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.

All about growth!

Decoding Tomorrow: Daily Inspiration – Global Economy: "Stability. Reliability. Predictability. Clarity. This is now the foundation of the new 21st-century economy."

"Stability. Reliability. Predictability. Clarity. This is now the foundation of the new 21st-century economy." - Futurist Jim Carroll It's been fascinating to watch the speed…

Decoding Tomorrow: Mastering 2026 – #24 Trust Capital: "In an era of synthetic perfection, your flaws are now the ultimate watermark of your authenticity."

"In an era of synthetic perfection, your flaws are now the ultimate watermark of your authenticity." - Futurist Jim Carroll I'm back! And we're on…

Decoding Tomorrow: Your Daily Future Inspiration – Innovating in Uncertainty: "Every good moment of uncertainty demands the certainty of action!"

"Every good moment of uncertainty demands the certainty of action!" - Futurist Jim Carroll You can pre-order Dancing in the Rain effective today! I've got…

Decoding Tomorrow: Your Daily Future Inspiration – “There is no shortage of big opportunities.. There is a shortage of bold leadership!"

"There is no shortage of big opportunities.. There is a shortage of bold leadership!" = Futurist Jim Carroll One of my fellow futurists recently included…

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;…

Daily Inspiration: Retail, Supply Chain, Logistics - "Bring on tomorrow!"

"Bring on tomorrow!" - Futurist Jim Carroll Like the sign says. Bring on tomorrow - because if you don't, your tomorrow might not work out…

Daily Inspiration: Economic Outlook - "The US consumer seems to have entered into a state of perpetual economic gloom. Some companies seem all too eager to follow them into the abyss"

"The US consumer seems to have entered into a state of perpetual economic gloom. Some companies seem all too eager to follow them into the…

Daily Inspiration: Volatility & Trends - "You'll never find your opportunity in the depths of your despair!"

"You'll never find your opportunity in the depths of your despair!" - Futurist Jim Carroll I'm down in Silicon Valley in California today, where I've…

Daily Inspiration: Leadership and Growth - "Real leaders don't try to cost cut their way into the future! (They reinvent!)"

"Real leaders don't try to cost cut their way into the future! (They reinvent!)" - Futurist Jim Carroll Really? Are we going to do this…

Daily Inspiration: Transformative Thinking - "If you are surrounded by transformative trends that are so big, why do you continue to think so small?"

Daily Inspiration: Industry Transformation - "A bold future abhors a timid mind!"

"A bold future abhors a timid mind!" - Futurist Jim Carroll The old automotive industry is disappearing; a new one is being born. The old…

Daily Inspiration: Economic Growth - "At what point will you realize you've wasted time preparing for an economic downturn that never happened?"

"At what point will you realize you've wasted time preparing for an economic downturn that never happened?" - Futurist Jim Carroll Have you noticed that…

Daily Inspiration: Business Transformation - "At some moment in time, you will come to realize that the future you thought had no longer exists!"

"At some moment in time, you will come to realize that the future you thought had no longer exists!" - Futurist Jim Carroll If you…

Leadership and Volatility: It's What You Do Right Now That Matters

History teaches us that those who move forward, fast, during periods of relentless uncertainty, are those who win. Futurist Jim Carroll on stage in London,…

Scary News Headlines?

Have a history lesson! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIbjbwez6pM&feature=youtu.be

Daily Inspiration: "The future of work? It's the skills you don't know about that you need to be planning for!"

"The future of work? It's the skills you don't know about that you need to be planning for!" - Futurist Jim Carroll What can the…

Daily Inspiration: "If you are letting all this recession talk defer your plans for growth, you're doing it all wrong!"

"If you are letting all this recession talk defer your plans for growth, you're doing it all wrong!" - Futurist Jim Carroll History has taught…

Video: Achieving Optimism - Learning from the Two Different Types of Farmers!

One of my favorite bits of insight I like to share from the stage concerns the story of the 'two types of framers.' Which one…

Keynote Topics 2023: Growth, Innovation & Creativity, Megatrends, Leadership and Acceleration

I just sent out my February update to all my speaker bureau partners - I'm represented by most of the major ones in the world…

Daily Inspiration: "If only the paranoid survive, it's also true that it's the chameleons who will thrive!"

You need to have a relentless focus on growth — RELENTLESS!

I was interviewed sometime last month by FoodProcessing.com – this was related to their discovery of the keynote I did for the Readers Digest / EveryDay with Rachel Ray team food industry summit in New York last fall. They ran a short article, “March of the New Machines: The Future of Food Processing” — and […]

When do you innovate?

The New Yorker has a great article out, “Hanging tough,” about how some companies choose to ensure that they stay innovative in recessionary times. That’s the theme I’ve been focused on for the last 8 months on stage. Here’s a clip from a recent Las Vegas event for a global organization, addressing the theme, “Innovators […]

Innovators Get Out in Front

On stage in Las Vegas, Jim challenges his audience to think about the importance of innovating in order to stay out in front of the recession.

Are you paying attention to your economic brand?

I had a long conversation with a Dubai-based journalist yesterday; he was seeking my insight for an upcoming article on what a nation, city or economic region should be doing to ensure that it can remain competitive in the global economy in these challenging times. I spoke to a wide variety of issues, but one […]

Growth strategies – What I’ve Seen From the CEO’s

Here’s a brochure extract from another upcoming conference. The theme : “Moving Beyond the Meltdown: Focusing on Growth Through Innovation.” It’s been a busy six months since the meltdown. Throughout this time, I’ve been keynoting events all over North America, for organizations and events large and small, focused on the theme of innovation and working […]

“Thriving in turbulent times ” – interview on Cognos Radio

IBM’s Cognos division has put up an interview with me on their BIRadio site, which focuses on business intelligence. The key theme of the interview: “Author and Innovation Consultant Jim Carroll explains how to avoid “aggressive indecision” and why now is the perfect time to forge ahead with new ideas”. Here’s an excerpt: Kelsey Howarth: […]

When Do You Innovate?

