JimCarroll

“Looking back can give you regrets. Looking forward will provide you opportunities!” – Futurist  Jim Carroll

“A motivational speaker will inspire you for an hour. As a futurist, I will motivate you for forever!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

‘’ This photo is from my keynote in Amelia Island, Florida, for a talk on the future of healthcare, just this Wednesday morning. It was taken by someone on their iPhone 8 – Carrie Nelson – and the picture quality is great!
Crowdsourcing! Before I get on stage,I circulate among the front row, find out who has good quality phones, and recruit them in my daily quote mission by asking them to take some photos! I send them a book by way of thanks. This has worked out to be a huge amount of fun!

The quote? It summarizes a key observation I have as someone who has spent 25 years on stage. Lots of organizations seek that quick-hit fix of a speaker who will inspire their audience with some great story: and the audience is inspired, brought to tears, cheering with a standing ovation!
That’s great and an important message – given the complexities of our world today, people need lots of inspiration. But on the other hand, the message might not last long if the speaker doesn’t have real content. I’ve seen a lot of speakers in my day whose message is a little bit like Chinese food : you are hungry for more in about an hour.

On the other hand, my talk with terrify you, scare you, and leave you stunned, since I’m dealing with real trends and issues that come with something we will all be impacted by: the future.
And if you are really listening, my talk will motivate you to take the actions to pursue the opportunities that the future presents, rather than worrying about the challenges it will throw in your way!

A little bit lasting, and a little bit motivating, perhaps!’’

“When the world gets flat, put a ripple in it!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

Check out the hair! It’s flat! And so this one is here as a shout-out to my hair guy, Fehmi @preludesalonandspa ! I figured he would wonder – what happened to Jim’s hair???? (The photo is from an event in London, England last year. I know it was early in the morning, and I was suffering from jet lag, so maybe there was some of that…) Ignoring the hair, there is a real business issue here that I’m speaking about – what to do when the world gets flat! I’ll often talk to global organizations about opportunities for innovation when so much of their market is determined by the “China price” -and competing in a world which has suddenly and dramatically changed.

I’ve realized that once people get the ‘flat’ part of this new economy, they are quite mystified as to what to do next. To me, the path forward is simple: if your world has become flat, put a ripple in it! Take a different path by stirring the waters!

Change it! Do something different. It’s not just cost that is important — there’s lots more….. such as focusing on service, value, changing your role or nature of the product.

That’s what innovation is all about — taking inertia and turning it into velocity. And so, I have a list of what to do when the world gets flat – read it here:

This ‘post-flat’ strategy It’s a frequent theme – I even spoke to the issue at my event in Tokyo last October. In this video, I speak about the mindset and strategies to avoid this vicious hell – in this case in front of a group of optometrists!

“Trends are like fickle friends. You need to pay attention to them;
if you don’t, it might not work out well!” – Futurist  Jim Carroll

The Story Behind the Quote

‘’ Well, this quote arrived in my head early this morning, because it perfectly fits my day! I’m in Jacksonville, FL, and in a few hours I will go on stage and speak to a bunch of senior executives for major health care insurers.

And the headline yesterday in the New York Times sums up their new reality: “Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Team Up to Try to Disrupt Health Care.” These are the very companies that will be impacted by the big, bold thinking underneath the headline. Clearly their world will be rocked by innovation coming from many new initiatives like this, and they will now have to work hard to ensure they have the agility to respond.

Yet here’s the thing: futurists like me have been talking for years that we would see disruption in every single aspect of the healthcare insurance industry, and I’ve been specifically talking for years about the potential for Amazon to do something fascinating in the sector.
And it now seems that we are on the edge of this reality. And so while no one is quite certain what this new initiative represents, one thing is clear: Change continues to come and its coming fast!’’

“Your future starts with your imagination!” – Futurist  Jim Carroll

‘’ And I’m convinced the next generation has a different level of imagination, as seen by Baby Einstein in this stage shot. This photo is a mainstay of every keynote – its in a section where I compare the attitudes that Baby Boomers have towards change, driven by their early exposure to technology such as COBOL, BASIC, MSDOS and punch cards!
Kids have never seen that ugly side of tech, and I remain convinced are less encumbered by legacy.’’