I feel quite far away from the world, typing this from my living room, while my survivor of a cat sleeps on top of me, on a furry blanket. You see, in London, Fashion Week is in full swing, and I have a little FOMO and yet no desire to travel, nor to open my Instagram feed. So what is that about? I think it’s just February pushing my buttons.

Meanwhile, I wrote this for Looking Forward about how I invested some of my money (in January 2020…😱) and what I learned in the process, lessons which, strangely or not, can be applied to many other business situations and brands’ communication. You'd be surprised how this will be relevant for a lot of brand managers out there.

The name of the post took me a while to figure out: 'Banking on values'. There's certainly a pun there, one that those of you who've read the joint investigative report by the Guardian, Le Monde and Süddeutsche Zeitung on Credit Suisse won't miss. The irony is not escaping me.

My newly (slightly more) flexible brain has been in overdrive with the research on how the notion of adaptability (explored last week in this newsletter) is a trait we need to cultivate in business.

The challenges are clear: they lie on both the operational side and the creative, which leads to innovation, evolution and growth. Because one thing is constant, and that is change. So how to stay relevant? I have some tricks for you up my sleeve.

• In order to keep up with the world of 2050, you will need not merely to invent new ideas and products – you will above all need to reinvent yourself again and again. —Yuval Noah Harari

I’ve been pondering on the subject of adaptability. This is something we’re pretty great at as a species, but I’m not sure whether most of us ever remember how important it is to cultivate this trait. Personally AND professionally.

This week, I had the great pleasure to interview Cameron Silver, owner of Decades - a temple to vintage, couture and pre-loved in LA - and right on the heels of our 90min conversation, I was, in turn, the one being interviewed by host Shaun Benoliel for the Ensemble podcast.

These two conversations, and some of my most recent study sessions (in Contemplative Psychotherapy Program) left me considering why being adaptable is important, and seeking how to prepare ourselves and develop this essential quality: a tool both for resilience and for growth (or per my word of the year, for flourishing).

So this is what this week’s Looking Forward touches on, and I hope you’ll find some ideas to challenge you (like I was challenged), and launch you into a discovery around this interesting and important topic. Don't have time to read? You can listen to the audio via Soundcloud here.

How’s your wardrobe this week? I ask because of an interview I did last week with Dr Andrea Wojnicki, which will air in a few weeks, as well as recent personal purchases. Our discussion explored how we express personal style, and how it in turns, affects one’s personal brand.

Having just finished listening to Vanessa Friedman’s recent article on Dressing for the Metaverse, I realise we forgot to cover that piece (metaverse dressing that is, oops, you read more on this below).

In other news, this week’s Looking Forward post is inspired by Tara Parker-Pope, founding editor of New York Times’ award-winning consumer health site Well, and my friend Isa. Both separately invited me to consider making an intention for the year by choosing a single word. I think of it as a guiding light, a place to focus my attention in the distance helping me on my path - especially useful when things are a bit dark. Discover my word and consider finding your own;

• Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. - Benjamin Franklin

Well, we’ve come to the end of 2021. Yikes, it’s been quite a year. I’m hoping that whether you are reading me or listening to the podcast version of this post, you are already on holiday somewhere with loved ones - or if you’re lucky, on the slopes or under the tropics.

I chose to write about the biggest thing I learned this year. I go straight to the point and I’m crossing my fingers that this will resonate with you.

Cheers and here's to 2022!

I’ve been rushed off my feet, but not for any old reason. Yes, this morning, I was trying for my driver’s test. And the learner’s permit was expiring this coming Sunday...

Good news: I really enjoy driving, and I am pretty good at it. Bad news, I wish I could have done a few extra hours of preparation ahead of this test. But the better news of all is the administration services in Geneva, despite being very, very overwhelmed with work, COVID safety measures, etc, were kind enough to give me an appointment. And I passed! Yay!

While I was delighted about the kindness I encountered and a little nervous around the test, I am also excited to be graduating this week from the coaching training I enrolled on this year, led by Martha Beck. Yes, you can send me flowers, chocolates, champagne!!! Lots to celebrate! 🥳🥂💃🏼

I can barely believe we’ve come to the end of training. I wish I could get another six or nine or 12 months of it, so gratifying and life-altering it has been.

These two combined subjects make me wonder about preparation, procrastination, the imposter syndrome, and when to leap, especially when the stakes are high. You can read the post ‘Ready or Not’ or listen to it here.

This week, I’m writing about how impressed I am with others - young actors on the global climate stage - doing their best to push the laggards into action to save this burning platform we are all living on. This leads me to an unexpected workshop in personal branding. Listen to it here or read on.

• Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. - Carl Jung

We are halfway through November, almost, and it’s TEDx season here in Switzerland: today in Geneva and next Friday in Zurich. I’m not a speaker at either of these (yet), but I’m looking forward to attending and will report back to you.

In other news, I don’t know about you, but the workload tends to intensify towards the end of the year. It’s exciting and promising, but also tiring and challenging.

I feel it’s a privilege, as a result, to ‘have to’ work on this weekly newsletter. Thanks to you, I get to purposefully read in order to offer some relevant links in the Digest and thanks to a recent gym membership, part of my reading was done on the treadmill. Yay to combining cardio and reading time.

This week, I also write about how I asked for help, aka for some coaching, which helped me figure out the common thread between coaching and mindfulness.

• The measure of intelligence is the ability to change. -Albert Einstein
  If you’d told me ten years ago that this would be the headline I’d find on the cover of a title like the Financial Times in November 2021, it would have sounded as preposterous as the global pandemic grinding the world to a halt in 2020. And yet, here we are. It’s not business as usual this week. Then again, it hasn’t felt like business as usual for a while, so I chose to tackle change and how uncertainty is not only inherent to, but also the most certain thing we will experience throughout our lives. I also explore grounding strategies to help us manage our fears and move forward towards our goals, and possibly embrace sustainable change.

• Build it, and they will come” only works in the movies. Social Media is a “build it, nurture it, engage them, and they may come and stay. - Seth Godin

The news got in right after I’d put this post to bed. I’m a bit miffed about it. The big rebrand of the year (or decade): Facebook renames itself ‘Meta’. Right after I’d renamed this newsletter the Mettā View. I mean! More on Zuck’s metaverse thing here in case you live under a rock.

Connection, not just media, is on my mind as I am toiling away at pivoting AVM Consulting. Let’s ditch the broadcast and start communicating. Talking, or listening, depending on where you are at of course!

After a couple of weeks waxing lyrical about the magic of shoes and ready-to-wear, this week I decided to concentrate on what’s keeping a lot of business owners, freelancers, and executives up at night, namely: how to reach their clients. It got me asking myself, is social media still social?