Dateline: May 21 2025
Over the past few years, we have witnessed the Crypto Crunch, the return of the inflation monster, and the big Tech Takedown. We’ve also seen disruptive forces at work in geopolitics, resources, food, and energy. In these turbulent times it pays to have an ace up your sleeve.
A wise investor knows it’s a good idea to hold some liquid reserves to weather the storm. Usually this is in the form of cash, but inflation and policy swings make holding cash a risky strategy. Some prefer gold or solid stocks such as Alphabet, which are easily converted to cash.
The future is unpredictable, and disruption is inevitable. The exponential future will be based on urban communities, digital infrastructure and green industries; but the road to that “smart society” future is full of boulders, twists and turns. Everything is going digital; every industry is now a tech industry, and the pace of change is accelerating.
Hypervolatility is the new normal. Technology choices in some cases will disappoint, and bold plans will fail. It’s more important than ever to be comfortable with chaos, resigned to randomness, and undeterred by uncertainty. Seeing disruption as an opportunity and embracing agility and experimentation are key to surfing the tsunami and riding out the maelstrom.
Fostering a mindset in your business that understands how the future works; designing agile plans that can adapt to — and capitalise on — sudden change; and having the fortitude to create the future you really want. That’s how you thrive in the perfect storm.
And that’s your true ace in the hole.
- Published on May 19 2022
It’s chaotic and we love it
Digital Darwinism provides innovation opportunities for the bold and nimble
Dateline: July 7 2024
“Let’s go and get us some randomness today!” That’s the corporate battle cry of the new breed of innovators, business mavericks who are not fazed by the complexity or turbulence of the postdigital age. “It’s crazy out there; isn’t it fantastic?”
Life, and business, beyond 2020 is chaotic. Digital technology has disrupted every industry in every part of the globe. From robotic mining in Australia, to 3D-printed houses in China, to artificial intelligence accounting in the US, precision agriculture in Africa; it’s all digital. And everybody, and everything, is connected.
It’s not over yet — in fact, it’s exponential. The technology tsunami has eradicated old-world business, and continues to do so. Darwin was right, “adapt or die” is the new mantra of business, and those who can quickly change, responding to the furious pace of innovation, or even leading the charge, are reaping the rewards.
Randomness and uncertainty, those dreaded demons of last-century commerce, are now eagerly embraced. That’s where the opportunities lie, and digital mavens know how to flip into a new trend, and tap into the ever-shifting, but always growing, global pulse of digital life.
For every dying dinosaur business there are a dozen new enterprises; pop-up corporates — who would have thought such a thing could exist, let alone thrive? And they do, and morph and change with the ebb and flow of the digital tide.
It’s a thing of beauty — if you can stand the chaos!
- Published on July 31 2014
• Despite appearances to the contrary, Futureworld cannot and does not predict the future. The Mindbullets scenarios are fictitious and designed purely to explore possible futures, and challenge and stimulate strategic thinking.
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