There’s been a lot! It will be great to go back!
The specified slider does not exist.
by JimCarroll
There’s been a lot! It will be great to go back!
The specified slider does not exist.
by JimCarroll
Think big! Most fast! Start now!
A selection of clips from the stage!
by JimCarroll
“You mean to tell me your imagination couldn’t imaginate more?” – Futurist Jim Carroll
Imaginate more! It’s an exercise for our mind! It’s actually a verb!
(transitive) To form a mental image of something; to envision or create something in one’s mind. (transitive) To conjecture or guess. … (intransitive) To use one’s imagination.
Our imagination is one of the most important tools that we have at our disposal to prepare for our future – it is the key to our insight, the energy for our optimism, and the fuel for our predictions. But some of us don’t do enough to stretch it, bend it, exercise it, and utilize it.
The result is that when some crazy new idea comes along, you think that it is a crazy idea – but the rest of us have been talking about it for many years. Your “crazy” is our reality.
Our imagination machines become even more challenged in an era of accelerating change – one of the key observations I’ve long made on stage is that while we thought the future was far away, it’s actually coming at us with more speed, greater intensity, and far more significant impact. If you aren’t prepared for it through your imagination, then you end up being surprised by what you see when it arrives – and are ill-prepared to cope with it.
That’s why my suggestion has long been to ‘imaginate more!‘ Spend more time to think about the crazy, science fiction-like ideas that might become a part of our future – because that is an important and critical exercise for your mind!
by JimCarroll
“It’s what you know that should exhilarate you. But it’s what you don’t know that should absolutely terrify you!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
Three years ago today, I found myself in New York City on a fabulous stage opening the global partners meeting for the legal firm Eversheds Sutherland – one of the largest global law firms in the world. I seemed to do a lot of such events – at one time or another, many leading global firms have had me in, including Baker McKenzie, the largest by headcount and revenue.
The genesis for many of these events can be traced back to a little trends piece I wrote way back in 2005, “10 Big Trends for the Legal Profession,” which I turned into a wonderful little PDF two years later.
Much of what I wrote about for that list came about as a result of the work I did as an expert witness in a federal court case in 2003-04: I was on the stand to testify with respect to the evidentiary value of the Internet in the courtroom, among other issues. I can get on stage in front of 7,500 people in Las Vegas, but I’d never take on this experience ever again!
The theme in many of these talks to the legal profession – and beyond, to insurance firms, risk management companies, actuaries, and professional service firms – has been the acceleration of unknown risk. To that point, in New York City, I put this into perspective in rather stark terms, by pointing out the arrival of all kinds of new legal issues that simply did not exist in years previous:
Now imagine a world, post-Covid, that is even faster. What risks are on the horizon? What challenges will they present? What fascinating new legal trends and opportunities will result? That’s the reality for the profession and the industry going forward.
It’s always important to get an audience thinking about the big issues they need to be thinking about well before I get to the stage. With that in mind, Eversheds arranged for me to film a pre-event teaser video: it’s a work of sober first thought! (LOL!)
What are the biggest issues with unknown risk? There are an extensive number of posts throughout my site, but here’s a good extract.
The challenge? Our new world of hypercharge, driven by technology, the Internet of Things, accelerating science, and other issues is leading us quickly into a new world of unforeseen legal challenges. Somehow, we need to minimize our risk from legal issues which we do not yet know exist. That’s a pretty tall order.
How do you mitigate against risk when you don’t know what that risk might be? How do you guard against legal issues that don’t even yet exist? How do you guard intellectual property for products you don’t even yet know you will invent? That’s the challenging reality of our new world of risk today.
Want some fun? At one of these events, I put up a list of 40 new areas of legal risk management that did not exist 10 years ago. Protecting shared 3D printing models of your new products that could be easily counterfeited. Drone technology and surveillance law. Genetic counseling laws, LGBTQ issues, fantasy sports league management, organic certification, and laws involving cannabis use in the workplace and place of business.
That’s a shortlist. There’s lots more!
by JimCarroll
“Look for the opportunities for change. Seek the possibilities from action. Watch for the perils of inaction!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
Creative vision is at the base of every new future – it’s the ability to think about what could come next that can provide you with a path forward. It’s your ability to get moving on the idea that will obviously turn it into success. But equally, it’s your inaction that could kill it in its tracks.
Inaction is the root of all evil: you can have a great idea, but if you don’t act upon it, it becomes a bit of nothingness pretty quickly. How many times have you said to yourself when you’ve seen some wonderful new concept: “I had the same idea!” “I was thinking the same thing!” “That’s exactly what I saw too!” These are all the signs of a missed future and squandered opportunity.
The difference between those who succeed and those who don’t?
Action.
Initiative.
Decisiveness.
Get moving. Because now’s the time!
by JimCarroll
As part of my ‘acceleration gap‘ theme, I hit the virtual broadcast studio and filmed a concise piece on what world-class innovators learned throughout the pandemic – and what you are up against if you don’t change!
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