Over the past year, my work as a professional futurist has continued to evolve. I now speak more often about the need for intellectual humility; spend extra time helping clients reframe old questions, as well as asking new ones; and devote additional time to the vital tasks of reading, thinking and reflecting. The reason I…

We live in amazing times and our world is about to become even more amazing in the near future due to a plethora of game changing technologies. To understand why, it first helps to consider just a few of the technologies and trends that did not make my list: 3D printers, flying drones, low-cost robotics,…

In 2003, I authored a book on nanotechnology, The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business. In it, I speculated that self-healing materials would soon become commonplace and, to be honest, I was a overly optimistic in the timing of my projections. Nevertheless, LG has just released…

Tomorrow, I’ll be traveling to work with a large multinational corporation. In addition to delivering a keynote speech on future trends and “unlearning”, I’ll also be facilitating a session in which I’ll help them consider how they might begin conducting “business as unusual.” As a part of the process, I’ll ask a lot of questions….

Like millions of other parents across America, I spent this morning watching my son’s soccer game. On the sideline, not far from me, was the parent of an opposing player wearing a t-shirt that read “Fear Failure”. As a competitive person, I understand the sentiment behind the slogan but it is an awful message. If…

As a parent, I believe we must constantly encourage our children to nurture and expand the creativity with which they are all inherently endowed. Unfortunately, as Ken Robinson explains in this brilliant TED talk, many schools are unintentionally yet, nevertheless, ruthlessly and systematically killing our children’s creativity. Luckily, creative adults are coming to the rescue….

Yesterday, I shared how Google’s new “Project Glass” might soon allow users to receive real-time voice translations of foreign conversations and, thus, render the need to learn a second language unnecessary. Many people–especially pessimists–immediately grasp how the technology might cause some foreign language instructors to lose their jobs. This is overly simplistic. I’d also encourage…

Last week, I shared with you 10 ways Google’s new “Project Glass” might change the world around us. Smithsonian is now reporting that some clever innovators are already experimenting with the technology to deliver real-time foreign voice translation. The video below is a little slow and the wearer’s googles look quite unappealing but I encourage…

Last week, it was announced for the first time that old records outsold new records. As a futurist and business forecaster, this is noteworthy because while many people can grasp how the Internet, digitization and social networking are opening up a new future, they are simultaneously causing a growing number of people to be exposed…

With most of America now roasting through a horrendous heat wave, many people are undoubtedly coming up with innovative ways to stay cool. Few, however, are as innovative as the Ministry of Supply’s new self-cooling shirts. Take a look at the company’s introductory video and I think you’ll catch a glimpse of the future of…