Welcome to this 19th issue of our newsletter “Weak Signals and other Trends”. Each week, I sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. We typically discuss those trends and signals every Saturday at 9am EST on Clubhouse: the next date will be on June 26th.
This is what I noticed this week, thank you for reading and sharing this newsletter to those who look into the future.
Blindspots
Blindspots are costly biases that can lead companies to underestimate future risks or fail to take advantage of emerging opportunities. This week, we focus on the mindsets required to spot strategic blindspots and think sideways:
Want to understand how a pyramid scheme looks like? Decrypting this particular cryptocurrency: “Mind-Bending Magic of Self-Paying Loans“. What corporate boards can learn from Boeing mistakes. The trolley problem. “Great resignation” wave coming for companies. The Enduring Issue of Unauthorized Subcontracting at Burberry. Plastic Rain Is the New Acid Rain. Biases with credit scores. NVIDIA and the battle for the future of AI chips.
Our future
Bold threads. Modern meadow. Why the Hybrid Workforce of the Future Depends on the ‘Geriatric Millennial’. Midnight Trains aims to reinvent sleeper trains as a ‘hotel on rails’. The democratizing power of social media stock market (Dark Mirror anyone?). AI is learning how to create itself. Why the car dealership of the future looks like a midcentury modern living room. Meet The Aircraft Of The Future: Socially Distanced Double-Decker Cabins. Equity Financing for Influencers. Materials that can capture atmospheric carbon. Ageing process is unstoppable, finds unprecedented study. Omnibility.
Weak signals
Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?
Private equity firms buying up suburban neighborhoods. Netflix: The Store! My captain, my hero. Street Coffee. The economic and academic consequences of fraternity membership. Ferrari’s Partnerships in Food and Fashion. Millennials Are Obsessed with *This* Boomer Travel Trend. Singapore officials fret as Gen Z consumers take to ‘buy now, pay later’ schemes. Build an understanding of what physical, emotional, and societal barriers: Adidas Has Released “Period-Proof” Workout Leggings. Wing foiling. The first NFT-driven newsletter. Spotify’s Clubhouse competitor Greenroom launches today. Did Cristiano Ronaldo Cost Coca-Cola $4 Billion in One Day? .
I like new words. This week, I heard about ABCD5G: AI, Blockchain, Cloud, Data, and 5G.
On our radar
In this section, I will share some of the content I come across as I work on specific mandates for our clients. This is what I worked on this week:
It is hard not to pay attention of the new cyberhacking industry: Inside the Market for Cookies. The rise of cybersecurity debt. Graphs are a matter of life and death ($). Critical Infrastructure Sectors. Inside Israel’s lucrative — and secretive —cybersurveillance industry. Ransomware highlights the challenges and subtleties of cybersecurity. Shining A Light On Security Blind Spots. Authorities Seized The Largest Stolen Login Marketplace On The Dark Web.
Our consulting engagements can be found here.
Hodgepodge discovery
Articles for the curious mind as you like to cross over to new fields:
How to Map Nothing. Preserving Syrian design history. Check if your email has been compromised in a data breach. A guide to the latest buzzwords, trends, creators and memes. Removing highways. The best places to find extraterrestrial life in our solar system, ranked. The clever folds that kept letters secret. The alphabets at risk of extinction. The Big Oil Instagram Influencers Are Here.
You have asked me to suggest newsletters that inspire me, so I will suggest one each week: Innovation and Trends in China.
Feeling Good
This image for me is the symbol of 2021- and Millenials’ branding of vaccine on Tik-Tok. A dance of light and pasta making. May’s best science images. Sounds from around the world in an online database of soundmaps. Universal paperclips. Bucket list: Norway Is Preparing to Open Its $723 Million Megamuseum, Home to ‘The Scream,’.
