Business Trends in Practice

WINNER OF THE BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2022!

Stay one step ahead of the competition with this expert review of the most impactful and disruptive business trends coming down the pike

Far from slowing down, change and transformation in business seems to come only at a more and more furious rate. The last ten years alone have seen the introduction of groundbreaking new trends that pose new opportunities and challenges for leaders in all industries.

In Business Trends in Practice: The 25+ Trends That Are Redefining Organizations, best-selling business author and strategist Bernard Marr breaks down the social and technological forces underlying these rapidly advancing changes and the impact of those changes on key industries.

• Critical consumer trends just emerging today—or poised to emerge tomorrow—are discussed, as are strategies for rethinking your organisation’s product and service delivery. The book also explores:
• Crucial business operations trends that are changing the way companies conduct themselves in the 21st century
• The practical insights and takeaways you can glean from technological and social innovation when you cut through the hype
• Disruptive new technologies, including AI, robotic and business process automation, remote work, as well as social and environmental sustainability trends

Business Trends in Practice: The 25+ Trends That Are Redefining Organizations is a must-read resource for executives, business leaders and managers, and business development and innovation leads trying to get – and stay – on top of changes and disruptions that are right around the corner.

About The Author

Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling business author, keynote speaker and strategic advisor to companies and governments. He is one of the world's most highly respected voices and a renowned expert when it comes to topics such as artificial intelligence, big data and blockchain. Bernard is one of the world’s most prolific writers and influencers on upcoming technology trends, and is now a renowned leading futurist. He has a regular and extremely popular column in Forbes (3 articles per week) on AI, the Internet of Things, machine learning and blockchain. He has written over 250 Forbes articles on new business trends and technologies, and gets about 1 million views per month on Forbes.

As the founder and CEO of Bernard Marr & Co ( https://www.bernardmarr.com/default.asp) he regularly advises the world’s best-known organizations on digital transformation and business performance - including Accenture, Astra Zeneca, Microsoft, Google, Oracle, IBM, Cisco, HPE, SAS, Cloudera, Qlik, Talend, Salesforce, Nokia, Box, Dell, HPE, Walmart and many more.

Bernard Marr is also a top 5 LinkedIn business influencer, which means his posts get LinkedIn promotion to reach a maximum audience. In addition to this he also writes for Huffington Post, the World Economic Forum, Business Insider, and many more. Bernard has also been featured on TV and radio (e.g. BBC News, Sky News and BBC World) as well as in high-profile publications including The Times, The Financial Times, the CFO Magazine and the Wall Street Journal.

Table Of Contents

Part I Introduction: Riding the Wave of Transformation 1

Chapter 1 The Five Global Shifts That Will Shape the Organizations of the Future 3

Chapter 2 The Ten Tech Mega-Trends Every Business Leader Should Know About 21

Part II Rethinking Key Sectors 45

Chapter 3 How We Generate Energy: The Three Trends Transforming the Energy Sector 47

Chapter 4 How We Stay Healthy: The Seven Trends Shaping Healthcare 59

Chapter 5 How We Learn: The Two Main Shifts in Education 73

Chapter 6 How We Feed Ourselves: The Two Key Innovations Needed to Transform Agriculture 85

Chapter 7 How We Make and Build Things: Eleven Trends to Watch Across Manufacturing and Construction 99

Chapter 8 How We Move People and Goods: The Three Trends Revolutionizing Transportation 111

Chapter 9 How We Look After Our Money: The Four Shifts That Will Shape the Financial Sector 121

Part III Rethinking What Businesses Offer 131

Chapter 10 Channel Digitization and Expansion: The Move from Physical to Digital/Hybrid Products and Channels 133

Chapter 11 Cognifying Products and Services: Smarter Products, Smarter Services 145

Chapter 12 Right Time, Right Place, Right for You: The Rise of Micro-Moments and Personalization 155

Chapter 13 Subscription and Servitization: The As-a-Service Revolution 165

Chapter 14 Cutting Out the Middlemen: How Brands Are Going Direct to the Consumer 177

Chapter 15 From B2C to “All to All”: The Rise of Platforms, the Sharing Economy, and Crowdsourcing 189

Chapter 16 More Immersive Experiences: How Brands Are Wowing Customers with Memorable Experiences 199

Chapter 17 Conscious Consumption: Consumer Demand for Sustainable, Responsible Products 209

PART IV Rethinking How Businesses Are Run 221

Chapter 18 Sustainable and Resilient Operations: Building a Stronger, More Responsible Company 223

Chapter 19 Finding the Balance Between Humans and Intelligent Cobots: The Blended Workforces of the Future 237

Chapter 20 Finding and Keeping Talent: The Shifting Talent Pool and Employee Experience 249

Chapter 21 Organizing to Win: Flatter, More Agile Organizations 259

Chapter 22 Authenticity: Why Brands and Leaders Need to Keep It Real 271

Chapter 23 Purposeful Business: Why Does Your Business Exist? 281

Chapter 24 Co-Opetition and Integration: A New Age of Integrated Collaboration 291

Chapter 25 New Forms of Funding: The Democratization of Business Funding 301

Part V Where to Go from Here 309

Chapter 26 Final Words: Four Key Takeaways for Business Leaders 311