Non-Obvious 2017 Edition. Rohit Bhargava

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СКАЧАТЬ teaching you a step by step approach to do this (Part I of the book), this 2017 edition also features original research presenting 15 new Non-Obvious Trends that will change business in the coming year. If you are a new reader to this book series, it might be easy to dismiss this list of trends as an expiring collection of ideas destined to be obsolete every 12 months when replaced by the next edition comes out. The truth, as the readers of earlier editions of these trends can attest, is that this has never been the case.

      New trends don’t make “old” trends irrelevant.

      Instead, from our research, we know that a trend will either continue to gain momentum… or it will not – but they usually move independently from one another. Some of the biggest trends changing the world of business today are ideas that we first identified and wrote about more than three years ago.

      Trends like the Rise Of Curation (2011) predicting how content creation would be the wave of the future in marketing, or Corporate Humanity (2012) to describe the importance of brand authenticity as a way to build customer loyalty or Powered By Women (2013) to describe the global shift toward women taking leadership roles in business. Each of these, when first published, were ahead of their time – but today they don’t seem nearly as contentious.

      These same trends that were once reasonably described as “Non-Obvious” when they were first published have, over time, become closer to obvious… and in some cases even fundamental. They matter more than ever, but they are no longer a surprise.

      To ensure that these trends are not abandoned before their time, last year I decided to include five previously published trends among the 15 curated for the report. The feedback on this choice from readers and clients was extremely positive, so you will see that technique repeated in this year’s edition.

      For each previously predicted trend, choosing to revisit and include it involved significant additional research, compiling new stories and often outlining some unexpected nuances or shifts in the meaning of the trend.

      In addition, one of the trademarks of this trend series has been a consistently humble willingness to shine an honest lens on ALL 105 previous trend predictions since 2011 along with transparent ratings for how they fared over time. You will find those “Longevity Ratings” in Part IV of this book. Next year our plan is to add a ratings and review panel to allow readers like you to have input into how past (and current) trends are scored to add even more authenticity to the process.

      Beyond the trend report, if you don’t want to wait an entire year before reading these insights – you are also welcome to subscribe to my “Non-Obvious Insights Newsletter” where I share 5-7 surprising and underappreciated stories every week. It is a wonderful community of storytellers, innovators, leaders and thinkers – and I highly value the time they spend reading the email every week. To join, you can visit www.rohitbhargava.com/subscribe and I would be honored to have you on the list.

      As an added incentive, all of my subscribers will also receive an exclusive “sneak peek” at my 2018 trend research nearly a month before it is publicly available and published.

      Finally, if this book sparks any new ideas for you or just gets you to think differently… I would love to personally hear about your experience or have a dialogue about them!

      I respond to all my emails, and I relish the chance to have a conversation with readers and leaders like you. You can reach me by email directly at [email protected] or pick the social media platform of your choice (Twitter, Facebook, etc) to connect with me there instead.

      My business card describes me as a trend curator, speaker, and “nice guy.” I invite you to test that last claim for yourself and look forward to engaging with you digitally or perhaps at an event in the near future.

      Thanks for reading this and enjoy the book!

      Rohit Bhargava

       Washington DC

       December 2016

       INTRODUCTION

      “I AM NOT A SPEED READER, I AM A SPEED UNDERSTANDER.”

      —ISAAC ASIMOV,

       Author, Historian and Biochemist

      Isaac Asimov was not just a science fiction writer.

      In his prolific lifetime, he wrote nearly 500 books on topics ranging from his beloved science fiction series to a two-volume work explaining the collected literature of William Shakespeare. He even wrote a reader’s guidebook to the Bible.

      Even though he was celebrated for his science fiction work, Asimov never defined himself in one category. When asked which his favorite book was, he often joked, “the last one I’ve written.” He wasn’t a scientist or a theologian or a literary critic. He was simply a writer with an incredible curiosity for ideas.

      Unlike other experts, he knew that the power of his thinking came from his ability to bring disparate bodies of knowledge together and add his own insight. In fact, he used to describe himself as a “speed understander,” a skill he clearly relied on to help him maintain a grueling schedule of publishing more than 15 books a year at his peak.

      What if each of us could become a “speed understander” like Asimov?

      I believe we can.

      The simple aim of this book is to teach you how to see the things that others miss. I call that “Non-Obvious” thinking, and learning how to do it can change your business and your career.

      The context within which I’ll talk about this type of thinking is business trends. For better or worse, most of us are fascinated by trends and those who predict them. We see these annual predictions as a glimpse into the future and they capture our imagination.

      There’s only one problem—most of them are based on guesswork or lazy thinking. They are obvious instead of Non-Obvious.

      This book was inspired by the landslide of obvious ideas we see published today.

      In a world where anyone is one button away from being a self-declared expert, learning to think differently is more important than ever. Observing and curating ideas can lead to a unique understanding of why people choose to buy, sell or believe anything.

      This book aims to teach you the skills to avoid the obvious and see the ideas, patterns and trends that others miss.

      A great trend is a unique curated observation about the accelerating present.

      Great trends are never predictions about the world 20 years from now. Those are most often guesses or wishful thinking. How many trend forecasters do you think predicted the rise of something like Twitter back in 1997? Exactly zero.

      Yet this doesn’t mean trends are useless. The most powerful trends can offer predictions for the short-term future based on observing the present. And knowing the short-term future is more valuable than you may think.

      Why Does Trend Curation Matter?

      Most of our life decisions happen in the short term, though we may describe them differently. You choose to start a business in the short term. You choose whom to marry in the short term. You change СКАЧАТЬ