At
the end of every year it seems everyone has a prediction of what is to
come next year. Trends can lead one to predictive analysis of likely
events on the horizon with some being relevant to planning and some
only relative to what your actually planning to do next year.
With each year that passes one thing is certain, things will change.
However the pace of change is no longer a yearly process rather it is
daily.
Whether for business or personal one change is certain, you have to learn to do more with less. Less
time, less money and less excuses. The economy is in a state of flux as
are the market dynamics for every market segment. If you haven’t
noticed markets have been in turmoil throughout 2009 and this turmoil
is changing how markets operate. Business as usual is out and business
unusual is in.
What Is Unusual?
Unusual means doing things differently than you have in the past.
Differently in the sense of what, who, when, where and why you do
certain things. Social technology is fueling change and the primary
change required to do the unusual begins with how we think.
Whether personal or professional thinking about making progress in
the coming year means we need to put past, present and future changes
into context that relate to our own plans. Today the context is about
communications and relationships both which are critical elements to
making any gains personally or professionally.
What is unusual about communications and relationships?
What is unusual is that both have dramatically shifted away from the
usual. Much of the wisdom about relationships and communications is old
but our culture and markets have rejected age old wisdom choosing
instead to discount relations and propagate meaningless communications
aimed at manipulating markets, relationships.
Markets are moving because the market behavior has changed. Change
can be good if you know what is changing and choose to adapt, adjust
and use it to your advantage.
Below are some trends provided by trendwatching.com that reflect the changes happening around us and our businesses.
Forget the recession: the societal
changes that will dominate 2010 were set in motion way before we
temporarily stared into the abyss. More »
Urban culture is the
culture. Extreme urbanization, in 2010, 2011, 2012 and far beyond will
lead to more sophisticated and demanding consumers around the world. More »
Whatever it is you’re selling or launching in 2010, it will be reviewed ‘en masse’, live, 24/7. More »
Closely tied to what constitutes
status (which is becoming more fragmented), luxury will be whatever
consumers want it to be over the next 12 months. More »
Online lifestyles are fueling and
encouraging ‘real world’ meet-ups like there’s no tomorrow, shattering
all cliches and predictions about a desk-bound, virtual, isolated
future. More »
To really reach some meaningful
sustainability goals in 2010, corporations and governments will have to
forcefully make it ‘easy’ for consumers to be more green, by
restricting the alternatives. More »
Tracking and alerting are the new
search, and 2010 will see countless new INFOLUST services that will
help consumers expand their web of control. More »
Next year, generosity as a trend
will adapt to the zeitgeist, leading to more pragmatic and
collaborative donation services for consumers. More »
With hundreds of millions of
consumers now nurturing some sort of online profile, 2010 will be a
good year to introduce some services to help them make the most of it
(financially), from intention-based models to digital afterlife
services. More »
2010 will be even more
opinionated, risqué, outspoken, if not ‘raw’ than 2009; you can thank
the anything-goes online world for that. Will your brand be as daring? More »