--- title: "Home – Main" description: "\"I align you to the future by proiding you with highly customized trends & industry research, delivered in a compelling motivational style”" canonical: https://jimcarroll.com/ updated: 2026-10-04T12:28:23+00:00 --- # Home – Main ## Jim Carroll · The Futurist Who Knows Your Industry ## Know What Changes Next. Move Before It Does. For over 30 years, Jim has guided the world’s most iconic brands through transformation, economic volatility, and industry upheaval. Today he turns AI, accelerating technology and industry disruption into a customized action map for your leadership team, grounded in deep research into your sector. **Thirty years of pattern recognition. 25–50+ hours of fresh research. One keynote built for your room.** **2,000+ keynotes · 2M+ audience members · 60+ countries** *Jim reads and answers every inquiry personally, usually the same day.* Clients Around The Globe - [BUILD A BRIEF FOR MY EVENT](https://jimcarroll.com/contact/) “Absolutely stunning. We know that retail and consumer behaviour is changing fast, but you really put into perspective with detailed insight – it’s obvious you did your homework. Not to mention that you inspired, motivate and energized those in the audience — all while ensuring they had a good laugh early in the morning. The best speaker we have ever had!” “Wow! That’s all I can say. Thank you for coming in on short notice, and thank you for providing one of the most concise overviews of the future of the broadcasting industries that I have ever seen!” “On behalf of the entire Innovative Technology Partnerships Office, thank you for your engaging and thought-provoking presentation at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. From the feedback we have received, the event was a great success. Thank you for sharing your insight and expertise with us!” “We were extremely pleased with Jim’s presentation… the content was bang-on and would hopefully prompt people to think about the rapidity of change going on in our world! Jim’s storytelling approach really helps to get his points across! He did a great job!” “An amazing ability to put into perspective the trends and reality of the transformation of the transportation industry. We’ve heard a lot of speakers on the hype involving the industry, but have never seen one put into perspective the future in such a fun, motivating but most important, strategic fashion. Extremely well done!!” “An outstanding presentation for an industry and association that falls on its traditions so often. We learned that our tradition should not be something that holds us back, but rather the launching pad for innovation for the future. Thanks Jim for your thought provoking presentation!” “We invited Jim in to give us an assessment of how our industry will change over the next 10 years. We have never seen a more compelling, concise – and motivating – assessment!” “A stunning keynote with extremely powerful insight. Humour, energy, deep research and relevant content for our audience. We loved him!” “Revenue reinvention. The acceleration of science. The transformation of industry. Every industry becomes a tech industry. Moore’s law dominates. I could barely keep up with the blistering pace of the change that is coming at us. You identified in a concise manner what we need to be focused on – and what we need to do about it!!” “We said we needed someone special to speak at our 100th anniversary dinner in Tokyo, and you delivered! The effort you put into preparing for your talk showed once you took the stage – and you commanded the room. We’ve worked with a lot of speakers over the years, but you certainly have something special.” “Jim , I’ve never seen a more powerful speaker on trends and disruption. Your use of stories, detailed research, captivating stage presentation style with humour and motivational guidance – you had it all! People need to see you!” “Great presentation, great perspective, EXCELLENT on all accounts.” “Outstanding. Very thought provoking which I believe was the intent” “It takes a lot to impress an astronaut. And I’m impressed! Thought provoking!” “I resonated with this speaker; it’s very hard, NASA needs more of this kind of attitude to more readily accept changes to explore/exploit opportunities” “Jim, not many people can come into a room full of lawyers and hold their attention, but you did. And your unique views on the ‘future of risk’ was a sobering reality check for these folks. You gave them both a realistic view of what they face in the future as well as practical insight as to what they should do about it.” “I have been working with Jim for the past four years, and, without question, he is one of the most dynamic speakers and professional partners I’ve ever come across. Our audiences (internal and external) love him, and he works wonderfully with our customers ….I’m willing to bet your first experience will lead to many, many more, as it has with SAP. I wish you the best with him …. book him before someone else does!” “We thought Jim was amazing – just the positive message we wanted to leave folks with!” “Stunning – captivating – challenging! You really got our global franchisees thinking about the fast future — I’m not sure if they will ever view the