Megatrends 2010

I might be working too hard to be efficient. If I work too many hours or focus too much on then "doing", I do not leave myself time for the important things like strategy and the big picture.

Last night I read Megatrends 2010 by Patricia Aburdene who co-authored Megatrends with John Naisbitt. Much of the book touted the benefits of meditation. I have toyed with meditation over the years. it definitely is on my list to move up in the next few months. She gives concrete examples of great CEO's who get their best ideas while meditating.

Her first Megatrend was the power of spirituality. Although meditation and spirituality are not always linked from a religious view, they are from a practical view. Her 4th trend is the rise of sprituality in Business. The 6th trend is "The wave of Conscious Solutions" - again values based.

Her second trend is quite related - the rise of Conscious Capitalism. Basically companies that do the right thing are moreprofitable etc. The 5th trend talks about the values driven consumer. This ties in with her 7th trend which is "The Socially Responsibile Investment Boom".

The only trend which differed from the overall theme of spirituality was "Leading from the Middle". The thesis here is that the people in the middle of the organization will be the ones that get things done and ultimately be the true leaders of the companies - not the CEO. So now, I might have to change my aspirations ;-). It is interesting that many of the examples she still uses are about people at the top of the companies though.

So I could summarize her 7 trends in 3 - Spirtuality, increasing values (and perhaps these are closely tied so maybe there are just 2 trends) and Leading from the Middle.

Overall, it is a great book. It stimulates thought. It challenges. And it is worth reading.