Trend: The Future of Government Technology Infrastructure

I was thrilled to have been invited to address the 2015 Graduating Class at the University of North Carolina School of Government -CGCIO program in Chapel Hill the other day! It was part of a full day program which led to their graduation ceremony; I was invited in to challenge them to think of the opportunities and […]

What Will Golf Do With the Arrival of The Drones?

Sometime in the next few years, someone is going to arrive at a golf course, and have their entire round filmed by a drone up in the air overhead. It will follow them around via a GPS link ; their fellow players might be annoyed at first, but with the ultra silent motor, they’ll soon […]

Why Prague Matters….

I grew up during the Cold War. I remember the era of atomic weapons as a threat above our heads; I remember my Mom preparing for the end of the world with the situation in Cuba in 1963; she seemed very busy getting lots of extra water and food down into the cellar. I was barely […]

Trend Report: The Future of Trucks – Connected, Proactive and Data Driven

It was quite a thrill to be the opening speaker a short while ago for the annual Dealers Meeting of Volvo/Mack Trucks North America, in Dallas, Texas. My role was to talk about the future of transportation and trucking, and put in perspective how the reality today and going forward that for trucks, connectivity is the […]

Trend: The End of Life (Insurance)

Through the years, I’ve done a tremendous number of talks within the insurance industry, both the life and P&C (property and casualty) sides of the business. For years, it’s been a pretty slow industry. That’s all about to change — in a big way! Indeed, we might soon see Google, or Amazon, or some other […]

Everybody likes firetrucks! The lessons of upside-down innovation …

Of course everyone does, particularly young kids. And as you age, you still marvel at these roaring machines and the brave firefighters who command them. A few weeks ago, I was thrilled to be the opening keynote speaker for the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association annual conference in St. Augustine, Florida. In the room were key executives […]

Consumer Goods & Technology Magazine: 2015 Innovation Outlook

I’m thrilled that I’ve again been cover in CG&T Magazine’s annual outlook.  This marks 4 years in a row! This year my comments are short and sweet – I continue to believe that accelerating change with retail models, products, technology, mobile and just about everything else makes it difficult for organizations to ensure that their […]

Trend: The Looming Corporate Governance Strategy Crisis

There was an interesting article in the New York Times on Feb 18: “Careers: ‘Board Doctors,’ to Supervise the Supervisors — More companies bring in experts to scrutinize effectiveness of directors, creating a growth business.” (read the article) The article opens with the observation: “Amid unprecedented pressure from investors, more boards are tapping outside experts […]

Video: The Acceleration of Knowledge

Some years back, I worked on a project for Deloitte, which resulted in the video, “What Do World Class Innovators Do That Others Don’t Do?” It’s become a very popular video, and keynote topic. I’ve gone back and had a look at the raw footage, and there is some great stuff that wasn’t used in […]

Article: “The Need for Speed: Soon Come; Must Go…..”

“Of particular interest to your editor were the words—and the AK-47 speed at which they were uttered—of Jim Carroll” At this time back in 2007, I was the opening keynote speaker for the Cayman Business Forum. I had about 700 people in the room; international financiers, wealth managers, bankers. At the timel, Cayman was one […]

Being Agile: How Innovators Thrive in the High Velocity Economy

I did a keynote a few weeks back for a leading North American food company. It was a highly customized keynote, built around the theme, “Being Agile: How Innovators Thrive in the High Velocity Economy.” I think it took about 5 or 6 conference calls with senior executives at the client as I worked to […]

25 Trends for 2025 – PDF

I’ve put together a full size PDF of my “25 Trends for 2025” document – grab it by clicking the image below.

New Keynote Topic: The Internet of Things: Disruption and Opportunity in an Era of Pervasive Connectivity

Every industry is set to be transformed as an era of hyper connectivity becomes the new norm. The result? Massive business model disruption; the rapid emergence of new competitors; industries in which customers empowered with mobile devices control a wide variety of devices that are a part of their daily lives; unique opportunities for deep […]

Article: Going fast? The Future Will Be Faster

A few weeks ago, I was the closing keynote speaker for Potato Expo 2015 in Orlando, with a talk titled “

Trend: Mobile is Eating Retail

University Business Mag quotes me in 2015 Education Forecast

25 Trends for 2025 (Can you imagine how different your future might be ten years from now?)

This post was written in 2014 – and now, in 2025, it’s trending! As you read it, keep in mind that it’s 11 years old! On January 3, 2025, Jim wrote a post that looks at the accuracy – and lack thereof – of the 25 predictions he made in this post in 2014 about […]

Speed and agility in the retail sector

The rate of change in the retail sector is going from ‘fast to furious’ if you pardon the cliche. I’ll be outlining this issue when I speak to a small group of folks in the retail sector in New York in early January at an invitation only event. The problem? Most retailers are too focused at […]

Augmented Reality and the World of Retail…

Earlier this year, I was featured in the UK’s Retail NewsAgent 125th anniversary publication, with a variety of comments on trends that will impact the retail space, such as this quick quote which commented on the integration of Siri, automobiles and the shopping experience. I just came across this additional quote in one of the […]

Nomadic workers and the future of careers

Here’s a video clip from a recent keynote — during the Q&A, I was asked by one member of the audience about what happens to careers in a world in which ‘the future belongs to those who are fast.’ Here’s my response! There’s more on this topic in the Human Capital section of my website, […]

A really cool keynote summary!

Earlier this week, I was a keynote speaker at HealthAchieve 2014, one of the largest healthcare conferences in North America. My talk was centered around the theme of ‘Healthcare 2020.” I was thrilled to see that my talk was going to be ‘graphically recorded’ in real-time. Here’s the result! Click on the image for an […]

Video: The new acquisition of knowledge and the outsourcing of gaming!

In this clip, I’m doing the opening keynote for the American Society of Testing Professionals — and I am speaking about how the new generation of students acquires and ingests knowledge. Food for thought in terms of disruption of the education industry! What’s fascinating is the story I tell – how one of my sons has […]

Video: “A blistering page of innovation…”

Back in June, I was invited to open The BigM, a major manufacturing conference held in Detroit; I followed President Obama’s Treasury Secretary, Penny Pritzker on stage. There were about 1,000 folks in the room – this is a pretty significant conference that is focused on the renaissance that is North American manufacturing. This is […]

FutureVision’s Day-One Visionaries: Carroll, Thompson, Stone

A week ago, I had the pleasure to open the FutureVision, “an invitation-only event designed for the industry’s retail leaders, is an exclusive relationship-building event packed with industry insights.” I shared the stage with some pretty impressive visionaries! It’s a small, intimate 50 CEO level event held in Sonoma County, California, with the focus being […]