Intro

Genetic engineering, robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, wireless broadband , digitization of all media, computerss and the next generation of the Internet will shape our lives in the decades to come. 

They are changing many aspects of the Human lifestyle--from how we work, where we shop, how we entertain ourselves, and even how we meet our mates.  It is also beginning to reshape the way our homes are built, furnished and lived-in. 
 
It is necessary to tie together strands from pop culture, consumer electronics and even home decor to understand fully the scope of this transformation.
 
A leading futurist, trends & innovation expert, Elvis provides deep insights into global trends, innovation leaders, global economic trends, fast paced market changes, marketing / sales / branding / retail trends, demographic issues, leadership issues, and opportunities.

In his work for Futurist consultancy Elvis stays current on numerous topics ranging from technology and demographics to management and education.  In each appearance he brings not only his own experience and expertise, but the insight and research skills to customize up-to-the-minute presentations for every audience interest.

Prior to booking, Elvis is always pleased to talk with a client about his or her needs, and offer a customized topic and approach. 

                              Suggested Topics

The Future of Biosciences

The remarkable emergence of Information Technologies in the second half of the 20th Century will pale in comparison to the revolution now underway in the biosciences, with its implications for everyday life. Humanity's newfound understanding of how life works is opening possibilities in health care, new pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, bionics, and evidence-based medicine that will increase life expectancy, extend life span, and improve the quality of life. Meanwhile, new techniques, such as genetic programming - a new form of machine-learning based on the techniques of natural evolution - are dramatically increasing the odds of success with new pharmaceutical research while driving down costs, and assisting in the emergence of personalized medicine. But the biosciences revolution is going to extend well beyond health care, encompassing new breakthroughs in environmental management, manufacturing, nanotechnology, and computing that are unlike anything that has come before. We will look back 10 years from now and marvel at the breakthroughs. We will look back 20 years from now with astonishment at how much has changed, and how quickly. This stirring and disturbing keynote surveys tomorrow's landscape in the most radical, and rapidly changing, scientific revolution in history.

Marketing and the Next Generation


The Next Big Thing demographically is the echo boomers, children of the baby boom. But who are they, and why do they behave the way they do? They' re notoriously difficult to reach through traditional media as they watch much less live TV and read fewer newspapers than earlier generations. They spend more time online, downloading music, playing computer games, chatting with each other, and blogging and podcasting, whereas in an earlier day would have represented time spent with traditional media. This makes them difficult to buy as a target demograph. And not only are they hard to reach, they're hard to convince, and harder to satisfy. Yet, with their steadily growing buying power they can make or break consumer product companies, they have little brand loyalty, and can change their minds about products and fashions seemingly overnight. So how do marketers sell to this crucial, but elusive group? This keynote presentation identifies what makes this generation unique, and explains the new tools and technologies emerging that a hold the only promise of success and survival for marketers who mean it. This is a don't-miss presentation for those who plan to be in business five years from today.
Mutating Future of Telecommunications


The telecommunications industry has experienced more rapid and more radical change than any other major industry over the past decade - and what's past is merely a warm-up for what's ahead. The principal components of the future of telecommunications are the ludicrous oversupply of optical fiber; the dramatic growth in broadband access to the Internet, especially through fixed wireless (including Wi-Fi, and Wi-Max), which will give new meaning to the term s;always ons and the blurring and blending of computing and communications into consumer products and services. The future of telecommunications lies not in providing commodity services, dominated by razor-thin margins and excruciating competitive pressures, but the ability to look through the means of delivery, and to package up hardware, software, and service into seamless new consumer offerings. The possibilities for this are endless, from health-watch monitoring of the sick and elderly, to wearable computer companions used for outdoor computing, to virtual friend networks for the elusive echo generation, and much more. This keynote survey of tomorrow's world will shake up your people, and prepare you to cope with your rapidly mutating future.
The Future of Networks and Communications