future in the same way!” “Wow! We thought we needed good insight into how we might be impacted by rapid changes in the business environment and consumer behaviour. We got more than we bargained for – not only concise details on key trends, but workable action plans as well. Jim really did his research for our event!” **“**You were superb! As we make changes your message could not have come at a better time. This group likes tradition but unfortunately that often gets in the way of moving forward. Thank you again for reminding us that our greater responsibility is to the future!” “Wow! So much insight in such a fast moving dynamic presentation. Everything you covered gave our top global leadership a lot of think about in terms of the trends which are changing our world!” “Jim, you definitely took us into the future. Your masterful method to combine the humour of your observations about the Jetsons, combined with real fast-moving trends was absolutely spot on. Our audience of key customers loved you!” “Wow! That was wild! 3 times wow! Your take on disruption, change and opportunity was spot on, and just what we needed for our largest event of the year!” “We wanted to open our energy conference with some really challenging insight. You took our group beyond that and delivered in a really compelling way – with a lot of humour and unconstrained energy to boot.” “You get it. You got it. Thanks for getting us thinking about the scope and challenge and what comes next!” “The feedback was incredible – what a home run! Everyone was raving about the energy, insight, motivation and compelling message. If the future is fast, we’ll be hurrying it up!” “Simply stunned. We wanted a keynote that would challenge us on branding, accelerated product innovation, fast consumer trends and more – and you delivered! Thank you so much!!!!” ### Researched. Relevant. Actionable. **Researched:** typically 25–50+ hours of fresh research into your organization and sector for every major engagement. The futurist who does the homework. **Relevant:** thirty years of pattern recognition, applied to the specific forces reshaping your industry. **Actionable:** every keynote ends with a practical action map for what your leaders should do next. Jim Carroll has been the trusted advisor to the world’s most influential organizations, including NASA, Disney, and The World Bank. He provides the insight they need to move forward with big ideas and bold action. His expertise is rooted in detailed, customized research, delivering actionable strategies for an era of relentless disruption. This focus on opportunity is at the heart of every keynote. Jim’s goal is to energize the room, shifting the audience’s perspective from a fear of the future to an excitement for its potential. Few speakers prepare for your industry the way Jim Carroll does. #### VIDEO: The Jim Carroll Advantage Thirty years of pattern recognition, plus current research into your industry. Here’s what that means for your event. #### VIDEO: Trusted by World-Class Innovators World-class innovators turn to Jim for insight on what comes next. Learn why NASA, Disney, Pfizer and the PGA selected Jim for their event. #### VIDEO: Leadership Meetings You thought you had time to prepare for a faster future – and then the explosive acceleration of all trends happened. Now what? I’ll show you the way! #### VIDEO: A Keynote As Unique As Your Challenges Deep insight based on extensive, customized insight – that’s what Jim Carroll is known for. ## Partial Client List [BOOK JIM](/contact/) [READ CLIENT’S TESTIMONIALS](/client-testimonial/) ## ACCELERATE INNOVATION, DELIVER GROWTH! In a world of relentless change, it is a given that you need to know how to align to tomorrow, today. That’s the insight that Futurist Jim Carroll will share with you. Imagine if you could accelerate your way into the future, by clearly aligning future trends, your strategic thinking, and your internal engine of creativity. Countless global organizations have engaged Jim Carroll for his unique insight and proven track record in providing a customized leadership program that will let you: - **SEE DISRUPTIVE TRENDS**: you’ll better understand the trends that will impact you in the near and longer-term - **FOCUS ON OPPORTUNITY**: you will achieve clarity on the trends that matter - **ALIGN TO DISRUPTION:** you will shift your thinking to the actions that matter - **UNLOCK CREATIVITY:** you will discover that it’s buried in your teams – and how you can let it out - **ACHIEVE AGILITY**: you will learn more about the role of fast-teams - **ENHANCE YOUR SPEED:** you will discover how to better align to our faster future - **ACCELERATE INNOVATION**: you will find ways to rethink your strategic pipeline - **COLLABORATE MORE:** you will maximize the benefit of your internal idea factory - **DELIVER ON GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES**: you shift from reactive defense to disruptive offense You will join the company of global leaders at Disney, Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, BASF, Nikon, and hundreds more who have found that Jim’s crystal clear trends and innovation insight take them into a world in which the future belongs to those who are fast! - [MORE ABOUT