3 Ways You Can Predict the Future

We’ve all seen businesses get tripped up by failing to anticipate the future of their industries. Large bookstore chains are closing their doors after underestimating the impact of online sales and e-books. Brick and mortar movie rental franchises have become irrelevant with the rise of video streaming services. Even taxi drivers have been caught off guard by new on-demand transportation apps for smartphones.

As a business leader, you must find a way to see over the horizon if you want to stave off looming challenges and seize new opportunities.

Although it may not be possible to know exactly what the future will look like, there are things you can do today to better understand what might come tomorrow. Here are three ways I believe you can get ahead of the curve and better prepare for the future:

1. Listen More Than You Talk: Clearly the clients you serve are the ones who best know their own challenges. Great businesses are relentlessly focused on understanding their markets’ needs and developing the solutions their customers may not even know how to ask for.

I always tell my team that they should listen more than they talk, and I suggest you do the same. Go out of your way to engage with customers and influential thinkers like analysts, policy makers, academics and entrepreneurs. Ask open-ended questions and seek out different points of view to broaden your perspective. Look to really understand the larger issue before rushing to offer an off-the-shelf solution. Listen carefully for opportunities to apply your knowledge, experience and creativity to solve these core problems.

2. Connect the Dots: As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, overarching megatrends can pull us all in new directions. Consider that by 2020, five billion people will be connected to the Internet; by 2030, more than two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities; by 2040, self-driving cars could dominate our roadways; and by 2050, for the first time in history, there will be more people over the age of 60 than under 15 years old.

All of these big trends – and others – create new challenges that need smart solutions. So make it a point to regularly step out of the day-to-day to think about the long game. Ask yourself, what can you do now to address the needs of tomorrow’s world? How will these trends alter the market space you operate in today? Can you make a strategic shift now so you are ahead of the pack when these changes are fully realized? Someday will be here sooner than you think. Don’t be caught off guard.

3. Pursue Tomorrow’s Solutions Now: The best way to predict the future is to help shape what it will look like. Applying these principles, you will be in the best position to develop the solutions that will define the future. At Lockheed Martin, we call this Helping the Future Arrive. It means that we are constantly focused on tomorrow’s challenges, and applying the breadth of our capability and intellectual capital to bring those future solutions forward.

For instance, we know that the world’s population is growing faster than ever – and the demand for energy and water are growing with it. We’re developing clean, renewable energy systems that use the limitless power of the oceans’ wave force, tidal changes and thermal variance. We are using nanotechnology to create a molecular filtration solution that can turn saltwater into drinking water.

As you search to understand the challenges your customers will face and the megatrends that will impact your markets, use that insight to shape your strategic planning. Invest the time, energy and resources now to ensure you are ready with the products and services that the world will need next.

While none of us knows what the future will bring, we can be more than passive bystanders. If we take an active role in shaping tomorrow, we will be prepared for what lies ahead and positioned for long-term success.