Think: This past summer, I keynoted a number of banking events, including addressing the Minnesota and Wisconsin Bankers Association as well as the University of Wisconsin’s Graduate School of Banking. At the later event, I met Larry Grant. Larry wears many hats but he regularly host’s Today’s Banker Digest and we recently collaborated on a short interview discussing how to prepare for–and think about–the future. The 5-minute video can be viewed here.

Think Big: Much as been written about the future of work. One often overlooked element of the discussion is how technology will continue to improve and make both remote work and video chats even better. I encourage you to read this article on Google’s new Project Starline to better understand the technology. The accompanying video can be accessed here.

Think Bold: Gene editing technology holds great promise. Last year, researchers used the technology to cure a woman with sickle cell anemia. Now, another team of researchers are exploring how to use the technology to cure HIV/AIDS.

Think Different: Personally, I am bullish on the future of electric vehicles. One reason is because technologists keep coming up with better ways to improve battery storage–such as this innovative breakthrough of incorporating batteries directly into the body of the automobile. Nevertheless, the future can always surprise and one technology that may catch on in the automotive world is hydrogen. This new technology allows diesel vehicles to be retrofitted for hydrogen.

Think Green: Researchers at the University of Illinois are working to perfect the ability of some plants to produce their own nitrogen. They have started with rice but hope to get wheat, corn and soybeans to do the same thing. If the technique works, it could be a very big deal: The Long Quest to Give Crops Nitrogen Superpowers.

Afterthought: “Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”–T.S. Eliot