Each year since 1990, Dr. James Canton has published his top forecasts for the next year in the Global Trends Report. These trends and predictions are designed to give your client’s a heads-up on what’s next in the economy, technology and society. As featured in his keynote, “The Extreme Future,” this year’s Global Trends Report is a wake-up call on the key trends that will shape the coming year. Dr. Canton identifies 2009’s top global trends as follows:
- Managing Complexity – This year, more than ever, the top skill that everyone will need is managing complexity. The complexity of dealing with immense and fast changes, the economic crisis, the job market, global competition and new technologies will require a high level of complexity management. Survival may well be dependent on how well a Complexity Manager you are.
- High Agility Enterprise – Fast to change. Anticipatory of what’s next. Exceeding expectations. New innovations to serve customers, find profit, accelerate transactions, release creativity and empower employees and customers will transform business in 2009. Innovations like customer care portals, Wikis, Mashups, Predictive Analytics, Social Networking, Web 2.0 processes and products will drive competitive advantage this year. Business agility will be propelled by elegant, integrative Clouds, adaptive and innovative business IT processes. This is the year to migrate to more web-centric business transformation.
- Global Connectivity – Information will find you. The pervasive mobile Internet is coming in 2009 and will connect everyone in business, customers-everywhere, and all the time, across borders, supply chains and industries. Entirely new business models, supply chains, customer care networks, markets and industries will be born from this always-on global connectivity. New business models that deliver real-time value, all the time anywhere and everywhere, will redefine markets-get ready now for this shift.
- Blended Reality – The convergence of TV, computer, Net, wireless, telephony across interactive fast real-time broadband networks with GPS information will become a Blended Reality lifestyle in 2009. Rich media interactivity, real-time messaging, rich media and virtual worlds are coming. This lifestyle cuts across geography, markets and cultures. Blended Reality is the new global lifestyle and demographic that will emerge.
- Navigating the New Risk Landscape – Here comes the Post-Economic Meltdown-OK let’s get on with it. Every business and everyone will need a new strategy to deal with navigating risk and opportunity this year. It will change everything and touch everyone in 2009. Dealing with the aftershocks to the economic meltdown, which started in 2008, will be top of mind for every business and individual. Smarter moves and greater risk management will be prudent advice for this coming year. Navigating the new risks, new challenges and new threats will be key. We will look differently at risk-even missing some opportunities. Understanding how to navigate the changes and challenges of the new risk landscape will be essential this year. Know when to risk and when to hold on.
- Personalized Medicine – People are living longer and spending more to enhance their cognitive, emotional and physical performance. Radical new choices are coming that will challenge our values and laws. From prevention, to mapping your personal genome, to life-extension, longevity medicine is coming fast. This global marketplace will be the largest in the 21st century, driven by Boomer’s wealth and biotech’s future innovations in stem cells, synthetic biology, and cloning that will transform health care making it boldly predictive and personalized. How about a new kidney for Christmas?
- The MegaCity Consumer – From China to India, to Latin America and the EU, there is a new consumer demographic that is emerging driven by massive urban migration. They live in megacities, are highly mobile and are transnational. The MegaCity Consumers are the new middle class, tech savvy, highly mobile and entrepreneurial. They are driving up demand for products and services that could reach over 120 countries, generating billions by 2035. This new global middle class is being born and they want the prosperity and quality of life that is defined by the consumer marketplace.
- Beware Dark Networks – Security will be an increased risk factor for business in 2009 given the vulnerability of computer networks that increasingly connect us all. From hackers to identity thieves, to terrorists and criminals, the future is bright for the Dark Networks. Business needs to invest in deeper innovations in security and take it to the next level. More sophisticated and complex fraud, theft and terror attacks will threaten modern society, so be prepared and invest now in prevention.
- Green & Clean Sustainability – Billions will be invested in alternative energy, clean tech and climate change in 2009. The new administration will embrace, whole hog, the sustainability trend. We will capitalize on cleaning up the planet, reducing foreign oil dependence and reducing global warming. Customers are going green. Consumers will want increased corporate accountability in protecting and saving the environment. Smart companies will now leverage Green & Clean policies, products and services-and be held accountable if they are not.
- Strategic Vision: Future Readiness – Most businesses are not ready for the future. Witness the economic beating of this past year. Each business needs to develop a predictive awareness-a sensing capability of what is next. Developing a capacity to see what’s next and prepare by monitoring trends, developing business foresight with an eye towards the longer more strategic view will be essential to success in 2009. New profit opportunities will come from those companies that see the future first and become Future-Ready-anticipating, adapting and evolving before the competition.
To learn more about Dr. Canton’s keynote presentations, trend analysis, and related work, please visit http://www.techfuturist.com/. To book Dr. Canton or check his availability for your upcoming meeting or conference, please contact The Speakers Group.
