Future Map For Consumer Brands

Overview

My goal as a futurist, also called a foresight expert, is twofold: (1) predict where the proverbial hockey puck is going to be; (2) put a plan in place that gets me there so that I can take maximum advantage of it.

My futurist work started in 2017, when I began to research and curate insights into what will happen to better help me as an entrepreneur.

Summary

Since I began my foresight work in 2017, groundbreaking research has emerged from pioneering futurists and other subject-matter experts that has given us unmatched insight into the unfolding tapestry of the future, thereby allowing us to position ourselves and our businesses to survive and thrive.

We are currently in the final gasps of the “Old Normal” that has existed since 1945 along with its antiquated systems and structures.

We face a challenging transition I call “The Reckoning,” a period of profound restructuring and economic readjustment not seen since the 1930s Great Depression and WWII.

After this lies the “Resurgence” and “New Normal” in the 2030s and beyond, a period with great potential for growth and prosperity in the U.S.

I am using my futurist work to help position me, my family,  my career and skills, and my businesses to not just survive through the The Reckoning, but also be setup to thrive in The Resurgence that follows.

I publish my predictions and action plans for consumer brands on this page.  Scroll down to access those tools.

How To Future-Proof

My goal is to help DTC/B2C/B2B2C/consumer brands transition from the Old Normal, through The Reckoning and into the New Normal.  I offer the following.

1. Start future-proofing right now

We’re all experiencing the stresses of an uncertain future that seem to be compounding on each other with no end in sight. How does all this play out? When can we return to a sense of normal where we can rest in greater certainty about our futures with much less fear?

I try to answer these questions through a significant body of work I’ve published that contains a treasure trove of revelations along with a roadmap for how we can navigate the future.

Start future-proofing yourself, your family, your career and skills, and your company immediately with the open source docs published further down this page.

2. I run a closed list for consumer product industry practitioners.

I send out emails on a monthly basis updating subscribers with the latest changes to my futurist predictions, action plans and forward guidance. Contact me if you wish to be added to this list.

3. I can enthrall and motivate your audience about the future

Do you run a conference or lead a business group/association? Book me, an experienced speaker with a knack for bringing my futurist work to life that inspires and imparts optimism and positivity.

For those of us who live and work in the U.S. and for those that may not live here but still sell products in the U.S. market, this country is uniquely positioned with tremendous assets and capabilities to navigate the future.  An overarching goal through my futurist work is to help people see the abundance we possess and empower them with confidence for the future. I believe this nation can thoroughly conquer The Reckoning, soar in the New Normal and extend our successes to help the rest of the world.

4. Let me unleash your company’s full potential

Engage me as a consultant where I can help co-create competitively defensible, disruption-proof strategies that equip your business to thrive in the years ahead.

I help answer questions, like:

• What products to develop that will be successful and which to avoid;
• The markets, whether domestic and foreign, and distribution channels to focus on and which ones to avoid;
• What sustainable technologies and practices to adopt;
• How business models are changing and which new ones to adopt;
• Where to locate manufacturing in a deglobalizing world, optimized for labor/automation, government regs, access to resources, proximity to customers and risk management;
• What are the Achilles heels, “unknown unknowns” and deep, hidden risks that make a company fragile;
• What are future government policies (regulations and taxation) and how to prepare for them;
• What are major consumer shifts that could upend brands and how to prevent this disruption;
• Which brands are already on the New Normal track that we should model and emulate and why;
• What are risks you have not heard off and which ones that pose a threat to you.

I have significant experience developing, launching and growing DTC/B2C/B2B2C/consumer brands, especially in context as a leading-edge technologist, business model innovator and exponential growth strategist.

In addition, my futurist work has opened up opportunities for me to travel in many circles – not just across consumer product segments – but across society, culture, economics/financial markets, politics/geopolitics, technology and the environment/sustainability.

I can leverage my deep operating experience along with my strong macro-view perspective to help you position your business to get through The Reckoning and flourish in the New Normal.

Questions and Feedback

Please use any form embedded throughout this website.

Published Documents And Resources

I group my futurist content into four areas: upcoming business cycles, exponential technologies, emerging business models and consumer shifts.  Core slideshare include the following:

• Upcoming Business Cycles:  to understand the future and what we can expect,  start with this slideshare.  I dive deep into the The Reckoning and Resurgence periods and how they will play out.
• Exponential Technologies & Emerging Business Models: I grouped these two together because new technologies tend to drive new business models.
• Consumer shifts: they are not the same as trends, which when identified are already here. Consumer shifts are bigger and can run many years, if not decades. I avoid covering trends because they emerge and fade quickly, making it nearly futile to strategically position oneself to capitalize on them.
• Reckoning & Resurgence Summary:  How things will play out. This is an important narrative in document form where I consider all the information in my Business Cycle slideshare and lay out how I think the next 10-20 years plays out for the U.S., considering all of our challenges but also all of our strengths.  This document lays out the future in raw detail.  If you don’t read anything else, at least cover this document so you understand what we should expect and why.

Additional content as follows:

• Outdoor and Active Lifestyle Industry 10-Year Outlook: this slideshare reveals what the industry should expect through The Reckoning period.
• New Normal For Consumer Brands:  this slideshare provides a roadmap to help brands transition away from the “Old Normal” we have now that is no longer working and dying, through the The Reckoning, and into the New Normal for the 2030’s and beyond. This slideshare is tailored to the outdoor and active lifestyle industry, but much of what is published here can also work for other consumer product categories.
• Future Map spreadsheet for probabilities and timing: this spreadsheet has tabs that support the slideshares with probabilities, timing, severity and other data and tools.
• Charts That Caught My Attention:  I periodically update this document with new charts.
• Crowdsourced Survey.  These are a great list of questions that I like to ask others and answer for myself.  I have turned them into a survey so that we can tap into the collective wisdom of the consumer product industry.

Other Items:

• Ongoing webinars:  I run webinars a few times a month talking about the future.  Please contact me and I will send you the schedule link.

I have licensed the content on this page under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. which allows anyone to freely share, adapt, and build upon my creative work as long as they credit me, the creator, and share any changes they make under the same license.