of Duct Tape Marketing and Duct Tape Selling
In Non-Obvious Rohit shares valuable tips, tricks, methodologies and insightful curated trends to help readers navigate the future. Recommended!
—ROSS DAWSON
Chairman, Future Exploration Network
Very few people understand the world of digital business better than Rohit and I have introduced my clients to his ideas for years. His new book is a must-read resource for learning to see patterns, anticipate global trends, and think like a futurist every day!
—GERD LEONHARD
Author and Keynote Speaker Basel / Switzerland
Non-Obvious should be called oblivious since that’s how you’ll be if this book isn’t on your shelf. I actually wish some of Rohit’s predictions won’t come true (‘Selfie Confidence’!? Nooo!) ... but usually they do. He’s the best at this, and this book shows you why.
—SCOTT STRATTEN
Four time Best-Selling Author, including 2014 Sales Book of the Year: UnSelling
Artfully lacing stories together to pull out simple, yet powerful trends, Rohit offers a blueprint for making trend identification a key component of your business strategy. The format of his book makes it easy for the novice to adopt these principles, and for the expert to glean pearls of wisdom. While the title is Non Obvious, your next step should be obvious —read this book today!
—JOEY COLEMAN
Chief Experience Composer at Design Symphony
Non-Obvious is a powerhouse ‘must read’ for corporate executives, marketeers and product and service developers. Rohit Bhargava provides valuable, entertaining and easily understood sideways insights into critical trends shaping the near future. He lifts the lid on the myths surrounding the dark arts of trend prediction and offers very practical guidance on how to spot, curate and capitalize on Non Obvious trends.
—ROHIT TALWAR
Global Futurist and CEO Fast Future Research
Copyright © 2018 by Rohit Bhargava
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ideapress Publishing.
Ideapress Publishing | www.ideapresspublishing.com
All trademarks are the property of their respective companies.
Cover Design by Jeff Miller/Faceout Studios
Cover Photo by Javier Pérez
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978-1-940858-31-9 (e-book)
Proudly Printed in the United States of America
by Selby Marketing Associates
Special Sales Ideapress Books are available at a special discount for bulk purchases for sales promotions and premiums, or for use in corporate training programs. Special editions, including personalized covers, custom forewords, corporate imprints and bonus content are also available. For more details, email [email protected].
To my parents – for always giving me
a chance to see the world in my own way…
even if it wasn’t always non-obvious.
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
The 2018 Edition – What’s New
and Non-Obvious?
This is a book about learning to predict the future.
It is also printed with a date on its cover, reflecting the fact that every year I rewrite and replace about 40% of this book with all new content.
The simple belief of this book is that the secret to predicting the future is to get better at understanding the present. The only difficulty is, the present is always evolving.
Throughout the year my team and I spend more than a thousand hours scanning tens of thousands of stories, conducting dozens of interviews, attending and speaking at over 50 events, reading or reviewing more than 100 new books and then combining all that research to identify 15 trends that will change the world in the coming year.
Whether you have read a previous edition of this book or not, a lot has changed in this year’s edition. Here’s a quick summary:
All new interior design featuring easier to read charts and layout
Updated Appendix featuring ratings of over 100 past trends
Completely updated and rewritten Parts I and III
And of course, 15 more trends for 2018 featured in Part II
While it will be tempting to focus only on the new, I highly encourage you to check out the past and previously predicted trends as well. You will find the answer there to the one question everyone asks: did your predictions come true? The other thing you will discover is that new trends don’t make old trends irrelevant.
Rather, trends are meant to describe an accelerating idea and if those past predictions were actually “non-obvious” when predicted, then they may become more obvious over time–but still ring true.
Whether you actively seek to understand the future or find yourself curious about the past, this book can help you do it. The most important thing I hope you will take away is the belief that there is real value in seeing the world in a more “non-obvious” way and curating ideas and trends for themselves. The world needs your innovation and ideas. I can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Rohit Bhargava Washington DC December 2017
INTRODUCTION
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“I am not a speed reader, I am a speed understander.”
ISAAC ASIMOV, Author, Historian and Biochemist
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Nearly 150 years ago the Dewey Decimal Classification System ambitiously introduced a method to break down the published volumes of the world into ten main categories. Isaac Asimov has written at least one book in nine of them.
In his prolific lifetime, he wrote nearly five hundred books on topics ranging from his beloved science fiction
