Emerging Trends

Many of Prataap’s visions may seem wacky, crazy, or even outdated sometimes by the time you read it in today’s net speed of change, but his ideas of emerging trends have turned into reality some within days others decades later. He foresaw jet packs in 1968 when he was 8 years old (now available at Thunderman.net for $100,000), voice recognition software for computers when he was at MIT in 1982, in 1987 well before Starbucks coined Chai latte into the american lexicon, or Tealuxe was serving 2 dozen varieties of exotic teas, he predicted the current $1billion trend towards the popularity of drinking more tea as a major social shift in the US.

A decade ago he also predicted the 4 fundamental transitions we are moving through in the business world: talent being the most prized commodity in the next 20 years,  an entrepreneurial “Brand You” (a la Tom Peters) society with “success on ones own terms” as the operating principle, introduction of business transactions at “net-speed” (call it B2Z ), and blurring of individual product identity with the shift to cross/joint product promotion.  On the lighter, more hilarious side, Prataap foresaw at the very outbreak of the Monica L. story, Hillary Clinton’s run for office in 2000 as the obvious quid pro reason for her sticking by her man, Bill the mega-fundraiser. And she pulled it off through clear focus and passion for her goal! Hillary running for President in 10 years was my prediction in 1997. Ok he got it wrong by 10 years. In any event many more women running higher corporate offices like at HP and Pepsi, and others running for public office like Hillary Clinton will be an emerging trend in the next 2-3 economic/election cycles. Women wielding real power in corporate and political life in the US, finally !!

While Emerging Trends will focus a lot on themes and visions that have to do with the changing nature of leadership and business in the new economy, it will also pick up and examine a variety of social, life style, environmental, and political issues and present a wide cross section of trends. Most of these trends are presented as real, tangible opportunities under a cross section of categories like Culture, Customization or Death for the readers to visualize the future, while others are presented as quick Predictions and Plugs picked from real time ideas or news snipets that portend the evolving world around us.

Take your pick.