Lifting Our Heads Up From The Sand!

3-24 UPDATE:

Today's leading headline in Advertising Age: Future May Be Brighter But It's Apocalypse Now. Subhead goes on: 'Chaos Scenario' author Bob Garfield watches as his worst predictions wreak havoc on media and marketing worlds. Okay. Enough is Enough! If you can't stop hyperventilating...hold your breath and stop talking!

Also on the front page of Advertising Age: Bogusky Loves Small Shops...Says Entrepreneurs Will Lead Us From Recession. As he says, its the "Scrappy Entrepreneurs that can do things for their clients that the big monster shops can't." Bogusky offers rich perspective!

Okay...now read on what we said a week ago before Ad Age got the insight into what is going on!...


Trendcasting is something we lay claim to here at BrandVenture.

We write about it. Talk about it. And spend a lot of time doing it.

Trends have been a popular topic.

Reading Mega Trends and Future Shock when growing up somewhat got me hooked on doing what I do today.

When my CNN.com home page came up yesterday, I was surprised at what I saw. The site showcased a link to its sister site TIME.com and “10 Ideas Changing The World Right Now.”

The “Ideas” are actual perspectives of stuff that’s going on here at home and globally as well.

Everything from “Jobs Are the New Assets” to “Reinstating The Interstate” to “Biobanks” to “Africa: Open For Business” to “Ecological Intelligence.”

Not that the press is biased, but a lot of the “Ideas” listed fall in sync with much of what the President and Congress recently enacted in Washington.

What I find most interesting about the posting of these “Ideas” is that…

1. The “Ideas” actually support and confirm what I cited in the 1/14/2009 Blog titled “Heed The Call of Imminent Fundamental Change”

2. As a culture we have shifted to a “Focused-Forward” perspective

3. As individuals, we find cultural and societal observations of interest


Yesterday, I got into a discussion with a colleague about a call that I made to a Marketing Research VP. It is a person that the Chief Marketing Officer of the company referred me to regarding upcoming projects.

I made comment in the discussion with my colleague about how this VP was “overwhelmed” with “the process and project load” and could not find the time to speak about anything else for weeks.

It was a repeat of what I heard earlier last week from a marketing VP at a Southeastern Hospital.

It is also a repeat of what I heard from one of our current clients.

CNN also reported that close to 40% of management workers recently surveyed are concerned about losing their jobs in the next six months.

Maybe the picture that is posted next to the “10 Ideas Changing The World Right Now” sums up the conventional business perspective the best....It features a person wearing half of a globe as a hat that entirely covers the eyes where they cannot see beyond the shell of the globe.”

I shared with my colleague yesterday that many individuals in management today are like ostriches with their heads in the sand.

My illustration is not as original as the picture on TIME.com.

Change is happening as I write this Blog.

BIG CHANGE.

Maybe…there is an 11th Idea that needs to be added TIME’s list titled…

The New Paradigm of Entrepreneurialism, Self-sufficiency, Craftsmanship and Accountability

Both sets of my grandparents were entrepreneurs. They came to this country with only a little bit of cash in their pockets and purses.

They multi-tasked back then by working a variety of jobs that enable them to live a better life.

The large business and big government machines are broke…figuratively and literally.

And many in management are scared shitless to do much about it, but dig in even deeper in the sinking sands of the past.

Whew…It’s really, really not bad news!

Because agitation stimulates creativity, innovation, inspiration, vision, desires and drives!

My only editorial comment to TIME.com… Your Idea that “Jobs Are The New Assets” is just slightly off…

It’s not Jobs that are the assets…

It’s the Entrepreneurs and Inventors that are the REAL assets!

While management might be afraid they will lose their jobs and the media seems to be addicted to foster pessimism, the vast public is NOT... NOT!

Today's CNN.com survey asks "do you think another Great Depression will occur in the next year?"

More than 27,900 people have responded thus far with 78% saying "NO!"

While it might seem to be hard work… don’t sit on the sidelines within the confines of a broken past.

Go shake off that sand, clear out those eyes, put on those running shoes…and come…Let’s Journey!