by SJ Barakony | Featured Contributor
2019 awaits. How ready are you & your business for these 13 trends?
Can you believe it?! Yes, its true: we’re less than 2 weeks away from another New Years’ Day; so, let’s dedicate a toast to our businesses, our families, & friends!
Not only that … did you notice? It’s also the last year of the first decade of the ‘new’ century.
Where were you on 01 Jan, 2010?
Was your business even open?
How did you communicate with your clientele?
Have you rebranded since then?
… That’s NINE years ago, believe that!
The Mindset of the Futurist
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” — Buckminster Fuller
( Click to Tweet the above )
Many thought leaders, chief amongst them the futurists, visionaries, and creative disrupters, know of Fuller. He laid this cornerstone of thought and its now part of his legacy, to be embraced by generations not yet born. It is from this core thesis that we’ll push ahead – unveiling a market basket of trends that your business will be impacted by in some manner in 2019 ( & beyond. )
A Bakers’ Dozen
Laying out 13 that I, as a futurist, am personally invested in tracking; each of these are invigorating and, in the hands of the benevolent & bold, will usher in as yet unknown amounts of potential energy to our nation(s), states/provinces, and localities:
Blockchain / Crypto currencies
Gig Economy ( Conceptual Age )
Automation ( AI, Machine Learning, Robots )
Holistic Wellness ( > sickcare )
Decentralized [ social & news ] media
Self directed education & learning ( schooling & credential seeking )
Social enterprises ( modern mutual aid societies )
Holocracy ( future of ‘work’/places )
In pursuit of a deeper understanding of the bright future which awaits
Even a rudimentary understanding of 1, some, or perhaps all of the 13 trends shared above won’t be embraced at deeper levels of awareness, acceptance, and consciousness without continually reading, listening ( podcasts, audio books ), & watching ( videos, webinars )
Two #mustread books in this space are linked below, to further illuminate your path.
I wholeheartedly suggest investing in them as a holiday/Christmas present for yourself & for those whom you hold most dear.
The Code of the Extraordinary Mind
Suggested Follows out in the ‘Twitter’verse
Futurist Rankings by Ross Dawson
Generations Timeline – After the Millennials by Anne Boysen
Gold vs. Cryptos: Invest or divest … Here … from Gerald Celente
4 questions to test your intellectual humility via Daniel Pink
Don’t Argue, nor Debate
Instead, as we see, hear, and experience more & more creative disruption which impacts our professional sphere ( inc. our business’ cashflow, income streams, etc. ), shall we abandon the negativity, time loss, & win/lose (or worse, lose/lose) outcomes from arguing & debating?
I propose an equivalent swap of the above two non futurist, consumerist terms for those that produce & add value: Discussion & rational discourse.
As 2019 dawns, I thoughtfully (channeling one of my many informal mentors, Mr. Dale Carnegie), throw down a challenge:
Whether with yourself ( self talk ), your staff, clientele/customers, or a prospect, engage in thought provoking win/win discussion or a structured rational discourse with him/her/them in the next several weeks
Word Play: Choices to make to embrace the transformation underway in our workplaces
As we ascend the ladder from unconscious incompetence on up to unconscious competence, let’s fully embrace how exciting each of these trends will be in our ongoing entrepreneurial journeys & resolve to learn new words
Some which are becoming anchored to the past as these 13 futuristic trends continue to evolve, expand, & replicate: ‘employee’ ; ‘hierarchy’ ; ‘college for all’ ; ‘health care’ ; ‘cash’.
Does this indicate that these (let alone others) will disappear forever? Not necessarily. Yet, the early adopters in our business networks will already grasp the above, and quite a number more will eventually ‘see’ as you have/will!
Websites, articles, blogs, & organizations: Learn More & Take Action
Define. Learn. (then) Do.
We’ve defined a vision for 2019 & beyond. With numerous resources are embedded in the post already, let’s expand your learning zone:, what if you want to self educate even more?!
Ever more important, investing time in additional concrete steps to ‘future’ prep your business venture would be wise. I’m applauding you proactively, if you choose to do so!
In short …
- 9 years down, 1 to go in the decade #ThinkItOver
- Suggested Twitterverse follows
- A bakers’ dozen trends
- The futurist rankings & further resources to dig into
- Don’t argue, debate, or fight the existing; discuss & set time for rational discourse
- Word swaps: let’s ‘play’ on a 2020’s field
- What’s coming is exciting & transformational; fear not! Embrace. Encourage. Uplift.
Thank YOU for reading!
& …
SJ Barakony is a serial entrepreneur, futurist, & connector.
He lives in Ohio & is the Founder of Service Before Self Leadership: An Educational Solutions Provider.
He offers four highly customizable solutions to encourage families, individuals, faith institutions, & business owners to create & cultivate lifelong learning cultures in our homes & workplaces.
He’s been a guest on an educational podcast; been interviewed for an online small business community; is a guest blogger for Innovate NA; and has been an invited speaker five separate times for HECOA.
He believes strongly in youth & social entrepreneurship: He continues to serve two chapters of the YEA program (student mentor, mock judge, ad hoc consultant ) & has co-facilitated a session of the SeaChange Accelerator program.
He serves as the TDD for Cleveland & Columbus (Ohio) for the H7 Network.
He also recently became an educational advisor for Tessr.io, a startup in the exciting world of blockchain/cryptocurrencies that will be establishing a cutting edge educational foundation.