Recent Searches
Exploring ways to build a better working world in the transformative twenties.
As the physicist Nils Bohr once said: “Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.” Many of the revolutionary changes of this past decade were relatively easy to predict. We expected the proliferation of digital technology and new media in every part of our lives, from smart TVs to wearables. And the climate crisis was looming well before the dawn of 2010 with many already highlighting its increasing urgency. Other changes were less obvious, like the emergence of the gig and sharing economies, and the return of geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
As we move into a new decade, some of these transformations will continue. Populations will keep growing, particularly in developing economies. Climate-related risks will intensify. Politics will likely continue to be unpredictable. And whole new technologies, from 5G to biotech to quantum computing as well as others not yet invented, will transform the world.
In this new decade, we’ll discover ways to promote human health, communicate and share with each other, and protect the planet. There will be new art forms, and new ways of living. Business models, companies, and jobs will emerge, and quickly feel as though they’ve been with us forever. Some of these changes we can anticipate; others will take us by surprise.
Here, we take a look at 20 topics, trends and insights we’ve examined over the past 12 months to frame the critical questions the working world will need to address in the next 120.
Chapter 1
Growth: how can we create long-term value?
The world keeps growing, and businesses need to prepare for whatever form that takes.
1. Will the CEO become society’s chief problem-solver?
The world is changing. What’s not is CEOs’ obligation to make decisions that deliver long-term value. EY’s CEO Imperative Study (pdf) examines what concerns top leaders and decision makers, and how they are preparing for the next decade. The importance of risk-taking remains a key theme – 57% of CEOs believe there are more opportunities than risks in actively confronting major global challenges like gender inequality and climate change.
Read more: For CEOs, are the days of sidelining global challenges numbered
2. What’s the right way to use data to turbocharge growth?
Growth comes from making better decisions. And from strategy to planning to execution, data is crucial. In fact, 41% of CFOs believe insufficient data is a primary barrier to the optimal allocation of capital. What matters is making sure that the talent, technologies and processes are in place to allow for effective interpretation.
3. How can business innovate as the pace of change accelerates?
It’s important to realize, when thinking about growth, that change isn’t just getting faster – it’s getting stranger. With modern technology, the rate of change becomes exponential. That is, the speed at which change is happening is itself accelerating. Technology isn’t progressing – it’s exploding. We can no longer afford linear strategies, such as adopting new products and models and reacting to the market as change happens. Exponential change demands whole new models of innovation, to ensure bottom lines keep pace with the rate of transformation.
4. How can we feed an extra two billion people?
Population growth will be a hugely consequential trend in coming years – the UN predicts the planet will have nearly 10 billion people by 2050, up from 8 billion today. Just how will we feed an extra two billion people in the face of increasing climate precarity and diminishing arable land? The $5 trillion global food industry will change radically over the next decade to accommodate growing and shifting demand. Understanding the nature of this change means being ready to capture this market as it transforms.
Read more: Why your next big bet should be in food innovation
5. Can we grow wealth without growing inequality?
Growth is good. Growth is what allows us to build our houses, feed our families, heal our sick, and fund innovation. But when inequality between the richest and the poorest grows, it can breed resentment, animosity, and political instability. Moving to more inclusive and equitable growth may help address these anxieties. Future models of growth, business, and taxation must take into account climate sustainability, as well as equitable, inclusive distribution of the wealth and benefits generated by businesses.
Read more: How to take an equitable approach to growth
Chapter 2
Transformation: is change the only constant?
We are in the middle of a transformative age, and the disruptions to business-as-usual will continue into the next decade.
6. How do you prepare for technologies that don’t exist?
Transformation goes hand in hand with growth. But while growth is usually good for everyone – companies and consumers alike – the impact of transformative technologies can be more unpredictable. Understanding the potential effect of emerging technologies – and predicting what might come after them – is critical for organizations of all stripes, and will only become more vital as the rate of change speeds up.
7. Will geopolitical power plays create a new world order?
One of the biggest transformative trends currently facing business – and society at large – is political transformation. For 70 years, global businesses have operated in a largely US-led, rules-based global economic order. That’s changing. Old certainties no longer hold amid the rise of populism and economic protectionism, shifts in the influence of international bodies, the resurgence of China, and a regulatory landscape running to catch up to technological transformation. Understanding the geopolitics of this unfamiliar new world is critical.
8. Will quantum computing move from theory to practice?
From the very big to the very small: quantum computing. Alongside the macro changes in politics and population growth, technological change always presents massive challenges and opportunities for traditional ways of doing business. Perhaps nothing has more radical potential than quantum computing. This technology – which exploits the still little-understood behaviour of subatomic particles to drive an exponential increase in processing power – could change everything from medicine to logistics to high finance.
Read more: Could quantum computing be the technology that drives your quantum leap forward?
9. Will 5G be to the twenties what broadband was to the noughties?
Less exotic but perhaps no less radical than quantum computing will be the mass rollout of 5th generation (or 5G) data networks – expected to reach half the world’s population by 2024.Being able to carry much larger packets of data at much faster speeds than ever before, 5G may be the master key that unlocks the mass potential of, among other things, Internet of Things solutions, driverless cars, and connected cities.
10. Does cash still have a role to play in the global economy?
We’ve been exchanging coins for thousands of years, but the rise of cashless transactions, online commerce, and digital payment platforms may be doing away with this. As with any radical transformation, caution is the word. Managing a cashless transition is fraught with potential problems. Despite growth in adoption rates, the technology suffers from trust deficits. Top-down strategies can also be difficult to design and implement – removing cash from economies too quickly could lead to a host of unintended consequences.