Jim Carroll

The sudden and dramatic arrival of ChatGPT has caught the imagination of the world as we sense the arrival of new opportunities, at the same time that it has fueled a sense of concern and worry. We are now firmly in the era of the acceleration of artificial intelligence (“AI”) as seen with generative text technologies as well as image technologies like Stable Diffusion. But our complex new future is not just happening with AI – we are seeing the ‘rise of the robots,’ the maturity of industrial autonomous technologies, machine intelligence, and vision systems, digital twin and augmented reality technologies, the impact of the ‘sensor world,’ drones and more – it’s a brand new and fast-moving world!

There are a lot of fast-moving technologies – but making sense of what’s real and cutting through the hype to discover real opportunities within the trends is one of the most important things you can do! This is not a time to get caught up in ‘fast FOMO’ – ‘fear of missing out’ – nor is it a time to ignore the speed of what is occurring. There are significant implications to the sudden arrival of artificial intelligence and other trends, from very real business model disruption to unique legal and copyright issues, education, knowledge, and workforce skills challenges, as well as the emergence of disruptive new industry competitors and accelerated new product development and innovation opportunities. The scope of what these technologies represent is increasing because the pace of their evolution is now moving faster than fast.

Jim has been covering A.I.-related issues on stage for many industries at many events, including the role of A.I. in healthcare diagnoses and medical test interpretation; construction inspection and digital-twin technology; supply chain optimization and retail management; pharmaceutical development and research; and many more. His vast experience has taught him that there are many strategic opportunities for deployment today with examples of many active implementations; on other hand, he cautions against FOMO-driven strategic mistakes.

In this highly customized keynote, prepared specifically for your company, industry, or association based on up-to-the-minute research, Jim will help you understand:

• the challenges and opportunities behind these trends within your industry and organization
• the disruptive impact on your business and operations or upon your industry or association members
• the strategies you should be thinking about to align with the new realities they present
• key strategic action plans designed to get your team moving forward
• at the same time balanced by a realistic assessment of the timing of specific trends and how they will unfold

Futurist Jim Carroll will help you cut through the noise and the hype to understand what is really happening, and the critical nature of the important trends that you must pay attention to!

Don’t take Jim’s word for what comes with his keynote presentations. Take a look at the hundreds of global Fortune 1000 organizations and global associations that have arranged for a leadership-oriented keynote to kick off an annual conference or leadership event.  Because the future is too important to be left to an amateur.

Whether it’s driverless tractors, weed-zapping robots or data-transmitting crops, the future of farming is happening faster than you might think!

Many people continue to view farming from the sepia-toned photos of the 1940s and 1950s. They don’t realize the technological and scientific advances or the massive opportunities for international growth. Growers that focus on innovation as a core value will find success; their innovation will focus on the triple-feature need for growth, efficiency and ingestion of new science. It will be by adopting new methodologies, products, partnerships and ideas that they will learn to thrive.

Jim is recognized worldwide as a “thought leader” and authority on global trends, rapid business model change, business transformation in a period of economic uncertainty, and the necessity for fast-paced innovation.

Jim has extensive experience with all aspects of the agricultural sector. A good example? He was the opening keynote speaker at a conference of the top 100 cattle ranchers, feedlots and stockers in the US — and thrilled the audience with his insight into global trends impacting the agriculture sector. Based on that event, he was then invited in to inspire 500 cattle ranchers — a very discerning audience — with the feedback that “you certainly challenged us as to the pace of change the future is bringing to our industry, at the same time that you inspired us to embrace it’s opportunities. You were outstanding! Ranchers are pretty conservative – particularly here in Texas – but you were the best speaker we’ve ever had at our event!”

Some of Jim’s agriculture clients include the global agricultural powerhouses of FMC Agriculture, Monsanto, Pioneer, Syngenta…. In addition, he has provided keynotes for • CHS  Cooperative • Farm Media Journal •  Texas Cattle Feeders Association • Colorado Cattle Ranchers Association • FCC Services US (Farm Credit Cooperative) • MicroBeef Technologies • Mid-America Crop Protection Association • FarmTech • AgProgress Conference • Agricorp • CropLife Canada • US Department of Agriculture • American Agriwoman Society • American Landscape and Nursery Association • United Soybean Board • and more…. .

History has taught us that only 10% of organizations become breakthrough performers during a period of economic challenge. Futurist Jim Carroll has carefully studied the strategies they pursue, the concepts that drive them, and the actions they take to become a success in this complex new world.

