Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The Futurist: Ten Forces Driving Business Futures

An article in the July-August issue of The Futurist magazine by Michael Richarme, from the market research firm Decision Analyst Inc., identifies the top ten social trends of the next 20 years, with implications for business:
1) the emergence of China as the world's largest economic power;
2) global demographic and migration shifts;
3) energy and water shortages;
4) managing waste, reusing products;
5) falling education standards, less-skilled thought leaders;
6) brand relationships intensify;
7) instant gratification shopping;
8) on-demand media;
9) customization, personalization, and community experiences; and
10) youth rules.

The July-August issue of The Futurist has other articles of interest, including "The automation of invention," "Assessing global trends for 2025," and "A rendezvous with austerity: American consumers are about to learn new habits." The magazine (full-text, PDF) is available through the USF subscription to the Academic Search Premier database. You can search the magazine or database as needed, or set up an alert to have the table of contents delivered to your email inbox for each new issue.

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