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!

The Future Belongs to Those Who Are Fast!

The future belongs to those who are fast — Jim Carroll, from the opening to a keynote to an audience of thousands in Las Vegas!

“….ask Siri where you can buy a dozen eggs….”

The folks at the UK’s Retail News publication recently interviewed me on the future of retail; I’ll be featured in their upcoming 125th anniversary edition coming out in mid-July. They’ve just run a teaser for the article on their Web site. I promise to put up a full version of the article when it appears; […]

Video: “Insurance 2020: Challenge and Change!”

Here’s a clip from a recent keynote for an insurance association at their annual conference in New Orleans; I’m speaking about the challenges that emerge in the industry as the pace of innovation in the world of insurance shifts to Siilcon Valley, and a new generation of mobile-enabled customers demand different methods of interaction.

Two Types of Farmers: What We Can Learn from the World’s Oldest Profession!

Caught your attention, didn’t I, and you obviously want to point something out to me! But now that I have your attention, think about the honorable profession of farming — it’s been around almost since the beginning of time. And it’s a profession that has involved a lot of trial and error; failure and success; […]

Video: “The Virtualization of Healthcare”

Here’s a quick video clip from a health care keynote in Houston; I’m speaking about bio-connectivity and the trend towards the virtualization of healthcare.

“Win a Seminar With the Monster Motivator!”

Way back in 2003, Monster.com ran a promotion which offered the winner — a corporate organization — the chance to bring me in for a customized talk on future trends. I showed my kids (then 8 and 10 years old) the ad. They were not impressed. Why do I post this now? My wife and […]

Trend: Measuring and Testing the Acquisition of Knowledge

Microsoft runs one of the largest training and certification communities in the world, related to its Microsoft Developer program. And they certainly “get knowledge” ; indeed, I often use a quote from the organization that outlines their belief that in the future, half of GDP will be generated from knowledge acquisition and education. That’s why […]

“Business Mantra for the Future … Think Fast. Act Faster!”

Back in February, I was the opening keynote speaker for 2014 Ameriquest National Symposium, speaking about trends related to transportation, infrastructure, fleet management, business model disruption — you name it! Bridget Fediuk is the Marketing Manager for NationaLease, and is responsible for overseeing the marketing of NationaLease meetings and events, the NationaLease NEWS, Webinars, and […]

Trends: Restaurants – “…we’ll be processing payments from our car dashboards…”

A few weeks ago, I was the opening keynote speaker in Las Vegas for the 2014 Multi-Unit Restaurant Technology Conference (MURTEC). In the room were folks responsible for the technology investments of a vast number of major fast-casual and quick-service restaurant companies. The attendee list featured some of the largest such organizations in the world, as […]

Trend: When Every Company Has to Innovate As Fast as Apple Does!

The CEO’s are starting to notice. That is, a lot of my clients (I do a lot of private, corporate off sites with major companies in addition to my conference and association keynotes) that the speed of change in their industry is increasingly being dictated by the speed of innovation of companies in the technology […]

Trend: On The Future of Manufacturing

At the end of the month, I’ll be the opening keynote speaker for the Camstar Global Conference 2014, in Orlando, Florida. I will be focused on the theme of the acceleration of product life cycles, the need for new, fast paced manufacturing methodologies, and the issue of what happens as every industry is aligned to […]

“George Jetson, Spock and the Scanadu Scout”

Another video clip, hot off the press from a keynote I did for 2,000 in New Orleans a few months ago. My apologies to Scanadu – the project isn’t happening at NASA’s JPL, it’s over at Ames.

Retail Trends: “Apple has completely eliminated the cash register”

The folks over at DealNews gave me a call to chat about a few of the trends I see occurring in the world of retail. My main comments? “From an interaction perspective, Apple has completely eliminated the checkout line,” says Jim Carroll, a retail futurist trends and innovation expert based in Toronto. “Cash registers have […]

“It’s time to take George Jetson seriously….”

On Monday, I was the opening keynote speaker in St. Louis for an event for the National Rural and Electrical cooperative, and spoke about a variety of energy trends. And, as always, I had some fun with the audience while doing so! The folks over at Electric Co-Op Today reported on my keynote. A fun, […]

Jim Carroll named as one of 75 experts in Consumer Technology Magazine “The 2020 Imperative”

Each year, Consumer Goods & Technology Magazine puts together an issue that peers into the future. I’ve been named one of their esteemed visionaries in the past, and again this year for their 2020 Imperative issue. Here’s the opening comment from the magazine: any my insight is shared below that. “It’s no secret that consumer […]

Innovation Takes Root 2014: NatureWorks Conference….

It was a bit of a whirlwind the last two weeks, with keynotes in Anaheim (medical device industry), Phonenix (top farming producers) and two in Orlando (the first being for Ameriquest; more on that to come. The other event I opened in Orlando was for the 2013 Innovation Takes Root conference with Natureworks; they’re the […]

Article: “The Power of One” — From “Think and Grow Rich”

I’m covered in the January / February issue of an Australian publication, Think and Grow Rich. It’s oriented toward franchise operations. Enjoy! The Power of One from Think and Growth Rich January/February 2014 Despite a small slump in figures during the Global Financial Crisis, franchising has come out of the mire relatively unscathed and in […]

Article: The fast future is here: How innovators are driving emerging markets

Last autumn, I was the luncheon keynote speaker for the Electronics Representatives Association in Chicago. This is a group of folks who act as middlemen between a vast number of large and small electronic/equipment manufacturers and their eventual sales targets — other manufacturing companies. My focus : how a world of fast change in manufacturing, […]

Pulse Magazine interviews me on the ‘pulse of innovation!’

I’m interviewed in this months “Pulse Magazine” — it’s the official publication of the International SPA Association. Click the image for the PDF — you might find it a useful read!

Article: What’s in Store For Canada’s 2014 Babies?

Running in the Ottawa Citzen, Vancouver Province and other papers today is this article, which offers more food for thought about what the future will be like for babies born in 2014. Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see. “– American author and cultural critic Neil Postman Almost […]

What My 2013 Means for YOUR 2020!

It’s been an incredible run! 2013 proved to be another fun year with a number of keynote presentations and workshops, once again in a vast number of different industries. Usually, at the end of every year, I write a ‘trend report’ related to key trends that will impact you in the future. You’ll find some […]

In the UK Sun today: “100 not out: How your baby will reach its century”

It’s that time of year when all kinds of media are running their ‘looking into the future’ articles. I took a quick call for an interview yesterday with The Sun UK newspaper, and this was the article that ran today. The Sun sits behind a pay wall, and the article isn’t available online, but I […]

What a fun way to end the year!

With about 125,000 air miles, and about 50 events, my 2013 speaking year has drawn to a close. It was a wild one — clients like NASA’s Goddard Space Center, where I spoke to an audience of astrophysicists and other scientists; Sandia Nuclear Laboratories, where I literally had a room full of nuclear engineers, to […]

Article: How Associations Can Keep Up with Change, Change … And More Change

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed by the Membership Management Report about some of the trends and issues that association executives should be thinking about. This came about after their online search discovered the Associations category of my blog. I’ve written a tremendous number of articles about the trends and issues that associations should […]