It’s timely and critical insight! Recovery oriented CEO’s and senior executives understand that in addition to managing existing challenges, right now is the time to focus on strategies that align to our complex new reality in order to achieve growth and pursue opportunity. They know that they need to act quickly to establish an innovative mindset with their team in oder to get there quickly.

In this interactive online virtual keynote, Jim provides his unique insight on staying ahead in volatile times. A culture that has everyone thinking about what can be done going forward rather than looking back. A solutions-oriented mindset in which people are thinking less about the problems that have occurred, and more about the innovative strategies that could be pursued. A leadership style and mindset that takes on volatility as a form of innovation oxygen, complexity as a foundation for action, uncertainty as the platform for disruption and ambiguity as the clarity for stifling aggressive indecision.

Years from now, we will look back and realize that many industries, technologies, concepts and disruptive ideas accelerated throughout the crisis of 2020 – because they played a major role in the rebuilding of our dramatically different future. We will also know that by carefully analyzing the trends of yesterday in the context of fast moving events that we were best able to understand these new trends of tomorrow.

Futurist Jim Carroll examines your world and industry in the microscope of a new lens, providing critical insight to the trends that matter – and that redefine our future. The acceleration of trends like 3D printing and biomaterial science, robots & cobots, genetic medicine and virtualized community care, resiliency-oriented supply chains and last mile logistics technology, delivery drones and personal space heat tracking – all of which are playing a role in our eventual post-pandemic, recovery oriented world. In this new future, business models continue to evolve but at a faster pace; new revenue opportunities are emerging at hyper-speed as entirely new products are invented and new industries are born to deal with the crisis; entire industries are forever changed as the new era of “personal space” and “economic distancing” came to define all forms of human interaction going forward.

It’s in this context that the big ideas are being explored, the bold are defining their future, and the fast are aligning to acceleration. Covid-19 and the economic downturn of 2020 have redefined our future – but it’s by understanding this new future and aligning to the opportunities that it presents that breakthrough performers discover their opportunities!

Innovating at high velocity is vital to turning challenge into opportunity. Jim Carroll believes that organizations that focus on staying ahead of fast paced economic trends in an era of volatility are best positioned for long term success.

How? Innovative organizations succeed by mastering the pace of the new high velocity economy. In an era of economic challenge, they focus on discovering opportunity while moving through uncertainty!

In this keynote, Jim Carroll builds on insight captured during periods of economic uncertainty to provide a concrete foundation in which to move forward despite relentless economic volatility.

Is there a future out there? Definitely yes, but a constant drumbeat of negative news can cause people to lose sight of what will happen as we return to a period of economic growth. That’s where Jim Carroll comes in – this noted international futurist, trends & innovation expert spends his time with globally innovative leaders. He’s gained keen insight into some of the key trends which will impact industries, organizations and careers in the next few years to come, in a wide variety of industries from health care, to technology and manufacturing, to the skilled trades. Jim is a passionate believer that we live in transformative times – and in five or ten years, will look back at this time with awe at the new industries, products, careers, and opportunities that were developed.

Jim Carroll delivered an extensive number of global leadership keynotes to major organizations after 9/11, and again after the economic meltdown of 2008-09. He has a proven, battle-tested track record in providing compelling insight and time-tested strategies on aligning to the future despite uncertainty.

In this leadership oriented talk, Jim covers the trends that will provide for major growth markets through the next five to ten years; where we will see the emergence of new careers, industries, business models and opportunities; and how a relentless focus on opportunity and growth is directly linked to future success. He will help you to make sense of what happened, where we are now, and what do we do next!

Jim Carroll will challenge you to focus on the opportunities of tomorrow, rather than the challenges of today.

We have a new vocabulary! Self-driving cars, 3d printing, crowdfunding, the sharing economy, blockchains, personal drones, swarmbots, smart dust, vertical farms, Internet of Things, cognitive computing, smart factories, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, quantum computing, intelligent farms, smart clothing! What seemed to be science fiction just a few short years ago has become a reality today, as time compresses, and the future accelerates.

George Jetson lived in the future, but the future is here now. Take a voyage with Futurist Jim Carroll into the world of tomorrow, today, as he outlines the key trends, technologies, ideas and initiatives that are transforming our world around us at hypersonic speed. A world in which the medical tri-corder of the 23rd century is available today, the idea of Rosie the Robot is no longer a figment of our imagination but an emerging reality, and the flying car of the future will quickly morph into reality from today’s fast-moving drone industry.

In just a few short years, it will the year 2025, and the world of tomorrow will be your reality of today.

