It’s US Open week @TorreyPinesGolf!
I had a keynote followed by a tee time pre-Covid – and filmed a clip that linked innovation in the golf industry to the speed of business change. (Yup!)
Learn more: https://jimcarroll.golf
“You should develop the audacity to create the unimaginable!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
My job is to encourage people to think big and bold, take big steps, and accomplish big things. To be audacious in everything they do!
That was the undercurrent of my keynote for a global packaging company that brought its leadership team to Prague six years ago to reimagine its future. Mondi is a large-scale European / Middle East / Africa / Asia packaging and paper company, and like any forward-thinking organization, they need to ensure they can disrupt their business before it is disrupted. After an exhaustive global search to find a speaker for this event, they arranged to bring me to the Czech Republic. The goal was a rock-paper-scissors solid talk on the trends that would define not just the future of their industry, but the industries of the customers they serve.
And what a future I presented – looking at the slide deck is like a voyage into the world of 2021 retail, manufacturing, and logistics! I spent a lot of time focusing on such trends as pick-and-pack curbside grocery pickup, direct-to-consumer business models, e-commerce, and online retail! I suggested to them a future world that would see a lot more innovation in the execution of retail as more consumers migrated their spending to the online world, and that this would present massive future potential in terms of packaging innovation. My path led them into a world in which they led their customer – major global retailers – into a world of relentless innovation, where the ‘package is the brand,’ and it’s no longer just a box or a bag, but an integral part of the product.
And of course, here we are today! We had no idea of just how significant the world of online retail would become through Covid-19!
Even so, the message was and is an important one – to thrive in the future, you need to reimagine every single aspect of your industry, marketplace, customer relationship, and product – and when doing so, don’t be timid!
Here’s a clip to get you thinking! It’s from a talk I gave for a global Siemens energy summit.
I’m telling the story about how the fact that we have ‘fitbits for cows’ is one of the trends that is leading to the acceleration of battery technology via drones – which impacts automotive, energy, and many other industries.
Do you really want to understand the future of just about everything? Read my 2017 post:
https://jimcarroll.com/2017/08/trends-the-future-of-just-about-everything-is-all-about-batteries/
“Every accurate prediction eventually becomes real!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
I predicted the Tesla business model at a meeting in Stuttgart, Germany in 2005; it was a global strategy meeting for the then-existing entity of DaimlerChrysler.
They laughed at me.
Lots of folks laughed at me in subsequent years as I spoke about a dealership business model that would upend traditional dealer systems; a world in which you would buy your car, sight unseen, on the Internet; about cars that essentially would become computers on wheels, receiving software updates to enhance functionality; the acceleration of battery technology and the inevitability of electric vehicles; autonomous vehicle technology and so much more.
A lot of folks have laughed at me over the years. LOL!
I got used to the laughter along the way. In my job, you have to, because you are often preaching to those who believe that the future they have today is the future they will have tomorrow.
Over the weekend, I finally ordered a Tesla Model 3. It will take quite a few weeks before it actually arrives since there are so many people now buying into a future that other folks were laughing at.
I’m looking forward to participating in the future that I have long talked about!
“It’s the unknown perils, the unforeseen hazards, that will prove to be your biggest risk!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
It was at the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, at an event for the National Fire Protection Association, where my keynote focused upon the future of fire risk, three years ago on this day.
The organization, representing the part of the fire industry most involved with safety and other standards, needed a fast 20-minute TED-style opening keynote that would focus on the new and fast-emerging types of fire risk occurring. They found me and were particularly intrigued by the keynote I had previously done for the National Fire Apparatus Manufacturing Association – essentially, the companies that build firetrucks and other firefighting equipment.
I put together a keynote that looked at the scientific, technological, construction, and architectural design and other trends that will challenge the industry with new fire risk issues in the future. New fire risk? Solar infrastructure on top of buildings, electrical vehicle batteries, hoarders, the rapid emergence of new chemicals and substances – the world of firefighting today is one that is immersed in the rapid emergence of all kinds of new risk.
