Beyond the nation state, as the gap between rich and poor widens, the middle class shrinks and more workers of the world make do with less, a new drive toward Involuntary Simplicity will build and support national self-sustainability movements. Moving beyond urban cities they can’t afford or boring suburbs of non-distinction, millennials in search of environments to raise a family...
Golden Opportunities
TOP TREND: MID-YEAR UPDATE 2016 FORECAST: The Golden Opportunities trend will continue to rapidly grow, particularly as merger/acquisition and consolidation rates increase as a result of cheap money. In addition, as the global economy slows, financially strapped enterprises will be gobbled up by stronger competition. Again, in an increasingly stressful business climate, survival strategies will trump innovation by focusing on the...
Trendpost
The birth of the Ontrendpreneur™ is the result of the takeover/merger-and-acquisition trend fast reaching a compression point. As products are eliminated from shelves because they don’t drive profits hard and fast enough, and services fall victim to the same logic, Golden Opportunities emerge for savvy entrepreneurs who identify underserved market niches and fill them. We explore this powerful trend in depth...
Ready to Explode
TOP TREND: MID-YEAR UPDATE 2016 FORECAST: As 2016 dawns, the factors are clear: The rise of the Black Lives Matter protest movement, spontaneous campus protests over race issues, the sharp increase in far-right movements in Europe in the wake of the refugee crisis, the growing likelihood that more and more voters worldwide vote against a candidate rather than for other...
Trendpost
In 2015, a surge of protest movements gained momentum. The rapid growth of anti-immigration and anti-establishment movements across Western nations has brought public protest back to the forefront. These are examples of mass movements that are coalescing around a single, overriding issue: Take power away from the globalization profiteers and central-bank bandits, and give independence back to We the...
Robots: A takeover in the works
TOP TREND: MID-YEAR UPDATE 2016 FORECAST: Robots will continue to take on human roles, both large and small, and for better and worse. Robotic cars park themselves, sparing us the anxiety of manual parallel parking on a busy street, but also robbing us of a skill; drones — flying robots — spy on our enemies, but also enable your neighbor...
Trendpost
Investment in artificial intelligence, robotics and virtual reality technology is going to create an investment cycle that will surpass, both in investment and market gains, the dot-com boom. This revolution in the expanding capability and affordability of robot and intelligent automation will grow exponentially. In fact, in the very near future, the investment opportunities will be as plentiful as robots...
Personalized City
TOP TREND: MID-YEAR UPDATE 2016 FORECAST: In 2016, growth trends for The Personalized City strengthen. It is defined by smaller living spaces augmented by innovative transportation, as well as entertainment and services networks that tie residents and their activities closely together to meet personal wants and community needs. In effect, the city becomes their living room, kitchen, playroom and more. It attracts aging boomers,...
Trendpost
Ontrendpreneuers®, developers and city officials will continue to partner to create The Personalized City, where experiences are as central to the quality of life as are conveniences. Technologies such as car-sharing and the emerging Internet of Things support this urban lifestyle that de-emphasizes possessions and highlights freedom, immediacy and connectedness. The trend — already established and accelerating in Europe...
The OnTrendpreneur™
Two trend lines are speeding toward collision, and they will create the dawn of the OnTrendpreneur™ — one is caused by the merger/acquisition craze; the other is the result of new technologies that are about to eliminate many traditional job sectors. Innovative, cutting-edge professionals who are first to identify and seize high-potential opportunities emerging in this dramatically shifting global economy will...