Ten years ago, if you had asked the average person if they wanted email, you would probably have had to describe it to them, and they would probably have said no to it. Tomorrow, technology will offer consumers and businesses options and opportunities that have never existed before, and which they don't understand, let alone firm opinions about whether they'll want to use them or not. How will you decide where to place your bets in the fast-moving, swiftly-shifting world of communications?  What did Peter Drucker say about identifying successful new technologies from those that won't make it, and how can you harness the uncertainty of the future and make it work for you? This keynote presentation is a challenging wake-up call for an industry that is often tempted to ask, "When will the changes slow down?"
Tomorrow's Power, Tomorrow's Promise


The energy industries don't exist in a vacuum. Indeed, because of their central position in our life and industries, the energy industries are affected by a wide range of factors. In this fast-paced and intriguing big picture --look at tomorrow, futurist Elvis Newman will explore some of the major factors surrounding electricity generation, petroleum, renewable energy sources, and the highly-hyped hydrogen economy of tomorrow to examine how they will affect the industry and its major players, including the future of environmental issues, demographics, and government behaviour. This is a provocative and lively keynote, exploring both the opportunities and pitfalls ahead for the industry.
Foodservice industry: Preparing for a Future Without Precedent


The foodservice industry is experiencing unprecedented changes. Climate change is now very much on the minds of the public, and companies are struggling to be sensitive to it without destroying their profit margins. Technology is changing the rules on how, when, where, and with whom business is conducted, from the “leaning out” of the supply chain, to the way food service organizations interact with their clients, and how those clients interact with their customers. Biotechnology is becoming a two-edged sword, with new technologies improving the useful qualities of foodstuffs, while also revealing new food sensitivities among consumers. It’s also creating new controversies, first over genetically modified foods, then cloned foods, and, in future, foods created without farms. The kinds of foods demanded are shifting, in part due to the aging of the populations of North America, Europe, Japan, and the Anzac countries. And food commodities – and prices – seem to have been caught up in the surging demand for resources coming from the Rapidly Developing Countries like China and India, in part because of the increasing caloric intakes of their rapidly expanding middle classes.

Coping with these uncertainties and shifts in markets and sources of supply is a major issue for those organizations who plan to survive. In this far-ranging presentation, Elvis Newman outlines what is happening, why it’s happening now, and what it means for the future. In the process, he offers a roadmap to tomorrow, along with planning tools that forward-thinking organizations can use to plan and prepare for the challenges and uncertainties ahead.

 

Food Retailing, and the Consumer of the Future


Technology, changing consumer behaviour, new demographic and psychographic trends, and new ways of advertising, marketing, selling, and staying in touch with your customers are all changing the rules on how food retailing operates. Add to this globalization and new competition from major new players, new knowledge emerging from genetics about what is and isn't healthy food, and the landscape for food retailers becomes a minefield for the unprepared and the unwary. This far-reaching overview of the future will alert you to the coming developments in the food industry, and help you lay plans to be there firstest with the mostest.
Managing Innovation

The only real asset an organization has today is the collective brains of its people. The implications of this are severe: the successful leadership and management of innovation is now the most important strategic weapon any company can wield in the marketplace.

Leading innovation is the ultimate challenge for CEOs for by definition, no road map is possible. The key elements required for innovation leadership are
  • The battle for talent - recruiting, training, and retaining key people;
  • The dangers of the technology gap - jumping across too early is expensive, falling behind is fatal;
  • Micro-managing is hazardous to your wealth, yet hands-off management can lead to loss of accountability;
  • Flexibility as a tactical weapon, arising from the exploitation of technology, training, and effective delegation; and
  • Awareness of the major factors shaping the competitive marketplace of tomorrow, including the coming demographic upheavals, changes in society's values, and the rising threats of weakening governments.
Creating an Innovation Organization
Innovation has become a corporate religion, in part because there is so much happening in so many areas that organizations must now innovate to survive. Yet our own natural biases often defeat innovation before it begins, resulting in organizations where people know how to look good, but don't actually innovate. The techniques will allow you to focus on the future needs and wants of your clients and their clients, to broaden your thinking beyond the confines of your present thinking, and to develop the outlines of a game plan to bring your ideas into commercial reality. Innovation is a skill that can be learned.
Checking Into Tomorrow

The biggest generation in history is about to change their patterns of behavior - are you prepared to serve those changing needs? Technology is changing what you, and your guests, can do, when, and where - have you set the stage for it? Globalization is changing which tourists visit us, how long they stay, and what they want while they're here - what do you know about them? And what about the lucrative business market? If teleconferencing and telecommuting take hold, how will that affect business clients? How do you put this in the context of hotels, restaurants, airlines, and the industries that support and serve them. Being prepared for these changes will make your life easier, while being unaware is a recipe for disaster in a rapidly changing hospitality industry.