Your future is faced with new risks, hazards, and perils, and it is your ability to navigate these perils that will define your success.
I love a great stage! As you can see by the photo, this was certainly typical of many that I’ve found myself on in Las Vegas over the years – by my estimates, I’ve done 75 keynotes there over the years. A great stage feeds into a great performance – here’s an edited 2-minute clip of my day in the office!
As with many events, I recorded a pre-event ‘teaser’ video to get the attendees thinking about issues long before I hit the stage.
Clients will often use this type of thing to generate interest in attendance at the event, and with the prevalence of social media in that effort, I chopped it up into 3 distinct, short, and to-the-point clips.
In perhaps the most fascinating part of this overall project – where do I get my insight on the highly specialized new forms of fire risk that are emerging? Much of it comes from the extensive research that I undertake – in this case, I sourced over 1,200 articles on ‘new fire risk’ from my online research service. But it wasn’t just that – it came from my golfing buddy, “Phil the Fireman!” I told the story of him on stage during the closing moments of my talk.
At stage check the day before, someone snapped a photo while the slide about Phil was up on the big screen.
Phil is one of 7 individuals featured in my upcoming book on reinvention – because his journey into the fire industry is a fascinating story in and of itself!
“Every great legacy should always be right at the edge of the precipice of reinvention!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
You can always enjoy all the success in the world – but you should never become complacent. Every business model changes, and you need to align yourself to that reality, reinventing your pathway forward. Don’t count on your legacy as a guarantee!
That was the key theme in my message for a keynote at NASA 8 years ago on this day. Pinch me moments! They happen at various moments throughout your lifetime, and you KNOW when they are happening.
In this case, I was invited to share my thoughts on the future, disruptive trends, and opportunities for innovation at NASA’s Goddard Space Center. Located outside of Washington, DC, it is the location for a massive amount of research, infrastructure management, and leading-edge program development. These are the folks who manage the Hubble Telescope, construct deep space probes and near-earth satellites, and conduct complex missions. Named after the pioneer of American rocketry, with over 10,000 scientists, researchers, and mission staff on staff, it’s one of NASA’s most advanced research laboratories. You’ll hear a lot more about in the year to come as the James Webb Telescope, set to replace the Hubble, is launched into far-earth orbit.
Why did they bring me in? Legacy is not a guarantee – like every organization, NASA must continually reinvent. The business of space at the time (and is) changing at a furious pace; they invited me in to challenge these deep-thinkers as to how to innovate, change and adapt within a fast-paced world. SpaceX, Blue Origin – the privatization of space that we see today was something these folks needed to wrap their head around back in 2013. The very nature of science and R&D was changing, as edge thinking, crowdsourcing and collaborative projects were coming to redefine the discovery process. The acceleration of pure science and the exponentiation of knowledge meant that even massive mind think organizations such as NASA need to reach for new collaborative, partnership opportunities.
These issues – and many more – were the ones that I put on the table in front of an audience of the team at NASA.
What a day! I took my oldest son, and as an added bonus, we got a special 4-hour behind-the-scenes tour! For two tech geeks like us, this was absolute nirvana – walking into a Level-10 clean room to see the process behind the manufacture of parts of the James Webb telescope; a tour of the massive infrastructure by which much of the worlds earth-satellite weather and imagery are collected; and even some time in the shake-and-bake room – featuring two massive 110 foot high speakers that simulate the sound of launch as well as a massive centrifuge (to subject small bits of satellite to the vibration of launch). It was heaven!
A pinch me moment1 They even had a special welcome for me at the main entrance, where 11,000 staff and contractors pass by every day!
This was the 2nd time NASA had booked me; I previously spoke to a group of astronauts, launch and mission directors, and various other manned space experts in an event down near Houston.
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