People in business study the future to identify potential new products and services, markets for those products and services, converging technologies, and entire new industries. Trend watchers attempt to identify potential threats to their industry and can prepare to deal with them before they become crises, and to get a jump on the competition by understanding the future before it arrives.
People in the communications industry strive to understand the next evolution in digital services delivery and content. As voice undergoes greater commoditization and even wireless heads for the free wheeling IP space, what's next? Fiber, satellite, wi-max, IPTV: How will companies deliver value, satisfy consumer demand, and generate revenues?
Restaurants, grocers, and other food-industry professionals study trends in demographics to assess who their customers are and what their dining habits are. An increase in ethnic or aged populations in a neighborhood, for example, would lead a grocer to stock more foods linked to particular tastes. An increase in young, single professional workers or dual-income households--groups who feel pressed for time--might inspire grocers to offer more ready-to-eat meals.
"Leisure" industries such as tourism, sports, and the arts must gauge the public's desire to spend time and money on various activities. Real estate markets fluctuate with demographic and economic shifts, which also have impacts on retail businesses, school systems, and local governments. The health-care industry, including insurance, is also directly affected by population trends, new technologies (including pharmaceuticals), and economic fluctuation.
But futurist go beyond straight linear extrapolation; they factor in a more comprehensive set of assumptions and drivers to deliver a range of alternatives linked to probability. Globalization, politics, shifting cultural paradigms, technology, and advances in human sciences and understanding all impact how we work, live, and play. Futurists forecast the possible, the probable, and even the very unlikely to guide the actions of today in order to shape a more positive (and profitable) tomorrow.
