The signals are talking
Subtitle: why today's fringe is tomorrow's mainstream
By: Amy Webb
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 322
ISBN-13: 9781610396660
Subjects: Business forecasting; Technological innovations; Strategic planning
Description: Amy Webb is a noted futurist who combines curiosity, skepticism, colorful storytelling, and deeply reported, real-world analysis in this essential book for understanding the future. The Signals are Talking reveals a systematic way of evaluating new ideas bubbling up on the horizon--distinguishing what is a real trend from the merely trendy. This book helps us hear which signals are talking sense, and which are simply nonsense, so that we might know today what developments--especially those seemingly random ideas at the fringe as they converge and begin to move toward the mainstream--have long-term consequence for tomorrow. With the methodology developed here, we learn how to think like a futurist and answer vitally important questions: How will a technology--like artificial intelligence, machine learning, self-driving cars, biohacking, bots, and the Internet of Things--affect us personally? How will it impact our businesses and workplaces? How will it eventually change the way we live, work, play, and think--and how should we prepare for it now?--Adapted from dust jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 293-310) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction : "Hello, are you lost?"; title: The instructions: a futurist's playbook for every organization; title: When cars fly: understanding the difference between trend and trendy; title: Survive and thrive, or die: how trends affect companies; title: Finding the fringe: seek out the unusual suspects; title: Signals matter: uncovering hidden patterns; title: The "Uber for X" trend: ask the right questions; title: Is it really awesome?: know when the timing is right; title: If this, then that: a formula for action; title: Greetings, robot overlords: pressure-testing your strategy; title: Reverse-engineering the future.