Global Trends June 24, 2016
Digging through the mountains of data to determine which trends will impact your business, brand, industry, market, and customers can be tedious. Trends that impact society and change the course of history occur in the background behind the noise and buzz of the latest fads. These trends are invisible and often go unnoticed.
Since the beginning of humanity, society has always experienced macro and micro cycles created by technological advancements and global immigration. Once again, we find ourselves navigating through a significant, evolutionary shift from an industrial world to a global digital village.
New technologies, business models, behavioral changes, and corporate working arrangements such as “if your business offers employees cubes or open space” are all cyclical fads that change, like the business buzz terms we use or the music we purchase.
Two global trends we believe in having the most impact are how society perceives change (digital transformation) and how this perception of change influences decisions made about the future. Perception is reality and the underlying reason for all the decisions we make in our personal lives and at work.
Our politics, media stories and Facebook feeds display how we perceive the future and how we will operate as a global economy and society. So think for a moment – how does your team view the end: positive, negative, or both?
Understanding how this perception determines your customers, clients, and vendors’ decisions are crucial for businesses to grow and remain sustainable.
Key Global Trends
There are two global trends that I believe are important to note. First, how society perceives change (digital revolution) and how this perception of change influences individuals (employees and management) decisions about the future.
Perception is reality and the underlying reason for all the decisions we make as individuals, business owners, and employees in our personal lives and at work.
Our politics, media stories, and social media feeds show how we perceive the future, positive or negative, and how we operate as a global economy and society. Businesses must look for hidden patterns and subtleties to determine the actual trends. When we focus on the chatter, we will see the big-picture.
Businesses must identify actual economic and social trends and how customers’ perceptions of reality can alter an industry overnight.