Futurist Jim Carroll

What do you do when faced with the wild volatility that is today? Focus on what you can control. Growth, opportunity, markets, innovation. Here's a clip from a recent keynote where I'm speaking about what bold leaders do in stormy times. Oh, and there's a book around it. Dancing in the Rain: How Bold Leaders Grow Stronger in Stormy Times. Link in comments.

So, Canada seems to be in a trade war — one it didn’t want, and one that, it would seem, most Americans don’t want either. The Wall Street Journal, no less, has called it the dumbest trade war to ever happen. And right now, everyone seems to be prognosticating about how Canada should retaliate. I want to talk about how Canada can grow. By connecting three things. What I forecast back in 2008, as the global financial system began sliding into what would become the Great Recession — and what I got right. What I later wrote into my book Dancing in the Rain: How Bold Leaders Grow Stronger in Stormy Times. And why it seems increasingly evident to me that Mark Carney has read both. Okay, probably not. But he certainly seems to be following the mindset — and the playbook — almost to a T. Stay with me as I explain. Because the most important thing to remember is that Canada has what the world wants. ---- Back in 2008, I published a document with a very simple title: Where’s the Growth? Global Innovation Opportunities for the Long Term. Everyone was talking about what was going wrong. I wanted to talk about what was going to go right. Markets were collapsing. Corporate confidence was disappearing. Organizations were cutting, retreating, delaying decisions and waiting for some indication that things might eventually return to normal. Right at the beginning of the document, I described what I was seeing: “Gloom has set in on global markets. Volatility rages. Some organizations have gone into a mode of ‘aggressive indecision,’ deferring action while they try to figure out ‘what comes next.’ A pretty lousy strategy that is doomed to fail in the longer term.” But then I deliberately turned the argument around. Because even in the middle of all that gloom, I believed people were asking the wrong question. Instead of asking: How bad is this going to get? Leaders needed to ask: Where’s the growth? My answer? Everywhere. Future-oriented leaders, I wrote, understood that opportunities for growth continued to abound despite the short-term economic challenges around them. Markets might rock. Innovation would continue. New ideas would still be explored. New industries would emerge. Science would advance. Technology would accelerate. Demographics would continue to reshape markets. And enormous opportunities would develop in agriculture, energy, infrastructure, connectivity, healthcare and other sectors. My conclusion was pretty simple: Think growth. Think opportunity. Innovate for the future. Don’t stagnate with the past. That was the entire premise. And it was totally right. And so today, for Canada? It's all about growth - because quite simply, Canada has what the world wants. Mark Carney knows this. Oh, and Mark, if you want a copy of my book, let me know! Go read the full post: https://lnkd.in/g4H4YH4K

So, Canada seems to be in a trade war — one it didn’t want, and one that, it would seem, most Americans don’t want either. The Wall Street Journal, no less, has called it the dumbest trade war to ever happen. And right now, everyone seems to be prognosticating about how Canada should retaliate. I want to talk about how Canada can grow. By connecting three things. What I forecast back in 2008, as the global financial system began sliding into what would become the Great Recession — and what I got right. What I later wrote into my book Dancing in the Rain: How Bold Leaders Grow Stronger in Stormy Times. And why it seems increasingly evident to me that Mark Carney has read both. Okay, probably not. But he certainly seems to be following the mindset — and the playbook — almost to a T. Stay with me as I explain. Because the most important thing to remember is that Canada has what the world wants. ---- Back in 2008, I published a document with a very simple title: Where’s the Growth? Global Innovation Opportunities for the Long Term. Everyone was talking about what was going wrong. I wanted to talk about what was going to go right. Markets were collapsing. Corporate confidence was disappearing. Organizations were cutting, retreating, delaying decisions and waiting for some indication that things might eventually return to normal. Right at the beginning of the document, I described what I was seeing: “Gloom has set in on global markets. Volatility rages. Some organizations have gone into a mode of ‘aggressive indecision,’ deferring action while they try to figure out ‘what comes next.’ A pretty lousy strategy that is doomed to fail in the longer term.” But then I deliberately turned the argument around. Because even in the middle of all that gloom, I believed people were asking the wrong question. Instead of asking: How bad is this going to get? Leaders needed to ask: Where’s the growth? My answer? Everywhere. Future-oriented leaders, I wrote, understood that opportunities for growth continued to abound despite the short-term economic challenges around them. Markets might rock. Innovation would continue. New ideas would still be explored. New industries would emerge. Science would advance. Technology would accelerate. Demographics would continue to reshape markets. And enormous opportunities would develop in agriculture, energy, infrastructure, connectivity, healthcare and other sectors. My conclusion was pretty simple: Think growth. Think opportunity. Innovate for the future. Don’t stagnate with the past. That was the entire premise. And it was totally right. And so today, for Canada? It's all about growth - because quite simply, Canada has what the world wants. Mark Carney knows this. Oh, and Mark, if you want a copy of my book, let me know! Go read the full post: https://lnkd.in/g4H4YH4K

So everyone is writing about how Canada should retaliate. I want to talk about how Canada can grow. By connecting three things. What I forecast back in 2008, as the global financial system began sliding into what would become the Great Recession — and what I got right. What I later wrote into my book Dancing in the Rain: How Bold Leaders Grow Stronger in Stormy Times. And why it seems increasingly evident to me that Mark Carney has read both. Okay, probably not. But it wouldn't be the first time a Prime Minister got involved with my work. Heck, Jean Chretien wrote the Foreword for one of my books in 1998. Carney certainly seems to be following the mindset — and the playbook — almost to a T. Stay with me as I explain. It's in my post, coming tomorrow. Because Canada has what the world wants. That's what everyone needs to focus on, and it all comes together with his global investment summit next month.

Doug Ford for the win. "A lot of your own people don't like you."

Elbows-up-with-onions!

If any of my American friends really want to understand where things stand, watch this clip. Canadians are united. The US is divided. That alone states the obvious conclusion. And Carney knows what he is doing. The US is making shit up as it goes. We attempted to negotiate in good faith, on a trade war that the US ultimately started. And you can't negotiate with a weakened, divided country at war with itself.