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26Apr

Thinking About the Future: Three Books to Help You Understand Tomorrow

By Admin | 26 April 2016 |

 

“How to Make Your Money Last: The Indispensable Retirement Guide”, Jane Bryant Quinn

If there’s anything we learned from the Global Financial Crisis, it’s that nothing is for sure. Banks that were too big to fail failed, and retirement accounts that seemed unassailable were brought to their knees.

The crisis reminded us that we need to save and invest wisely, no matter how sure we think our retirement accounts are. Quinn presents a variety of ways to add money to your retirement account:

  • Getting higher payments from your assets
  • Deciding between monthly income or a lump sum for your pension
  • Choosing the right vehicle for your savings
  • Knowing how much and how often to withdraw savings money and invest it

Putting small steps like this into practice can help improve your retirement balance and provide you with the security you need as you grow older.

“Originals: How Non-Conformists Change the World”, Adam Grant

Our tendency is to want to find a systematic way to approach business problems. We look for the newest book to mine some step-by-step solutions.

But think back to the most innovative businesses and brands that you know: Apple and Tesla. These companies were started by founders who weren’t satisfied with the status quo. They have a dream or vision they couldn’t shake, even if was a concept or idea that the world had never seen before.

But you know what made them great? They weren’t afraid to ignore trends and pursue their specific objective. And that, says Adam Grant, is the perfect example of a non-conformist.

Grant makes the case that originality and creativity are two of the most valuable assets in your company. He backs up that assertion with case studies and research. Be prepared to have your entrepreneurial philosophies turned upside down.

As Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said, “Originals is one of the most important and captivating books I have ever read, full of surprising and powerful ideas.”

The Industries of the Future”, Alec Ross

Innovation is a slippery subject; it’s always moving forward at blurring speed.

Even more difficult than that is the task of predicting what will happen in the next 20 years. Human innovation is a brilliant entity, and, as such, entirely unpredictable.

Only someone who’s travelled the world and experience the power of human curiosity in dozens of countries would have an idea of what’s possible.

Thankfully, that person exists. Alec Ross, a former innovation advisor to American politician Hillary Clinton, travelled nearly a million miles for his job. Along the way, he met with powerful business leaders and unknown innovators.

Just as important as his interactions with the people changing the world were his observations about the forces changing the world.

In his book, “The Industries of the Future”, Ross tries to condense his experiences in a way that enriches the readers and sheds light on what’s to come.

Final Thoughts

Each of these books is focused on the future: how to save wisely for retirement, how to increase future ingenuity through the promotion of creativity and how global forces today will shape the world of tomorrow.

If you’re as interested in what’s going to happen ten years from now as you are in what’s going on today, take a look at our impressive list of futurist speakers. They’re top quality people with brilliant minds and a unique perspective on the world.