RUN-UP TO THE THINKERS 50 (2007)

RUN-UP TO THE THINKERS 50 (2007)

Launched in 2001, the Thinkers 50 is the world’s first ranking of business and management gurus. In a runup to the 2007 rankings, TOI will exclusively run profiles of those in the fray. If you have an opinion on who should figure in the list, you can vote on www.thinkers50.com.
“Dr. Dixon lives in the year 2010 and sees tomorrow as history.” That line describes futurist Patrick Dixon perfectly. A physician by training, Dixon (ranked 17 on last year's Thinkers 50) eventually found his calling in the world of business. He is the author of 12 books including Futurewise: Six Faces of Global Change, The Genetic Revolution, The Truth about Westminster, The Truth about Drugs and The Truth about AIDS, and Building a Better Business. In Futurewise, he details over 500 expectations about what future life will be like, and divides future trends into six dimensions, which spell the word FUTURE. These are: Fast, Urban, Tribal, Universal, Radical and Ethical. “Your corporation may have a reputation for brilliant leadership, outstanding innovation, clever branding and effective change management, but the business may fail if the world changes and you are unprepared,” he says. He details the role of emotions and says that emotional reactions to events are usually more important than the events themselves. “Many debates about the future are about timing, such as the uptake of technology. But the future is also about emotion. Reactions to events such as bird flu are often more important than the events themselves,” he says.

PATRICK DIXON Futurist