Another clip from a recent keynote in Las Vegas. Quite a few global organizations are bringing me in these days to inspire their leadership team to stay focused on growth, opportunity, and innovation. In this clip, I talk about these issues, and put some perspective on dealing with challenging economic times.

Focusing on growth in a perilous economy – how innovators win

There’s a lot of research that goes into every keynote and workshop I undertake. Recently, one key theme has been looking at how innovators break through the recessionary blues, and create new markets and revenue through disruptive innovation. This was the theme of a recent column that I wrote, “Keep Those Ideas Coming.” While preparing […]

Recent keynote: Innovating for growth in the restaurant industry!

I was thrilled to be the opening keynote speaker for Yum! Brands 2009 Global Leadership Meeting. It’s the world’s largest restaurant company. The organization, the owner of such iconic brands such as KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, certainly finds itself in the midst of high-velocity change. There are fast paced trends in terms of […]

Avoiding the idea recession!

Cognos has run an article I’ve writen about the importance of not sliding into an “idea recession.” Here’s an excerpt: Given the economic challenges that swirl around us and the rapidity with which the events of the fall of 2008 unfolded, a unique and challenging mindset seemed to quickly envelope many organizations: corporate idea factories […]

Economic keynotes: “7 Things You Need to Do Right Now!”

I was in Louisville, Kentucky yesterday, as the closing speaker for the annual conference of the American Nursery and Landscape Association, This was a repeat booking; they had me in for a management clinic in Vail in 2006. I posted a blog entry, found below, on trends impacting commercial horticulture. This time, I mostly focused […]

Inspirational video clip – “Innovating during a recession”

I received the DVD of my closing keynote for the World Healthcare Innovation & Technology Congress today. It was a barnburner of a speech! The attendees had just encountered three wonderful days covering all the fascinating new ideas, technologies, methodologies and change that is coming to the world of health care. I spoke to them […]

Think growth! Getting ahead of the economy …

It’s 2009, and it looks like I’ll be quite busy with a number of organizations who are focused on innovating their way into the future. A few of the upcoming presentations include: the College Board — the organization that runs the SAT education testing system among other things. This will involve a keynote for a […]

Think growth! We get mail…..

I often get mail after speaking on stage to a group of people, or after hosting a small leadership meeting. Here’s one that just came in… As one of the behind-the-scenes people working at the conference….I was asked to pass along my feedback/reaction to your presentation. In fact, as part of my responsibilities, I edit/rewrite […]

Strategy for early 09 – Set bold short term goals

Some day, the graph at the right wont’ seem like something weird. Maybe today it does seem out of place. Yet I continue to notice that there are a significant number of executives out there who are “moving beyond the meltdown” stage and are pursuing active strategies to keep their team or group focused on […]

The plan for 2009? Think growth!

I’m keynoting a lunch tomorrow for a group of about 400 medical professionals. Their executive director saw me keynote a national conference of association executives two months ago. That particular keynote was on a Friday in late September — and the executives in the audience had just been pounded by a week of bad economic […]

CEO insight: “We’ve got the survival thing down. Now we’re into phase two.”

I was in a conference call yesterday with the CEO of a global organization; I’ll be doing a leadership session with them this winter. It’s one of several pre-planning calls that I’ll do with this client as I shape my remarks for their meeting. I love the clarity of the CEO mind. At one point […]

“I’ll pay you a premium if you can save me money!”

That’s the new value proposition for today, and you’ll do well to think about the phrase as you look to grow or maintain your top line. The number one concern for many organizations today (beyond mere survival for some) is cost reduction. If you can give them the chance to do this quickly, they’ll be […]

The economy and leadership: strategy meetings are happening NOW

I continue to see a lot of activity with inquiries and bookings for senior management / CEO leadership meetings. This confirms my belief, which I have been posting in this blog, that there are many organizations out there who are determined to stay ahead of fast paced economic trends. Here’s an example of a client […]

10 fundamental trends that don’t change with the meltdown

You and I know that the headline on the left is going to run in newspapers and mainstream media one day. The BIG question is when. So what are the trends that will drive future growth? Off the top of my head, there are several: growth markets will continue to emerge. Back in the 19th […]

Moving beyond the meltdown – linking opportunity to innovation

Here’s a brief clip from a recent event in New York City; I focused on the need to have a forward-oriented strategy given the recent economic events. Frame of mind — and the tone set by senior management — is a critical factor right now. I wrote about this in Ready, Set, Done, in a […]

Moving Beyond the Meltdown: Aligning Yourself for Growth Through Innovation

If you study the screen carefully to the right, you’ll note that the current slide from my deck states, “Time to market and corporate agility are the new corporate capabilities.” In other words, it’s your ability to keep an innovation-oriented focus in order to deal with the new challenges that surround you, that will define […]

The economy — what I’m seeing happen RIGHT NOW

This is quite unreal. A month ago, I faced a very busy September and early October, and was out on the road keynoting a wide variety of events – a leadership event for a global law firm; an economic development conference; a symposium on consumer trends; a commercial real estate conference; a leadership session for […]

The seven stages of economic grief – when do you innovate?

I was speaking with a client yesterday about an upcoming event in Palo Alto, California. We got to chatting about, obviously, the economic challenges that swirl around us, and the mindset that is quickly enveloping so many organizations. Here’s what I think is going on: there are many organizations entering a state of absolute paralysis. […]