Why not have a Fractional Futurist to help your business? Today, there seems to be fractional everything. You may be familiar with the term fractional CFO (i.e. Chief Financial Officer) or CMO (i.e. - Chief Marketing Officer). These part time employees provide value to companies without having to commit to the full cost of hiring them. Kelly Berry has embraced this concept for her own path: being a fractional futurist and champion for small businesses.
In Episode 3 of the Career Adventurer podcast, I talk to Kelly about what a fractional futurist is, why she does it, and how her career background and interests led her to where she is today. Kelly used her mathematics background at Nestle early in her career. Then, she found her passion for helping small businesses as life threw her curveballs. She finds meaning in helping small business owners strategically plan for the future. Their survival depends upon it, especially in a technologically supercharged world.
As usual, I’ve highlighted five themes from our discussion. Listen to the full episode to gather the most insights to fuel your career adventure. You’re sure to pick up a nugget or three while listening to the episode in your car or on a walk. Enjoy!
Five Themes
I love doing this podcast! No matter who I interview, I learn something. Each interview is unique and presents insightful themes and tools for me personally. How ‘bout you? Here are the top five you will want to think about for your own career journey.
Adventurers Adapt
Growth focused careers require adaptation. You will make a variety of leaps in your career, guaranteed. Most of you will not be doing the same thing you planned on when you embarked on your career journey. This is not your father’s work environment - work at one company and get a fat pension and Rolex after 25 years of servitude.
Kelly has adapted many times. She found a new path when her husband’s dream job lead them from the East coast to the Midwest. She did so again when she was teaching MBA classes as a working mother in Wisconsin. Life is filled with change. Your career adventures must adapt with it.
“Did I think this was the path I was going to take when I was in college? 100 percent no. It had never occurred to me. A lot of what I chose to do was because I was juggling kids. My kids are in their twenties now. But the goal was to have more time with them, more flexibility, but also work because I don't do well, not working.”
Harness Creativity
In the future, mundane, highly repeatable tasks and jobs will be automated. The future belongs to creatives, people who want to build new things. This is exciting! Kelly is leading by example. In fact, Kelly created Five for the Future, to help people see what is coming. She puts her market research skills to good use by distilling dozens of data points into actionable insights for small businesses. You too must embrace the creative muscles in your brain.
“The challenge with futures thinking is that what you need to do is be creative. You need to be open to what the world is going to look like in the future…envision a scenario where things go well for you and for your business. How do you get to that point where everything is going in that direction? The fun and the challenge is trying to be creative in setting these scenes…There's no data that's going to tell you exactly what's going to happen...”
Embrace Relevant Tools
We see it everyday: a new, “helpful” tool is launched. (Kendra Ramirez talks a lot about new AI tools at our finger tips.) Kelly makes delivering meaningful insights to her clients easier with tools like Pocket. She also leans into tried and true methodologies she learned in business school. A P.E.S.T.L.E. analysis is a reliable way for her to crystalize and communicate key themes to her clients. What new tools are you putting to use? Which tried and true methods still provide value in your career?
“I don't know if you're familiar with a pestle analysis, P E S T L E. I use that as a tool…P. E. S. T. L. E. is political, economy, social, technology, legal, environmental. It's an external analysis of what's going on in the world around us that that could ultimately impact your business. When I put the Five for the Future together, those are some of the key categories I'm looking at.”
Carve Your Own Lane
Kelly has made helping small businesses her lane. She puts her analytical, market research, and communication skills to use helping small businesses succeed. She does this with her own business, Learn Start Grow, and with the National Center for Economic Gardening. Her fractional futurist approach uses all of her skills in a purpose driven adventure. She knows small businesses do not have the time or readily available resources to work on strategy. That’s where she comes in. What lane are you carving for your own career?
“I love working with small businesses and I've been doing it for so long that anything I can do that supports small businesses, I'm just such a huge fan. I want to make sure that this continues to be a world that's not everyone being merged together into five giant corporations that rule the world.”
AI Authenticity
We are living in the fourth industrial revolution. Technology is abound. We are pushing and being pushed in new ways. AI’s rise in popularity has made this especially true. Kelly reminded us of the importance of authenticity amidst this new environment. She reminds us that technology is in service of us, not the other way around. What interests you most in the rise of AI?
“The key word of the year was authenticity. I thought that was fabulous… Technology is a tool, but it's not a replacement for humans. Any decisions that we make and any problems we're trying to solve, we want to do that with the support of other humans, not just technology.”
Listen to the Full Episode!!!
I love interviewing people about their career adventures. Everyone’s journey is unique. I learn something new every time! Kelly recognizes that her journey is not linear. Nonetheless, there are consistent themes that mark the way along her journey. We’ve captured five here. Nonetheless, there is so much more in the full episode. You can listen to it on an afternoon walk or during your commute. Enjoy!
Paul G. Fisher
The Career Adventurer
Pilot Episodes: Fractional Futurist (3 of 3)