“What If” all these 2018 trends collided?

It’s my favorite time of year again; the time where everyone starts making predictions about what the upcoming year will bring. I have to admit, I’m a sucker for reading all of the trends reports to help craft my own thoughts for the year to come. Unfortunately, I have to look at these lists with a grain of salt. There is a lot of hype and inflation that comes through in these lists. I mean, 2008-2012 were all dubbed “The year of Mobile.” It seems technology trends get people excited without really understanding, behaviorally and organizationally, how the technology will and should play out. 

All that said, I do find extreme value in reading through these ‘Trends to watch’ lists. The main reasons I like these lists are: 

  1. It gives me insight into what smart folks are thinking for the near future
  2. It gives our organization the latitude to wonder “What if,” which I think is the most powerful thing we can do. 

Let me elaborate a bit on Reason #2 a bit. 

I had the opportunity to sit next to a futurist at a dinner over the winter break. It was an amazing opportunity to get in the mind of someone who makes sense of trends for a living. I asked him how he became a futurist and what a futurist even does. He said, he looks at core trends across different industries and simply asks “what if” these trends collided? He said, “this is where the magic really happens.” That statement really stuck with me. Because, 1) I like Magic & 2) I love what if scenarios.  

So my challenge to you is, as you’re reading on the big trends for 2018 and putting your strategies together, I dare you to keep dreaming and ask “What if these trends collided?”

To help get you started, we’ve taken some time to curate some of our favorite lists over the last week. We think there is something really big happening at the intersection of Culture, Technology, and Business. You can be sure that we’ll be spending some time over the next month asking the question “What if these trends collided?”

Business Trends

  • The Top Business Trends To Look Out For in 2018 (Workzone)
  • The Top 10 Business Trends That Will Drive Success In 2018 (Forbes)
  • Five Big Business Trends to Watch in 2018 (Fortune)

Technology Trends

Consumer Behavior Trends

Organizational Trends

  • Preparing for Change: 2018 Organizational Development Trends (onpoint Consulting)
  • Trends 2018: Speed is the Heart of the Learner Experience (Training Industry)
  • 10 Workplace Trends You'll See In 2018 (Forbes)

Cheers to a great 2018!

trends, business, tech, behaviorPaul Misertrends, business, tech, behavior