Fast Forward through 2015 | 4BC
The hover-board made its latest debut at CES in two forms a Segway like device minus handles that works on any surface and another that required a specific metal floor that acted much like a fairgrounds bumper car ride in order to work.
Apart from these two must have’s 4BC’s Clare Brady and I chatted about the year ahead in tech and gadgets, wearables and watches, the ridiculous and sublime of CES 2015 and we even squeezed in a Las Vegas travelogue and took a callers memories of his last trip there, all in the first of our 2015 regular catch ups.
Listen now (17 minutes) and join me on 4BC Brisbane radio Tuesday 25th February @ 4.00 p.m. (EST)
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What does a year-end fast-forward reveal about which signals proved most consequential in 2015?
A year-end fast-forward through 2015 reveals the signals that gained the most momentum during the year versus those that faded: the refugee and humanitarian crisis in Europe was the signal that most dramatically demonstrated how human displacement at scale creates political and social ripple effects that extend far beyond the immediate crisis; the Paris Climate Agreement in December 2015 was a significant governance signal that the international community could reach binding agreement on a structural long-term challenge; and the continued acceleration of the smartphone as the primary computing device — particularly in emerging economies — was the structural signal with the most lasting commercial and social consequences. These were not all predictable in January 2015, but in retrospect they were the most structurally significant.
Q: How do year-end reflections on technology and society differ from the year-ahead predictions that start the next year?
Year-end reflections are characterised by: the benefit of knowing what actually happened rather than speculating about what might; the ability to identify which predictions from January were validated, which were wrong, and which were partially right in ways that require reinterpretation; and the opportunity to notice the signals that were not on anyone’s January prediction list but proved highly consequential. The most useful year-end reflection is one that is honest about the gaps between prediction and reality — not just celebrating the predictions that were right but understanding why the misses occurred, since the pattern of misses reveals systematic biases in the prediction approach that can be corrected.
Q: What was the dominant emotional and cultural register of 2015 for Australian audiences?
For Australian audiences in 2015, the dominant signals included: the political instability of the Abbott government’s final months and the leadership change to Turnbull in September, which carried significant signals about Australian political culture and the pace at which public trust in political leadership was eroding; the economic signals of the post-mining-boom adjustment, which were being felt differently across different sectors and regions; and the technology signals of smartphone ubiquity and social media as primary news source, which were creating the information environment changes that would have significant political and social consequences in 2016 and beyond. The Australian 2015 signal environment was one of transition — from the certainties of the resource boom to a less certain and more complex economic and political landscape.
Q: How can I book Morris Misel for a year-in-review, annual signals, or strategic planning keynote?
Contact the booking team at morrismisel.com/event-organisers.
The hover-board made its latest debut at CES in two forms a Segway like device minus handles that works on any surface and another that required a specific metal floor that acted much like a fairgrounds bumper car ride in order to work. Apart from these two must have’s 4BC’s Clar.
When signals like Fast Forward through 2015 emerge, organisations that engage early have the advantage of choosing their response rather than reacting to events. That gap between those who prepared and those who did not is where competitive positioning is actually made or lost.
The most important question is not whether Fast Forward through 2015 will matter, but how quickly it will matter in your specific context. Leaders benefit most from mapping the ripple effects early — not just the direct impact but the second and third-order consequences that arrive later and hit harder. That is the practical work of foresight.
