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Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Guru Is So Last Century

Dutch research agency Ruigrok/Netpanel published 'The Guru is so last century', proving 65% of all Dutch organizations send someone to a trendpresentation regularly, which they find entertaining but mostly not very useful. The stories are too broad and translation to everyday practice is missing. Hmm, why do they keep going then? Some companies invited the trendwatcher over and those companies were very positive about the results. That's my recollection too. I did a lot of trend presentations over the years, but mostly on specific request. There is, of course, a difference between a presentation before 200 people and a workshop with ten people. Done both, liked both but the latter is far more efficient and rewarding. A lot of trendwatchers hate their title, and mention they do not claim to know the future, only today. Of course that's true. If you know the future, you're a clear voyant. I too never saw myself as a trendwatcher. I'm a strategist, setting out lines analyzing business and of course trends are a very important part of that. But the colour of next year's fashion has never interested me. That's why my book is about the seasonality of timeframes. The timeframes that take between five and six years, and help companies to put their actions into perspective.
Get a lot of requests lately. It seems companies are reflecting on their values, their vision and their role in society. That in itself is a 'winter-phenomenon', as my theory predicts. So I am a bit of a clear voyant after all. And I see a Spring Timeframe coming up the next two years. Because all those companies reflecting now, will spring into action the coming years. Watch me.