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By Alan K. Rudi
Success in business depends upon your ability to understand the “big picture”, referring of course, to the long term macro trends and changes that determine the future business environment. A good way to understand the macro trends and how they may shape the future is to learn from key information, key thinkers, see what directions the best businesses are taking, and the see the innovations on the horizon. This article is not intended to cover everything happening in the world. Presented here are brief summaries from some of the best thinkers and businesses for you to examine, along with some high level information. Click on each subject to see more specific, but brief, relevant content.
Executive Summary
Technology – The pace of technology development and commercialization in the next 25 years will likely be at a greater rate than experienced in the last 25 years, driven by the growth in global knowledge and markets, plus the research and development now occurring in many critical markets.
Healthcare – The cost of health care is still increasing faster than inflation, though the rate of increase is slowing. There are dramatic new potential drugs under development including personalized medicine.
Materials – New material properties will be engineered for a desired application via nano-technology and continued scientific research. Nano-technology will enable production of microscopic materials, components and systems.
Networking – Is in a new phase of innovation in which the network is more and more becoming the platform to deliver all forms of content, contributing to a further change in the way business is organized and managed.
Semiconductors - Will continue to increase the number of functions, speed of processing, and decrease cost that will enable entirely new applications to be developed.
Software – Envisions computer users interacting as naturally as communicating with people.
Telecommunications – An old industry is in the midst of a new revolution.
Some interesting business applications – Here’s a traditional business making a significant change today in how it operates as a result of technology and social changes, along with two other new ideas in-process as a result of technology developments.
Economy – Capitalism has proven to be the only social model that improves the standard of living for people and it is creating significant global business and social opportunities in the long term, but there are also significant structural issues that could derail long term economic growth.
Demographics– the aging of baby boomers will continue to materially transform society, especially in healthcare and travel. The problem is how to pay for an aging population.
Political– The landscape is characterized as an increased, if not unprecedented, partisanship in government processes that risk social progress and may challenge the free market system.
Business Thinking and Management – Businesses and people will need to continually develop their leadership skills and management processes in this era of increasing competitive intensity and change, or they may not survive. Expect to change careers 5 or more times.
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