JIM](https://jimcarroll.com/about-jim-carroll/) ## Signature Keynotes: Know What Changes Next in Your Industry Every keynote is built on deep research into your sector, and ends with what your leaders should do next. Choose the brief that fits your audience; Jim customizes it from there. #### The Opportunity Horizon: What Changes Next in Your Industry, and What to Do About It **When the brief is:** our audience needs to understand what changes in our industry between now and 2030, and leave ready to act. Jim cuts through the hype to reveal the specific megatrends—from AI and economic volatility to supply chain reinvention and the future of work—that will define the next decade of your industry. Your team leaves with a clear framework to identify transformative opportunities, mitigate emerging risks, and build an actionable plan for growth. #### The AI Acceleration Advantage: What AI Changes in Your Industry, Your Workforce and Your Competitive Model **Not a keynote about AI. A keynote about what AI changes in your business.** **When the brief is:** what does AI change in our industry, workforce, economics, customer model and competitive structure? AI isn’t just a technology; it’s a total business transformation. Jim shows leaders what generative AI, machine intelligence and automation will do to their specific business model, and how to close the skills gap as the pace of change outruns the workforce. The result is a practical roadmap from experimentation to real advantage. #### Lead at the Speed of Change: Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast **When the brief is:** our leadership team understands change, but isn’t moving fast enough. Speed is the ultimate competitive advantage, and volatility is the single greatest opportunity for innovation. Drawing on lessons from companies that thrived during past downturns, Jim delivers a battle-tested playbook to foster agility, empower bold thinking and execute with precision. Based on his books *Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast* and *Dancing in the Rain*. #### Being Unique: Why the Odd One Out Gets to the Future Faster AI just handed everyone the same tools, the same data—and increasingly the same ideas. The result is a crushing sameness, and in a world moving this fast, sameness means arriving at the future last. In this provocative keynote, Jim makes the case that tomorrow never belongs to those who fit in—it belongs to the rebels and the odd ones out who refuse to conform and get there first. Based on Jim’s new book, *Being Unique*. - [SEE ALL KEYNOTE DETAILS](https://jimcarroll.com/signature-keynotes/) 2027 Briefs ## Don’t take our word for it. See the work. Generic speakers show you a topic list. Jim starts building your keynote around the world your audience actually inhabits. These 2027 Briefs show how a broad keynote idea becomes a deeply researched, industry-specific point of view. Board & trustee leadership ### Shaping the Future, Trustee to Trustee Making Better Decisions in a Faster World How a broad future-of-change brief became a focused conversation about governance, assumptions, judgment and the decisions trustees must make in a faster world. [Open the brief →](https://jimcarroll.com/2027-briefs/trustee-to-trustee/) Roads & infrastructure ### Paving the Future AI, Innovation and the Accelerating Future of Asphalt, Roads & Infrastructure From intelligent plants and data-rich jobsites to smart roads, automation, advanced materials and workforce transformation—a keynote direction built around the actual future of this industry. [Preview the brief →](https://jimcarroll.com/2027-briefs/paving-the-future/) Agriculture & food systems ### Farming 2036 Resilience at the Speed of Change How “resilient agriculture” became a systems view of the farm: biology, climate, data, economics, supply chains and people, built for permanent volatility. [Preview the brief →](https://jimcarroll.com/2027-briefs/farming-2036/) [Explore the 2027 Briefs →](https://jimcarroll.com/2027-briefs/) Proven on the world’s biggest stages ## In a world of big disruptive change, you don’t need to be chasing small ideas! Senior leaders at the world’s most demanding organizations turn to Jim Carroll to align their people to tomorrow. Jim right now ## Recent keynotes April 2026 · Agriculture & Food CPMA The Produce Industry Was Moving At Consumer Speed. Fresh Was Becoming Smarter. [Read the case study →](https://jimcarroll.com/2026/04/keynote-case-study-cpma-the-produce-industry-was-moving-at-consumer-speed-fresh-was-becoming-smarter/) February 2025 · Automotive & Transportation CADA 2025 The Dealership Was Entering The Age Of Digital Mobility. [Read the case study →](https://jimcarroll.com/2025/02/keynote-case-study-cada-2025-the-dealership-was-entering-the-age-of-digital-mobility/) November 2024 · Construction & Infrastructure DCA Construction Was Entering An Era Of Acceleration. [Read the case study →](https://jimcarroll.com/2024/11/keynote-case-study-dca-construction-was-entering-an-era-of-acceleration-2/) [See all case studies by industry →](https://jimcarroll.com/events-highlights/) Headline engagement ### The Prime Minister’s Office of the UAE The Challenge: A nation built to move faster than the world wanted a blueprint to stay out