AUGUST 2025 INSIGHTS

Xenia Wickett - Wickett Advisory

“The age of distraction is also the age of obsession.” – Daniel Immerwahr in conversation with Adam Grant (podcast link)

The line resonated with me this month. We live in a world where attention is the most valuable -and contested-resource. That truth showed up again and again in my work, in the headlines, and in my own reflections.

What I've learned about the context

• China invested close to $680 billion in clean tech manufacturing in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). That's almost as much as the United States and the EU combined. (IEA report)

• The green technology and sustainability market size was valued at USD $22.66 billion in 2023 and is poised to grow to almost $229 billion by 2032, a CAGR of 29.3% (IEA executive summary)

• In July, London’s stock market had its slowest first half for IPOs since 1997. Also that month, two governors dissented with the FOMC rate decision - a first in 30 years (thank you, Bobby Vedral)

• Trump’s return has shown how quickly the Overton window - the range of publicly debated policy ideas - an shift. Nothing can be ruled out if social conflict intensifies.

• According to the UN Industrial Development Organization, China is on track to produce 45% of global industrial output by the end of the decade.

• Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta will spend $750bn on data centres this year and next. Morgan Stanley forecasts global spending will hit $3tn by 2029 (John Thornhill, FT, link)

• 95% of generative AI pilots at companies fail, according to a new MIT report (Fortune)

• At its peak, real estate accounted for roughly 30% of China’s economy. (NYT)

What I've learned about people

• “When I despair, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it - always.” (Mohandas Gandhi)

• “If there’s no struggle, there is no progress.” (Frederick Douglass)

• “Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you.” (Parker J Palmer, Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation)

• Listening happens on three levels: visual (posture, expression, movement), vocal (tone, pace, pauses), and verbal (words). Despite what you might think, we instinctively give more weight to the first two, which is a reminder that presence and tone often speak before we do. 

• “I have suffered a great many challenges in my life most of which have never happened.” (Mark Twain)

• “Positivity opens us. The first core truth about positive emotions is that they open our hearts, making us more receptive and more creative.” (Barbara Fredrickson, Positivity)

What I've learned about myself

• I rush too much. When I take time to breathe and be present, the day transforms - work becomes more enjoyable, lighter. I value freedom of time above almost anything else. A simple walk becomes transformative when I can do it at my own pace.

• I’m still too triggered when expectations aren’t met - like a cancelled meeting - even if the outcome is fine. It’s not about others, but about my own expectations. Recognising this is the first step to letting go and staying calm in those moments.

August left me with a reminder: attention is scarce, and where I put it shapes not only what I see in the world but who I become.

Many of these themes came into sharper focus during the sessions I led in Alpbach on geoeconomics and leadership. Europe sits at the crossroads of these shifts - whether on energy, industrial policy, or the pressures on democracy - and the conversations there were a powerful reminder of how leadership decisions in the region will reverberate far beyond it.

Thank you for listening.

See you in a month,

Xenia

If you'd like to explore working together, visit my website to learn more.