Insight Index

JIM’S INSIGHTS

Futurist Jim Carroll has quickly become recognized as your ‘go-to source’ for effective insight on what comes next, the strategies that you consider, and the leadership path you need to follow.

TRENDS INSIGHTS

What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You!

Daily Inspiration: Trends & Timing – “Recognize that every major trend first involves huge short-term risk but is often eventually followed by a massive upside!”

“Recognize that every major trend first involves huge short-term risk but is often eventually followed by a massive upside!” – Futurist Jim Carroll One of the most important things to realize about any future trend is that it can be pretty difficult to achieve any opportunity from it until it matures. That means that in […]

Daily Inspiration: Leadership & Trends – “The new art of foolproofing now involves proofing yourself against an increasing number of fools!”

“The new art of foolproofing now involves proofing yourself against an increasing number of fools!” – Futurist Jim Carroll Gosh, it’s just weird out there, isn’t it? Remember this post a few months ago? “When the future becomes a culture war, watch the trends. Not the noise” I found myself writing this: It’s a weird […]

Daily Inspiration: The Economy and Innovation – “Markets are not trends!”

“Markets are not trends!” – Futurist Jim Carroll Some wild headlines yesterday: In that context, I shared this image with one of my sons yesterday; he’s an investment advisor and works in the wealth management industry. I imagine he will have a busy day with a bunch of scared clients. All of this is to […]

Daily Inspiration: Globalization & Politics – “Success in the next global economy will never come from chasing the ideas of the previous one!”

“Success in the next global economy will never come from chasing the ideas of the previous one!” – Futurist Jim Carroll Here we go again! History regularly has us this in these moments where we are surrounded by those who think progress involves going back to where we were, and those who believe that we […]

Daily Inspiration: Innovation & Agility – “Innovative organizations work to narrow the gap between opportunity and action!”

“Innovative organizations work to narrow the gap between opportunity and action!” – Futurist Jim Carroll Let’s talk about gaps. Are you falling behind? Back in 2019, I began sharing on stage the idea of what I called the ‘Acceleration Gap,’ noting that the speed of change driven by fast trends was starting to outpace the […]

Daily Inspiration: AI Megatrends – “It’s not the hot trends that matter, it’s the transformative ones!”

“It’s not the hot trends that matter, it’s the transformative ones!” – Futurist Jim Carroll Have you ever come to realize that it’s usually while you are watching the really hot trend, the really important trend you aren’t watching is unfolding at speed? That’s certainly been the case with AI – while everyone has been […]

Video: AI In Healthcare, Medicine, and Pharmaceutical Trials

A video clip where I’m on stage in Dublin, speaking for KPMG Ireland, on the impact of the “AI Megatrends” on the future of healthcare. AI is bigger than large language models – and this clip puts into perspective the disruptive impact of AI on healthcare, medical, and pharmaceutical trials.

Daily Inspiration: AI & Construction – “Construct your opportunities by demolishing your fears!”

“Construct your opportunities by demolishing your fears!” – Futurist Jim Carroll Here’s a fun one I’ve got coming up in October! Five Chicago area construction associations representing unionized workers are bringing me in for a talk on the impact of AI in construction. I’m eager to put into perspective the reality of the future for […]

Keynote: AI In the Supply Chain – BNSF Railway – Fort Worth, Texas

A Warren Buffet company! They brought Jim in for a talk at their annual key customer conference – in the room were representatives of most major retailers, as well as logistics companies like FedEx and UPS. Jim took a look at the next-generation AI and its impact on the supply chain, including AI trends involving […]

Daily Inspiration: Leadership & Trends – “When the future becomes a culture war, watch the trends. Not the noise”

“When the future becomes a culture war, watch the trends. Not the noise” – Futurist Jim Carroll It’s a weird time to be a futurist – have you noticed that the future has become a culture war? While you deal with the realities of science, technologies, trends, and tomorrow, large groups of people seek to […]

Daily Inspiration: Automotive Industry & Skills – “Yesterday’s knowledge won’t cut it in tomorrow’s world”

“Yesterday’s knowledge won’t cut it in tomorrow’s world” – Futurist Jim Carroll I asked an AI to draw a picture of a car from ‘the olden days,’ and this is what it imagined. It might be more complex than vehicles actually used to be! But let’s talk about cars. By the time you are reading this, […]

Daily Inspiration: Upcoming Keynote – “Never hesitate to take on the tough stuff!”

