Ten Global Giga Trends

Ten Global Giga Trends
Richard Lamb, MSc ~ Managing partner Trendwatcher.com
For centuries, man has been trying to predict the future, only to find that their vision – being too detailed
– encounters problems when faced with reality. In order to achieve commercial success it is often
sufficient to sketch future scenario’s with a certain amount of leeway. My ‘Ten Global Giga Trends’ are
based on this principle. They provide us with an idea of what people who live in a relatively affluent
society, find important. Companies will gladly use their new products, services and processes as a
response to market demand. I challenge you to recognise new trends in your own line of business.
Now develop your own future perspective!
In this publication I portray the important trends, ongoing changes, which in my opinion, the next few years will
hold. Chances usually occur at the interface of two or more trends. Some trends may seem to be conflicting at
first glance, e.g. ‘More Mobility’ versus ‘Safety Web’ (yearning for hominess). Yet a careful analysis of these
trends will make you discover the correct interface. The aforementioned two trends can lead to actual new
chances when you realise that the yearning for hominess is also present when we are travelling. How can you
deliver a new product or a new service to meet those two (or more) trends at the same time? That is the correct
mode of thought!
Trend 1: Time-On-Demand
(Determine your own time to act)
Consumers have become used to the so-called 24-hour economy. It makes us expect that everything can be
used at a time of one’s own choice. This is ‘Time-On-Demand’: we want to control our own timetable and
determine when to act. Time is a scarce commodity which requires careful use. The new “consuman” [Gerard van
Vliet, 1997] has a self-centred image of the world, caused a.o. by the stress of daily life by a growing supply of
products and services, and by the general globalisation. An early manifestation of Time-On-Demand is the VCR:
the consumer determines his own moment for watching television. Modern versions are e.g. Video-On-Demand
(through digital interactive television), and the internet. Another manifestation of Time-On-Demand is the
possibility of online home-shopping and home-banking 24 hours a day.
~1~
Trend 2: Safety Web
(Yearning for hominess)
In a world where change seems the only constant, we experience a lot of stress which makes us search for a
solid basis. For some, this solid basis is found in a stable family at home, or cocooning with a partner. For others
this may be the familiarity of the pub or the sports club. One searches for a ‘safety web’, a yearning for hominess.
This ‘comfort zone’ is the basis from which outings are made to the more risk-prone environments such as a
company with a non-flexible organisation structure and continuing reorganisations. The modern ‘air, light and love’
is combined with the restored ‘rest, regularity and cleanliness’.
Trend 3: Time for Sale
(Time-saving services and products)
It seems as if time is not for sale. Wrong! It is! The trend ‘Time
for Sale’ shows in which ways one can buy time. More and
more, consumers are looking for time-saving products and
services, caused by a growing pressure of work and an
intensified social life. This is not only true for so-called doubleincome couples but for almost all students and workers. How
does one buy extra time? One example is by shortening the
time it takes to prepare dinner. The supermarkets give us the
choice of “raw” French beans, already washed and packed
beans or even a ready-made dinner with beans. The
consumer decides how much extra time he prefers to buy. In
general, there is a growing need for luxury ready-to-use
products, be they groceries or book cases which are fitted at
home by the supplier. Book case-suppliers are already
experimenting with book case designs which warn the buyer
when he is fitting it incorrectly. It is possible: but at a price.
Trend 4: Interactive Society
(interaction is everywhere)
Only a few decades ago, the ringing of the phone started the
entire family, as this usually happened only once a week. In
the interactive society of today, the phone seems to ring
continuously. The answering machine provides only temporary
relief. And there is more: we are now expected to interact with
our environment not only with the telephone, but also through
e-mail, SMS, television and radio. En route we are confronted
with (train) ticket machines, ATM machines, coffee machines,
security passes, mobile phones, organisers, laptops, MP3players and the talking navigating system in the car.
About Richard Lamb
Futurist and trendwatcher Richard Lamb,
MSc,
managing
partner
at
Trendwatcher.com, is one of the most
requested speakers in The Netherlands.
During his interactive presentations he’s
discussing subjects like Global Trends,
Innovation and Information Technology.
