorre Stinessen
Snorre Stinessen is one of Norway’s leading architects. His company has become the go-to firm for contemporary cabins in the Arctic. His recent project, the Efjord Cabin was featured in DWELL magazine and became an Instagram sensation. Over the years, Snore has received multiple awards including the Wallpaper Design Award, the A+ Award, the Opplyst Award, the Iconic Award, the German Design Award, the American Architecture Prize, the American Architecture Prize, the International Design Award, the WAN Award and many more. His work has been featured on CNN, the Wallpaper magazine, Dezeen, D2, Financial Times, The Guardian, Architectural Digest, IW magazine, Interior Design magazines and many more.
3 words to describe Nature?
Calm. Quiet. Presence.
3 things Nature taught you?
That we are just a small part of this world.
To appreciate the difference in the different seasons.
Where to find myself.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Difficult to choose 3, perhaps the following:
Cross country skiing in the sun across an empty snow-covered landscape,
Running along a grassy hill,
Laying on a smooth rock by the sea.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Depends on the state of the sea..
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Calm
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Small
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Happy
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Worried
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Alive
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Not sure, perhaps mountain, but I am not interested in the highest peaks.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
A summer trek to a snowy ice-capped mountain top where we started out in the sun and walked into the fog around the top – for the decent we decided to slate on each our plastic bag. I picked up speed fast and got quite a bit ahead, but suddenly decided to stop because of the low visibility and the others stopped just behind me, seconds later the fog opened up and I found myself standing on the very edge of a deep, deep massive pothole in the icecap – we were lucky that day, or perhaps destiny was on our side...
Learn more about the Efjord cabin here, in DWELL magazine.