Top 2011 trends

January 15th, 2011

Happy New Year from Vision & Execution!  We hope 2010 exceeded your expectations and that 2011 looks even better.

What do the prognosticators say about 2011? Will it be better or worse than 2010?   What industries and, for that matter countries, are expected to prevail?  It was quite interesting to take a survey of 2011 predictions…the topics of the predictions were generally more insightful than the predictions themselves.  Some recurring themes…

Here are some interesting sites to check out for more detailed predictions:

On the economy:

On innovation

On social media

On technology

On cleantech

On mobile

On business analytics

Perhaps the most interesting report about 2011 predictions were those made 70 years ago by seven 1931 Visionaries.

What trends or predictions will impact your business?  And, how can we help?

The nearly 40 year lead that the Nordic countries have on the US in clean technology is a direct outcome of a socially responsible decision by national governments which drove investment in basic research. At Nordic Green II, it was striking how advanced the Nordic countries are when it comes to clean technology innovation. The results are compelling. While the US is hard at work to make up the difference, and we bring many resources to bear on the issues at hand, it will be a costly exercise to match the Nordic success.

What is the cost of playing catch up?
• Korea: “Green New Deal” ? $46 billion over 5 years
• Japan: invests $63 billion over 5 years
• US: plans to invest $172 billion over 5 years
• China: invests $440 billion over 10 years

Fortunately for the US, industry is playing a critical role in funding cleantech ventures: the US represented 21% of 2009 VC investments as compared to China at 14% and India at 6%.

What are other risks we should be taking now? In cleantech? In healthcare? Or In education? Where are the next disruptive ideas for socially responsible innovations?