Richard Lamb is specialised in translating
trends into innovative products and
services. He prepares companies for
future scenarios. www.Trendwatcher.com
Trend 5: Twinning
(Birds of a feather)
The trend ‘Twinning’ means that kindred spirits will
increasingly look out for each other and shield themselves
from other groups: birds of a feather. It is a search for a
sounding board to test out one’s own standards and values.
As there is a strong attachment to the group identity,
compartmentalisation occurs. One could speak of ‘hidden apartheid’. This ‘silent separation’ is a counter reaction
to what is socially considered to be a desirable response to the axiom that a multicultural melting pot with
obligatory integration is the ideal society. This Twinning is in no way to be seen as traditional apartheid; it means
rather that people from the same social layer, or who share the same political convictions, sports or hobbies seek
each other out.
Trend 6: Quality of Life
(Live consciously)
One tends to become more conscious of the options offered by an affluent economy and behaves accordingly.
The trend ‘Quality of Life’ refers to this critical ‘consuman’ who generally envisions a quite detailed future
perspective. Especially the better educated are aware of items like health, food safety, spirituality, fitness, body
care and personal development by following extra courses or studies.
Trend 7: Pure Communication
(People want sincere communication)
In an age where everyone seems to be in a rush and fleeting contacts proliferate, many people feel a growing
need for honest, sincere communication. This can be through a good heart-to-heart, or through some sort of
therapeutic talk in which the speaker expects an extra attentive and involved listener. Modern society seems to
cater less to this latter group. They will thus have to look for professional help: a ‘paid’ ear.
The trend ‘Pure Communication’ does not just refer to personal communication. Companies and governments will
have to be upright in their dealings with the public, especially in case of calamities. Leading residents such as
general practitioners, lawyers, notaries, aldermen and councilmen will be expected to communicate in a
~2~
customer-oriented way. Internet and television have in a great measure
contributed to our expectation of communication to be transparent. We thus see
a greater openness around medical operations, politics and even the royal
family.
Trend 8: More Mobility
(Increasing Mobility)
The trend ‘More Mobility’ refers to the phenomenon of man becoming
increasingly more mobile. The affluent society and globalisation through the
influence of the media are factors directly influencing this phenomenon. Mobility
can be seen in two different aspects: on the one hand there is increasing
mobility in the homes and on the work floor. We expect more and more that our
needs for information can be met without a jumble of wires; computers and
other equipment are directly wireless connected to the internet. Of course the
switchboard is also operated wireless. Quite a few people do no longer have a
fixed telephone connection: they communicate with the outside world through
their mobile phone.
10 Global Giga Trends
1. Time-On-Demand
2. Safety Web
3. Time for sale
4. Interactive Society
5. Twinning
6. Quality of Life
7. Pure Communication
8. More Mobility
9. Experience Industry
10. Pull Economy
Trend 9: Experience Industry
(Explore one’s own boundaries)
To many people, the routine of daily life does no longer offer any challenges.
The trend ‘Experience Industry’ denotes the desire of people to explore
personal boundaries, in a safe way. It is the need to feel a rush of adrenaline
pumping through our veins, as our ancestors might have needed in their
‘struggle for life’. It is the desire to live fully, to experience life in every fibre. This
‘Experience Industry’ finds its most striking exponents in the entertainment
business with parks like Disney World, Jurassic Park and Ocean World. Other
examples are risky sports like rafting, bungee jumping, kite surfing, a survival
mission with colleagues from the work floor.
Trend 10: Pull Economy
(Demand-controlled economy)
The trend ‘Pull Economy’ relates to the New Economy, which has brought about ‘chain-reversal’. Production
chains produce on the basis of: you ask and we produce. The demand-controlled economy has gained
momentum through the emergence of the internet. Those organisations which have geared their operational
processes to the demand-controlled economy in the 1990s will easily survive the present economic crisis. Lean
times invariably show which companies have grown ‘sloppily’; these will eventually go down as their cost structure
is too high.
Richard Lamb, MSc.
Speaking Engagements:
www.Trendwatcher.com
[email protected]
~3~