News Releases
Summer announcements to be out shortly!


Engagements

John Luthy will present the Leaving A Legacy program at the Northwest Community Development Institute this July in Boise, Idaho; John will also present a special program on Change, Challenge, and Strategic Leadership. Public managers and elected officials from three states will attend.


Emerging Challenges

Trend analysis continues to occupy much of our time and will continue to grow in value and the pace and velocity of change continues to escalate.
As with most of you, we are concerned about the following:

  • The national debt and trade deficit will continue to negatively impact growth and hamper new options for growth. The federal deficit is not only alarming – it is dangerous. It will impact business and government for many years.
  • Internet growth will continue to change how we do business and conduct personal affairs. Last year, Internet users reached 945 million globally and this number continues to grow rapidly. Expect 1.35 billion users by 2007. In the U.S. alone, over 185 million people have Internet connectivity.
  • The pace of change and increases in available knowledge/ skills is driving training and development. Far too few people are properly prepared for emerging challenges – meaning far too many organizations are prepared for the growing number of workforce challenges. Continuing education, training, and workforce development must be taken more seriously by government and industry.
  • The big three U.S. auto makers are in decline and may close as much as 25% of their North American capacity. Labor, healthcare, and pension costs are all crippling factors, along with high cost of goods and raw materials. It won’t be a huge impact on economic growth, but it will be felt – especially in the Mid-west.
  • While people are living and working longer, they are also changing jobs more frequently. Same goes for career shifts – more people are trying entirely new careers. Many have four or five legitimate careers before the age of 45 and this trend will only escalate. Adult education and life-long learning will become more important to the working population and is a trend that government and industry cannot afford to ignore.


More trends and forecasts coming soon… For more information contact The Futures Corporation at TFC@futurescorp.com

Readings – Worthwhile Books and Articles

The Futures Corporation does monthly book and article reviews. Among the best we have seen lately are:

Narrating the Vision: Scenarios in Action by Robert Neilson and Debra Stouffer in the May-June issue of The Futurist, p. 26

Breakthrough Ideas for 2005 Staff writers The Harvard Business Review February 2005, P. 17

The World in 2005 Published by The Economist Newspaper Ltd., Daniel Franklin, Editor