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Home / Topics  / Year in Review 2017, brought to you by Tech Futures Lab  / Idealog Year in Review 2017: Lizzi Whaley

Idealog Year in Review 2017: Lizzi Whaley

Favourite innovation that isn’t yours?

iPhone. It’s a love-hate relationship.

Favourite innovation that is yours?

My children.

Most interesting launch/trend/idea/building/product of the year?

Currently the moment interesting launch is what looks to be an EPIC NZ summer after a couple of dismal ones back to back. Not holding my breathe but I sure am crossing my fingers!

Lamest launch/trend/idea/brand/building/product of the year?

Possibly not this year, but in recent times – the selfie stick. How to make anyone look hilarious, whilst putting on their sexiest trout pout. 

Most promising New Zealand company/companies?

The companies that are entrepreneurial and philanthropic at the same time.

Heroes?

Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey.

Villains?

Trump, Trump, Trump.

Your own biggest success?

That over 60 percent of our business are repeat clients, which is high given we are in fit-outs and some clients only need us every 4-6 years. And that many of our clients have been with us 7+ years.

What’s the biggest mistake innovators/businesses will make in 2017?

Trying to be the next big thing, when the best ideas are often the simplest. Some of the best innovations lie internally in business for better productivity and efficiency and are not always client focused.

What do you expect to see in the next five years?

A push for more staff mobility, and working from home.

What will be dead in the next five years?

Less staff mobility as some businesses realise its integral to have face to face for collaboration and culture. In the same way, we all ran at open plan / hot desking and now have settled somewhere in the middle, the same will happen with working from home.

What should be invented and/or un-invented?

Invented – beam me up Scotty, teleportation! Uninvented- chewing gum, the most disgusting thing I have ever seen. And the fact that people make up so many excuses to justify its existence. It’s just damn gross.

Favourite book/TVshow/podcast/album/website/ magazine/story/performance enhancing drug of the year?

Eat Pray Love as I’m living my own version now as I sit on my bed in an ashram in North India.

What’s the one piece of tech would you have on a desert island?

I feel like I’m on a desert island now, or at least far from creature comforts! And it always comes back to the iPhone, although in the past week I have also appreciated that toilet paper is pretty cool, so is filtered water and hand Sanitizer and even heat pumps- because when The heat pump is on your wall for show you realise how cool it would be if it worked.

Will the robots become sentient and kill us all? (asking for a friend)

Probably, but aren’t we supposed to live in the now? That’s a bit futuristic for me.

How long before we have:  

Driverless cars?

We have them?? How long before I have one?

Flying cars?

Not on the road legally in my lifetime, although I feel like Air NZ planes are my flying car

Immortality?

Never, I hope.

Cities that all look like Venice?

I think people are trying to recreate this everywhere, but the original is always the best. 

No planet to live on?

Don’t even want to guess, hopefully many generations from now

No animals farmed or eaten?

I’m a carnivore so I struggle with that. But on the flip side I’m an animal lover – I guess you could say I’m conflicted.

Non-human lovers?

Yuck – I’m an overthinker 

No cash?

What’s cash? I’m already cashless. I think it’s crazy when I can’t use Apple Pay on my phone.

Fusion energy?

No freaking idea but great question.

Universal basic income?

Ditto.

Chips implanted in our brains?

Not touching my brain!

Colonies on Mars?

Good luck too damn cold!

*****

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Review overview