Global Trends that will Change your Business – Like it or Not.

As a business leader, you own your company’s strategy.  But most of us get tied up in the day-to-day and, at best, are focusing on tactics that will see us through this quarter or this year.  The next few years are guaranteed to be full of big changes and therefore will present equivalently large threats and opportunities. 

So how do you get a handle on what’s coming? 

Start with trends. It doesn’t take a genius to spot trends, just the ability to step back and look at the world objectively. Trends start as ripples then build into waves and grow into tsunamis. The observant can spot the initial ripples, but the waves are there for all to see. If you look.  And the tsunamis, well, most people claim they never saw it coming. Paradoxically the bigger the trends, the harder they are to see coming. 

Over the last year, dozens of new trends have been triggered by covid such as WFH (work from home), DTC (direct to consumer), travel hesitancy, social distancing and so on. But there are many others coming. 

What to do. 

At your next leadership team meeting, set aside an hour or so to shift everybody’s perspective from tactical to strategic (likely a welcome change after the last year they spent scrambling to figure out the new rules). Ask the team to think about the major trends they see coming in the next three to five years. Select one or two and then ask how will this affect our business? What opportunities will it create for us? What challenges will it provide for us?   Ask how does this change your strategic plan? What can we do now that will prepare for this likely future? 

This process will help your team to:

• Think strategically
• Get in front of danger and opportunities
• Cause them to reflect on how today’s actions are lined up with the potential future
• Strengthens team alignment 

Here are some trends I have observed that I believe will dramatically change life and work as we know it:

• Electric vehicles will be ubiquitous
• Carbon taxes and/or carbon neutrality will be a big deal
• Intermediaries will be replaced digitally
• Concept of ‘office’ will not be ‘physical’
• Sustainable energy will dominate
• Cities will be home centric rather than office centric
• Unskilled labour will be automated

 Each one of these will create threats and opportunities for your business. I challenge you to explore them, add more and get in front of the wave. 

Would you like me to facilitate an online session with your team?

Send me a note to discuss. 

See you next time, 

Andrew