Holding The Crystal Ball

Prophets, visionaries and futurists have always held high positions in our society and today more than ever. In the age of discontinuity, the chaotic nature of interconnected factors have almost made it a necessity to stay forward focused on a consistent basis.

So what really is prediction based on? Is it trendwathing? Foresearching? Reaching back to the retro archives to find the overlooked and put it in a new context? That's way too topical for me.

It's about and always will be about people.

I believe the real questions to ask are:

What is the demographic trend globally and what does that mean in terms of:
a) Cultural biases?
b) Education and literacy rates?
c) Communication potential?
d) Ideological distribution?
e) Geographic distribution?
f) Age?

What is depleteing or missing from human interactions?

What are the looming fears on the whole? (Remember, we desire most the direct opposite of what we fear most)

What are the technological and geopolitical forces that are shaping our world?

What are the dominant questions today?

How will they evolve as we answer them in the short term?

These are but a few of the things to clarify the path to the future. I don't think trendspotting is a mystery, and I'm rarely surprised when I see a new idea on the horizon. I think thinking like this both objectively and intuitively will enable to be one step ahead as well.