in front — across the economy, technology, the environment, society, and government itself. The Result: The UAE Prime Minister’s Office commissioned Jim’s bespoke keynote “The Future in 5 Perspectives,” mapping the megatrends to 2035 and the mindset a fast nation needs to lead. Invited twice NASA Shifting the mindset of astronauts and engineers for the era of space commercialization. The World Bank Helping a pillar of global development think decades ahead — including the IFC in Marrakesh. Disney Even a company built on imagination wanted an outside read on what comes next. Ahead of the curve Pfizer A keynote on the future of healthcare — months before those trends reshaped the industry. PGA of America Opened the Annual Meeting and keynoted the Merchandise Show — before 40,000 attendees. Volvo Navigating the biggest shift in automotive history — electrification and autonomy. The BBC A futurist’s read on the wholesale disruption of media and audience behaviour. Microsoft Where accelerating technology takes business, work, and industry next. World Government Summit On stage before heads of government for the “Fast Forward to the Future” session. Also on the client roster Johnson & JohnsonMercedes-BenzNestléVisaVerizonDuPontAccentureCaterpillarSchneider ElectricU.S. Dept. of DefenseWorldSkillsNational Australia Bank THE FUTURIST YOU HIRE WHEN THE AUDIENCE KNOWS GENERIC WON’T BE GOOD ENOUGH. CHECK HIS AVAILABILITY AND BOOK NOW! [LEARN MORE](/contact/) ## From the Stage to the Page: A Playbook for the Future Jim’s actionable insights aren’t just for the stage. They are captured in a series of influential books that provide leaders with a practical playbook for innovation, growth, and navigating uncertainty. This is the deep strategic thinking that fuels every keynote. - **Being Unique:** Why the Rebels, the Odd Ones Out, and the Crazy Ones Always Win! *(new in 2026!)* - **Dancing in the Rain:** A leader’s guide to growing stronger in stormy times.* (new in 2025!)* - **Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast:** Your playbook for momentum in the era of acceleration. - **Escaping Mediocrity:** The antidote to inaction and a roadmap to the extraordinary. *(new in 2025!)* - **Embracing Mediocrity**: A satirical masterclass on how to play small, think less, and stay comfortably stuck. *(new in 2025!)* [VISIT JIM’S A.I. SPECIFIC WEBSITE](https://jimcarroll.ai) Futurist Jim Carroll is regularly booked by CEOs and senior executives of major organizations to provide an opening or closing keynote, on a highly customized topic. Learn more! [LEARN MORE](/ceo-leadership-events/) ## EXTENSIVE, CUSTOMIZED INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC EXPERTISE *“How long have you been a farmer?”* asked one audience member of Jim after his keynote for a global agricultural organization. That’s a testament to the massive in-depth industry expertise that Jim Carroll carries onto the stage for his highly specific, information-rich, heavily researched industry keynotes. He has *extensive* expertise in all of these industries and can delight you with his background and share a list of the global clients within the industries who have arranged for his industry insight. - [agriculture](https://agriculture.jimcarroll.com) - [banking and finance](https://financial.jimcarroll.com) - [education](https://education.jimcarroll.com) - [insurance](https://insurance.jimcarroll.com) - [healthcare](https://healthcare.jimcarroll.com) - [automotive, trucking, and transportation](https://automotive.jimcarroll.com) - [manufacturing](https://manufacturing.jimcarroll.com) - [retail](https://retail.jimcarroll.com) - global economic development Need to know more? Visit Jim’s industry page -> [industries.jimcarroll.com](https://industries.jimcarroll.com) ## GLOBAL AUDIENCES Jim Carroll has done a LOT of international work; he’s presented in Dubai, São Paulo, Budapest, Sydney, Munich, Athens, Stuttgart, Prague, London, Paris, Brussels, Ghent, Stockholm, Zurich, Tokyo, Muscat, Mexico …. and in all of these situations, he has ensured that he is respectful of the audience in terms of pace, culture and local content, and translation requirements. Global experience matters. WORKING WITH A SPEAKERS BUREAU? Jim Carroll is represented by leading global bureaus, including the Harry Walker Agency, Washington Speakers Bureau, APB Speakers and BigSpeak. Booking through a bureau or direct costs the same. Bureaus and planners: [get the 2027 Planner Pack](https://jimcarroll.com/planner-pack/). BARACK OBAMA JIM CARROLL MICHELLE OBAMA GEORGE BUSH JIM CARROLL MAGIC JOHNSON ANDERSON COOPER JIM CARROLL RICHARD BRANSON ## GET IN TOUCH - [Jim’s Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/futuristjimcarroll) - [You’ll find Jim’s latest videos on Youtube](https://youtube.com/jimcarroll) - [Mastodon. What’s on Jim’s mind? Check his feed!](https://mastodon.futurist.info/) - [LinkedIn – reach out to Jim for a professional connection!](https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrolljim/) - [Flickr! Get inspired! A massive archive of all of Jim’s daily inspirational quotes!](https://www.flickr.com/futurist-jimcarroll) - [Instagram – the home for Jim’s motivational mind!](https://www.instagram.com/futuristjimcarroll/)