Reasons for Optimism: Building Connections for a Positive Future | The Dyson Blog

I am hopeful as we come to the end of 2024, and there are a number of reasons why I am. I recently delivered one of my university modules on project management or strategy delivery. The students, who are in their final year as undergraduates or doing postgraduate studies in engineering, to a person, held a passion for positive change. When asked to compare their personal values with that of a business, they expressed how they wished to use their knowledge and skills to make a difference in the world. I am sure this is magnified millions of times across the world. They are not naive, most already have served time in industry, but they each hold a set of values which I found profound and uplifting.

The second reason to be hopeful comes whenever I investigate, look into, or hold discussions in and across many spheres. I see and hear stories about people doing great things with an intent of making the world a better, more sustainable place in the most holistic sense. Specifically, I have had meetings with two of the organisations I partner with: my local Watermill Theatre, which, as well as producing truly magical theatre, has an outreach scheme that touches hundreds of lives, and the World Land Trust, which is actively protecting habitat and species diversity around the world. With both organisations, we are looking at ways to work together to magnify our individual impact.

I see academics, businesses, and organisations of people focusing on the problems that face us, not just out of good intent but out of facing cold, hard realities. This is resulting in money, the fuel of the world economy, being slowly but steadily diverted from the old economy to a new one. We are starting to invest in a changing world. Leaders and regimes will come and go, but this matrix of positive intent and action is what will truly drive the next 50 years.

The third reason for hope came to me in maybe the most unexpected place: a two-hour stand in the toilet on a train with five others, due to huge overcrowding. Of course, there was griping, anger, and frustration about the situation. There was also a humble reflection that our plight was nothing like those stuck in conflict and humanitarian disasters. What struck me most, though, was the very human and humane way people came together - caring about those wishing to catch their flight to New York, caring about one of the passengers who started to feel ill, finding space where there seemed to be none; and the humour, sharing stories, and keeping each other’s spirits up.

My sense is that we can always see the future as dark and full of threat. It can feel like walking into a cave, where, given the darkness, our imagination takes over to ready us for all the potential threats. We listen for the fall of rocks, we see flashes of images that may or may not be there, we feel the air around us, and we search for odours which could point to pending doom. Indigenous Americans used to describe each of these fears as friends who helped us to stay safe. The fear of falling is a friend who reminds you to stay away from the edge and to keep hold of something. The sorts of friends who I met on the train were concerned about those around them.

Of course, when we start to shine a light into the cave, then we can see where there may be danger, but also where there may be richness and treasure.

It is certainly more frightening to travel into new territory alone. In a group, where you can look out for one another and work together, the path forward becomes easier, safer, and quicker.

What this bizarrely brings into my mind is the infamous story of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. In my story, I am the central character, wracked by negativity and the sense of a world somehow lost, with many worries about the future. I am visited by three personifications. The first is the brightness, promise, and capability being brought by the young that will blossom into the world. The second personification is that of the researchers; business, political and organisational workers; and investors who are already working hard to guide the world. Finally, but maybe the most powerful, is the personification of humanity and the interconnection of people.

At the end of the story, there is a sense of optimism.

I will therefore go into 2025 with optimism and a determination to carry on trying to build connections and collaborations. Building on some well-laid foundations of thinking and action, I will try to come together with others to accelerate positive change. I will count my worries and fears as friends helping guide me on a safe path. You are welcome to come along.