Forecasting the weather seems like a hit or miss proposition. That makes me wonder if forecasting the future is any more accurate. Both meteorologists and sociologists use data, computer models, historical precedent, and any number of technological tools to produce scientific projections. Yet both nature and humans can be capricious and quite subject to change.
I viewed the clip below along with hundreds of business professionals at a recent meeting on economic development in our region. It stirred up the activist any me. Vision is powerful. From my seat, if I don’t like what I can see coming, I’m going to stand up and do what is within my realm to do to promote change.
Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind was published in 2006. He proposed that we are in a shift from the information age, an age of incredible abundance, to an era when high conceptualization will take on new importance. Since the statistics in the Did You Know? video estimate that 50% of all jobs will be replaced with artificial intelligence (i.e. computers), it seems Pink has an accurate handle on the shift we are in.
One of my keynote messages is on how to navigate change. If for some reason you are hanging on to some notion that you are not going to be required to change – in significant ways – in the years ahead, the next three minutes are going to invade your comfort zone.
As you look to the future, you can consider prognostications like those in this video, and then map what YOU want to see. The next step is designing a plan that leads to the outcomes you have pictured. Whatever area you are called to – whether it’s business, government, media, education, finance, or another field – you can be a world-changer. For some, that might mean global influence. For others, it’s influencing a family or an organization. It all counts!
This glimpse into the future might very well an ignition switch for you.