Are you ready for what comes next?

Every industry is set to be transformed as an era of hyper-connectivity becomes the new norm. The result? Massive business model disruption; the rapid emergence of new competitors; industries in which customers empowered with mobile devices control a wide variety of devices that are a part of their daily lives; unique opportunities for deep analytical insight into trends and opportunities emerging in industries; a reinvention of manufacturing, logistics, retail, healthcare and other industries because of consumers that are empowered, connected, and enabled with a new form of lifestyle management that we’ve never witnessed before.

The Internet of Things is happening everywhere.

The CEO of a major US energy company hired Jim Carroll to do a video that put into perspective the impact of the Internet of Things on the global energy. There are some pretty profound changes underway.

Think about the video in the context of literally any other industry, and you realize the scope of the potential disruption that is occurring.

The Internet of Things is real, and it is unfolding at a blistering pace. We’re in the era of connected thermostats that link to an intelligent energy grid; autonomous vehicle technology that is self-aware, and networked into sophisticated, intelligent highway flow control systems. A connected trucking fleet that is self-diagnostic, predictive, and built for zero downtime. Intelligent home appliances that link to packaged food products that automatically upload carb, sodium and other dietary information as part of an overall health and wellness program.

Jim Carroll has been talking on stage about the Internet of things since the late 1990’s, when he began using the phrase “hyperconnectivity” to describe a world in which “every device that is a part of our daily lives is about to become plugged in.” Since then, he has delivered his insight on the topic to a wide variety of organizations: several global technology leaders with a keynote talk on the future of home automation; several of the world’s largest HVAC companies about what happens when a global, intelligent home and industrial energy infrastructure emerges through widespread connectivity; consumer, food and packaged goods conferences about the impact of intelligent packaging. He has been booked by many leading global healthcare organizations for keynotes that have focused on what happens when consumers start aligning their wellness strategies through their own personal healthcare infrastructure.

The Internet of Things is a substantive, transformative trend that will provide more change in every industry in the next ten years than they’ve seen in the last thirty.

 Jim Carroll already over a dozen years of on-stage experience with the topic, and can help you understand the strategies, risks and opportunities that you need to be aware of you move into a hyperconnected future. Consider one of the world’s most widely recognized futurists, trends and innovation experts for your next association, CEO leadership meeting or other keynote!

Business model disruption. The rapid emergence of new competitors. The challenging impact of social media. Rapid prototyping and the global idea machine. The digitization of everything and the impact of hyperconnectivity. Rapid technological change. All of these trends — and more — require that organizations pick up the pace when it comes to their innovation efforts.

They can do so by learning what the world’s leaders are doing with their innovations efforts. For over 20 years, Jim Carroll has had the opportunity to study what makes some organizations excel at the concept of innovation while others do not. He has carefully cataloged their approaches, attitudes, leadership styles and strategies into a concise overview that is the secret-sauce of innovative thinking.

World class innovators possess a relentless focus on growth, continually transitioning their revenue source, and solving customer problems before the customer knows it’s a problem. They focus on upside down innovation by sourcing innovation ideas through their customers. They concentrate on ingesting fast ideas; checking their speed and focusing on corporate agility, and focusing on long-term wins through constant incremental improvements. They know that skills partnerships are a key success factor. Most importantly, world-class innovators aren’t afraid to back away from big ideas. They know that right now is a great time to make bold decisions and to take decisive advantage to forge aggressive new paths against their competitors.

While everyone else wallows in aggressive indecision and organizational sclerosis, world-class innovators know that it is a great time to do great things!

In this keynote, Jim Carroll will provide you with unique insight into what these world-class organizations and high-caliber leaders are doing, to position themselves for a future in which the velocity of change is the new normal, acceleration is the reality, agility is the core, and adaptation is the necessity!

We live in a time of massive challenge, and yet one of massive opportunity. We’re faced with deep and complex issues involving the environment, health care, water and food. At the same time, every industry is faced with upheaval and disruption. At the same time, every business, and every industry is being redefined at blinding speed by technology, globalization, the rapid emergence of new competitors, new forms of collaborative global R&D, and countless other challenge

The speed with which these changes occur are now being increasingly driven by he arrival of a younger, more entrepreneurial generation; a group that seems determined to change the world to reflect their ideas and concept of opportunity. They’ve grown up networked, wired, and are collaborative in ways that no previous generation seems to be.

And therein lies the challenge.

