Our present is the realm of VUCA - of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity - and our future seems more fragile than ever. We still must, however, plan for it. And we indeed can, by using mindsets and methods that incorporate and embrace uncertainty, allowing for new organizational agility in the face of ever increasing volatility.

In Lift's tradition of innovation by cross-pollination we will explore what businesses can learn from one of the most profitable industries on earth: the adult entertainment industry. Not only did x-rated content bring us streaming video, online payment and perhaps one third of all internet traffic, but it’s also a role model in terms of business innovation while broadly eschewing legal patronage. From personalized experience goods to the sophisticated use of free content and an emerging class of entirely new devices and interaction models, there’s a lot to learn from the strongest creative industry that nobody ever talks about.

In our post-industrial setting new forms of work are spreading fast, bringing together traditional values with new technologies and old skills with contemporary aesthetics. How can businesses large and small be both proudly artisanal and globally scalable? How can we adapt the way we design business models and live business ethics, how can we develop HR departments and management practices to actually let in actual craftsmanship and mastery again?