The Future of Innovation - Global Trends and the New Innovation Landscape

We are approaching the age of 100 million products, and patent filings have reached an all time high.   Yet at the same time we are becoming a hyper-individualized society transitioning from a product base economy to an experienced based economy.   Baby Boomers are beginning to shed many of their Physical possessions as they prepare for their retirment, and a new generation with different values will be assuming power.   So  where will the creative minds of tomorrow take us ?   What are the forecasts for future sciences, talent trends, intellectual property breakthroughs, and societal shifts that will change the way business works in the future? 

 

Forces of Change in the 21st Century

An unprecedented convergence of scientific knowledge and development is going to radically change life on Earth in the decades ahead. Life for all of the world's citizens will get better, but also more challenging, so that it is fair to call the 21st Century the "Transformation Century"

Biotechnology: how developments in genetic engineering, pharmaceuticals, and medical technology will alter the nature of human and animal life, and the way we diagnose and manage disease, illness, and aging.

Environmental technology: how we are beginning to apply important scientific advances to environmental problems.

Information technology: how the next wave of the technological revolution will transform our homes and our workplaces.


As managers, investors, and citizens, we need to understand what these changes mean, and how we can respond to them effectively.



Hidden Tomorrows: Managing the Unforeseen Future


The future often seems clear or even obvious. However, there are always unexpected, downstream effects of any future development that are not obvious, and are ultimately more important than the changes that cause them. For example, better technology means cheaper communications, better medical treatments, and higher living standards. But it also means an escalating battle over personal privacy, rising costs for health care, and a widening divide between the haves and have-nots in our society. Moreover, even people who have come to embrace change are going to be caught off-guard, because change is going to happen faster than they expect. That means that we're going to be constantly behind the curve.

Unlocking the hidden meanings of tomorrow and preparing for the unexpected consequences of change can mean the difference between an enjoyable future, and a terrifying one.

 

Managing Change as a Strategic Weapon


Many of us feel that the pace of change is accelerating. This isn't quite true: the pace of change is accelerating, but the rate of acceleration is also rising, which means we keep being caught off guard by change. This creates a quandary for many organizations, because they already feel that they are working as fast as they can, and as hard as they can, and the prospect of needing to do more fills them with dread. Yet, forcing the rate of change, if properly managed, can be a competitive weapon of immense value. Among the topics covered are the crucial dimensions of HR; emerging technologies and their effects; the changing nature, composition, and behavior of consumers; how globalization is shifting gears and altering playbooks; and the sometimes paranoid and irrational behavior of governments.

Unboxed Thinking

Changes are happening so fast, and the consequences of being left behind are so extreme, that companies believe - correctly - that thinking outside the box is the only way to thrive. Yet most people believe that creativity is only open to the creative few, an artistic elite. Yet, like art, everyone is creative to a greater or lesser extent, but few ever learn how to exercise their creativity, and fewer practice it on a regular basis, so that they get flabby results when they try.

There are specific techniques, just as there are in art, that can help those who are not practiced in innovating, and can help the already creative individual become even more so.

Useful advices for turbulent times

  1. Do not eat or use products from any animal that is fed and eats parts of its own dead.
  2. Do not kiss or have intimate relations with anyone you do not know.
  3. Learn basic sanitation and water purification.
  4. Get a good first aid kit and learn to use it.
  5. Find 5 people within 100 miles that you can trust with your life and stay in contact with them
  6. Eat less
  7. Get a copy of the US constitution and read it.
  8. Get a bicycle and two sets of spare tires.  Ride it 10 miles a week.
  9. Consider what you would bring with you if you had to leave your home in 10 minutes and never return.
  10. Learn how to mutiply and divide in the heads.