Most organizations are bound up in traditions, process, certain defined ways of doing things — rules — that have helped them succeed in the past. Over time, they have developed a corporate culture which might have worked at the slower-paced world of the past — but now has them on the sick-bed, suffering from an organizational sclerosis that clogs up their ability to try to do anything new.

Those very things which worked for them in the past might be the anchors that could now hold them back as the future rushes at them with ever increasing speed.

They are being challenged in a fundamental way by those who think big, and by some really big, transformative trends.

How to cope with accelerating change? In this keynote, Jim outlines his simple but transformative structure: Think big, start small and scale fast!

In this riveting keynote, Jim Carroll covers the major trends and opportunities that come from “thinking big, starting small, and scaling fast,” by addressing some of the fundamental changes that are underway.

Amazon is the elephant in every industry room. They will challenge and disrupt your business model and shake your belief in the future to the core.

Why not change that before it changes you? Don’t wait for Amazon to disrupt you – disrupt yourself and disrupt Amazon first! As we witness the Amazonification of industries, deep insight into this massive-but-cheetah-like-elephant is critical, a fast strategy is required. 

Futurist Jim Carroll has a key message: Don’t compete — transform! When Amazonian scale disruption occurs, you can’t hope to complete on price, the sophistication of the online interaction, or the other areas in which Amazon (and similar disruptors) clearly excel. You need a different proposition, different ideas and a different strategy. In many cases, this will come about through an implicit decision to compete based on the unique value you can bring to the relationship – service, support, personal interaction and other factors. In doing so, you specifically choose to not compete based on a race to the bottom and price.

Futurist Jim Carroll has headlined ‘Amazonificaiton strategies’ at a wide variety of corporate leadership meetings and association events in the medical, dental and veterinary industries; in the global optometric industry; in the agricultural dealer market, in the home renovation sector, and many more. He has provided deep insight on the transformative strategies and mindset that needs to be pursued.

The acceleration of disintermediation via Amazon is a cruel reality of our modern-day world. Think about the business model of a group of agricultural dealers who sell products to farmers. The simplistic view is that they buy products from the manufacturer, and then sell them to the farmer, with an obvious markup in price. Amazon could do this (and will) with a more sophisticated online system, and avoid the cost of the markup, thereby offering a lower cost alternative. How to compete? Become an invaluable partner to the farmer in terms of advice, expertise and personal support for new initiatives, products and ideas. 

In the era of Amazon, you can’t hope to compete on price — because you will watch your business disappear! Futurist and innovation expert Jim Carroll outlines the key trends, strategies and opportunities to be pursued in the ear of Amazonian acceleration!

In as little as ten years, the very concept of money will have been forever changed. And the fact is, it’s happening now in real time. But it isn’t just money that is being disrupted: the blockchain concept promises to unleash a wave of innovation that parallels and exceeds the impact from the arrival of the Internet economy. Making sense of the reality is a challenge. A new vocabulary has emerged that involves radical new concepts, the decentralization of authority, and rapid hyper-innovation: blockchain, Ethereum, ASIC and currency miners, hard forks and smart contracts!

Understanding this new trend becomes even more challenging when faced with opinions that are all over the map. What does it mean when Jamie Dymon, the head of JPMorgan Chase, calls Bitcoin a fraud and the people who buy it “stupid,” and yet at the same time, the head of the IMF says that Bitcoin could give existing currencies and monetary policy a run for their money? When a cryptocurrency goes from a valuation of a few hundred dollars to a multiple of thousands in just a matter of months? When 2018 will be defined by an acceleration of the acceptance of distributed ledger concepts, at the same time that a horde of fraud artists invade this fascinating new world.

The impact doesn’t stop with the arrival of the first wave of concepts as found in ‘money’ such as Bitcoin. What is emerging is the infrastructure and a foundation for the next economy: one that is reliant on distributed, digital trust, the elimination of the middleman from many business interactions, and fundamental, disruptive concepts that run up against most of the economic models of the last 100 years. These are challenging times, and difficult questions are being presented. Most important of all, what does it mean to your business and your business model? Is it a fraud, or is it a bubble? What’s real, and what’s not? Are we in the midst of the latest Tulip and dot.com phase or is there substantial change underway?

In this keynote, futurist and technology expert Jim Carroll peels away the layers of the world of cryptocurrency, outlining the challenges and opportunities that come with the end of the concept of money as we know it. These are truly transformative times – for the realty of blockchain goes far beyond the current hype surrounding Bitcoin. The concept of distributed ledgers will change entire industries, challenge the very nature of the legal concept of offer and acceptance, and unleash a torrent of hyper-innovation around business models.