Get a glimpse inside a technological crystal ball with Daniel Burrus at IWCE
Similarly, Burrus said it is important to differentiate between “Hard TrendsTM”—things we know will happen in the future—and "soft trends"—things that might happen in the future.
“Knowing the difference between the things that will happen and the things that might happen is part of how you get that certainty to move forward,” he said. “For example, ‘China’s economy will continue to grow in 2015.’ That’s what I would call a soft trend—we don’t know that.
“But we’ve got 78 million Baby Boomers that are not going to get younger. That’s a hard trend—they’re going to get older. It’s not cyclical; they’re going to continue to age, and they’re going to retire. If we know they’re going to retire, what should we do organizationally to help that situation?”
What to do with such information can differ for each organization. In the case of the Baby Boomer information, some organizations may decide to alter their offerings to cater to aging consumers. Others may look at their own workforce and develop mentoring programs for younger workers that better prepare the organization for the inevitable day when key employees retire, Burrus said.
Of course, in the technology field, knowing that a change is going to occur is only part of the battle. Often, the bigger challenge is trying to predict when the evolution will happen, so resources—time, manpower and money—can be invested wisely. Burrus said he will provide the IWCE audience with the tools needed to help make timing-related decisions.
“What I will give [attendees] are what I call the ‘digital accelerators’ that are accelerating change in every area, and it is a predictable acceleration,” he said. “I’m going to show them where it’s coming from, what are the accelerators, and how they can use those accelerators to get accurate timelines.”
Several times in this space, I have expressed my relief that I only have to write about what is going in the critical-communications industry, because making network decisions today appears to be more complex than ever. If Burrus can help bring some clarity to the choices that industry leaders from all sectors have to make, it will be very beneficial to those in attendance. And, remember, the keynote speech from Burrus is just one part of a powerhouse lineup of educational opportunities that will be available throughout the week of IWCE 2014.