“Never hesitate to take on the tough stuff!” – Futurist Jim Carroll In some situations, people are eager to take on the message of change; in other cases, not so much. That doesn’t mean you should try to avoid the latter. There are a. number of keynotes coming up from now through the fall of […]

Daily Inspiration: Workforce trends – “Retirement? It’s no longer a number, it’s a phase!”

“Retirement? It’s no longer a number, it’s a phase!” – Futurist Jim Carroll Years ago – many years ago, it seems – I wrote this into an article: “Are you ready for a world in which the concept of “retirement’ has come to an end? If not, you’d better be, as this is likely to […]

Daily Inspiration: Change & Leadership – “The future belongs to those who put in the effort to actually go there!”

“The future belongs to those who put in the effort to actually go there!” – Futurist Jim Carroll I went into the broadcast studio yesterday to film a voyage about yesterday’s inspiration, in a clip involving artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, and virtual reality – and how these trends all come together into a fascinating, accelerating […]

Video: “When we Start Building Gyms for Robots to Learn How to be Robots”

Futurist Jim Carroll takes you into a fascinating voyage involving artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, virtual reality – and how these trends all come together into a fascinating, accelerating future!

Daily Inspiration: Speed and Agility – “Be the cheetah, not the turtle”

“Be the cheetah, not the turtle” – Futurist Jim Carroll In Hawaii, you can swim with turtles. At the resort where I’m staying, all you need to do is put on a snorkel and a mask, and head out into the shallows, and you’ll meet up with these majestic creatures gliding gracefully through the […]

Video: What’s in store for the meetings and events industry in 2024?

What’s in store for the meetings and events industry in 2024? As a futurist, I had a look in this short video. From ‘drone shows’ to ‘event workflow software’ and ‘digital twin immersive site visits’ – and the impact of The Eras Tour on event expectations! – I take a look at a few key […]

Daily Inspiration – The Future of Construction : “…the big question is not ‘how can we change the way we do things today – it should be ‘how should we change the way we do things tomorrow!”

“The big question is not ‘how can we change the way we do things today – it should be ‘how should we change the way we do things tomorrow!” – Futurist Jim Carroll (Posting might be a bit later this week; I am in California for an event, on my way to Hawaii!”) Late last […]

Pre-event Promo Videos – Kicking it up a Notch!

As a meeting organizer, you want to make sure that you get people registering and signing up for your event. You’ve probably seen those clips where the keynote speaker is peering into their phone and are fiming a really poor quality clip. I’ve always decided to take things up a notch – and using the […]

Daily Inspiration: The Future and Change – “”Certain trends are inevitable. Your inability to accept them should not be.”

“Certain trends are inevitable. Your inability to accept them should not be.” – Futurist Jim Carroll The automotive industry strike and the role that electric vehicles are playing within is puzzling, but not surprising. The New York Times puts it into perspective. A battle between Detroit carmakers and the United Auto Workers union, which escalated on […]

Article: “How will AI affect the HR industry? HR futurist Jim Carroll weighs in.”

The folks at HR Director Magazine interviewed me for my thoughts on AI. Lots to think about here! How will AI affect the HR industry? HR futurist Jim Carroll weighs in ‘You are going to have to acquire skills in the future for jobs that do not yet exist’ BY Stacy Thomas 25 Sep 2023 […]

AI For Leadership Teams – Achieving Strategic Clarity

A short broadcast to get you thinking! Learn more here.

Daily Inspiration: AI & The Future – “Spend more time learning stuff that you know you might never understand.”

“Spend more time learning stuff that you know you might never understand.” – Futurist Jim Carroll Follow the edges. That’s always been my advice to many organizations that are trying to understand the future. It’s out on the edges – beyond the traditional world of R&D and discovery – that much of the future is […]

Daily Inspiration: Serendipity & Innovation – “”Great leaders encourage people to waste more time on uncertain projects with unknown goals that have unsure payback and indeterminate timelines”

“Great leaders encourage people to waste more time on uncertain projects with unknown goals that have unsure payback and indeterminate timelines. (Because they know it works.)” – Futurist Jim Carroll You probably know the traditional story about serendipitous innovation – that in the world of science, it’s the accidental discovery, the unplanned moment, the sudden […]