IN THE midst of swingeing cost-cutting exercises and the fight for business survival, it can be hard to see past the next week, never mind looking 20 years ahead. It may seem a futile and fanciful exercise at a time when pragmatism is the order of the day.
Yet in lifting our head from the current economic morass, we begin to realise that not only will this recession pass, but we appreciate the enormity and speed of human endeavour.
In looking to the future, we are required to consider how far we have come. For a quick reminder, discuss the world of 1990 with college-aged students today. It’s phenomenal the technical, scientific and even social changes which have occured, and the opportunities that arose for businesses that caught the waves of change along the way.
According to a recent US study reported in the New York Times last month, those aged between eight and 18 now average seven-and-a-half hours a day interacting with smart phones, PCs, TVs or other electronic devices. Take account of the time spent accessing more than one device at the same time and they are packing in 11-and-a-half hours of media content a day. Servicing this audience over the coming years offers incredible opportunities.
In the financial sector, a failure by regulators to keep pace with the new financial products developed over recent years contributed to the current banking crises. Can they reassert control? And what of the euro, fiscal policy and the IFSC?
In the world of science, medicine and pharma, there will be great advances in the coming years, particularly in the area of nanotechnology. Even in the exploration of space, the opportunities for energy generation and understanding of our place in the universe remain immense. Irish firms already play a part in this arena.
But what does this all mean for the average business trying to get by? So much pie in the sky? Not at all. If we hope to harness future business opportunities we must keep our eye on the trends and developments of the coming years. Many of the current leaders in business today had the foresight to spot such trends over the last 20 years.
