The potential of hope

“Uncertainty” has become the dominant word in business. In recent earnings calls, 76% of S&P 500 companies cited it — up from 37% just three months earlier (HBR, FactSet, 2025).

The world has always been uncertain, you might say, but never at this scale. Political shifts, economic instability and social fragmentation are all unfolding at once, creating a constant sense that the ground is moving. Last year was the warmest on record. There is a mental health crisis. Social cohesion is weakening. The situation in middle-east. A lot to be pessimistic about. 

I’ve read enough of Steven Pinker and Hans Rosling to counter pessimism with optimism: we are living in one of the most prosperous periods in history. I live in one of the richest and happiest countries in the world, so there’s also much to be optimistic about.

There’s something I keep running into: when I’m pessimistic, no one listens, and when I’m optimistic, they don’t believe me. So either way, nothing ever moves.

So the question becomes: how do you deal with uncertainty?

What resonates more is hope. Not as some dreamy term, but as recognising that things are not going well while also acknowledging that people are working to improve them, creating room to act. Hope is not just a feeling. It has been studied in psychology and behavioral science as a cognitive framework that helps people navigate uncertainty and take action.

Emily Esfahani Smith, writer and researcher on meaning and wellbeing,  points to the personal benefits of that mindset: people who are hopeful tend to cope better with stress, think more creatively in difficult situations, and move through challenges with greater resilience.

Some things that give me hope:

While polarization poses a challenge, research from several countries consistently shows we’re not nearly as polarized on important issues as people think (as we explored in our piece on perceived division).

74% of people across G20 countries support shifting towards economic systems focused on wellbeing. (Earth4All, 2021)

Investments in green energy are now 2x those of fossil fuels, and the progress is consistently underestimated. (International Energy Agency, 2024)

So how can you as a brand tap into it? According to research on hope and behaviour, particularly goal-setting theory (C. R. Snyder) and the progress principle (Teresa Amabile), hope works when it’s made tangible:

Here are four recommendations:

1.Be specific about the future by defining a clear, near-term outcome (e.g. what improves for them, their home, their work), rather than broad promises like “a better tomorrow.”

2.Celebrate small wins by highlighting visible proof that change is already happening (customer adoption, product impact, behavioural shifts), not just long-term ambition.

3.Acknowledge what’s hard and be explicit about real constraints in people’s lives (cost, time, effort, trade-offs), rather than presenting solutions as effortless.

4.Tie it to identity and frame actions in terms of who people are or want to be (responsible consumers, smart decision-makers, people who care about others), not just what they get.

Stay hopeful!