2017: Done. Predicting the Future in 2018 and Beyond

2017 offered daily excitement. The markets continued an unrelenting upward streak. While some debate the strength of underlying fundamentals, valuations public and private rose all year long.

In our business at InterimExecs, demand for interim management continued strongly while gaining momentum in the US. We had fun matching inspiring companies and executives together that were focused on growth, transformation, or taking on big initiatives and goals (see some of our favorite moments of 2017 here: www.interimexecs.com/2017-review).

Thanks to Peter Diamandis and the Abundance360 team, I now know 2018 will prove to be even better in all respects. Fellow attendee at the 2018 Abundance360 conference Diane Francis gave a great synopsis and I’ll add my two cents:

● We’re all going to be connected by 2022. Last year 5G was approved. Think about downloading a movie in one second. Hundreds of new satellites launched into orbit.

● Blockchain is here to stay. Coinbase now has more accounts than Charles Schwab.

● China and India cancelled hundreds of coal plant projects despite sunk cost in the billions. Why? Because solar is now so cheap, it competes without subsidies.

● Tesla’s gigafactory is online, producing more batteries than anywhere else on the planet. Uber is buying 24,000 autonomous Volvo XC90s. Fully self-driving. Google’s Waymo is already on the road in 5 cities. A Tesla truck can accelerate from zero to 60 in 5 seconds. Autonomous trucks able to run 24 hours a day are coming.

● Between Airbus and Uber, we’ll have flying taxis within 18 months. Have a tough commute from home to work? That could all go away soon.

● We’ll see many more drones. In developing countries these drones will plant trees and deliver blood. Places with bad roads – it just won’t matter.

● Artificial intelligence (AI) is already getting so good it can predict sudden heart attacks – in advance. VW is using AI to predict grid lock – 45 minutes before the traffic jam has occurred.

But the human spirit and genius endures and continues to amaze and inspire. For the first time in human history scientists were able to measure gravitational waves – ripples in space time – the result of a collision of two black holes a mere 1.8 billion light years away.

Here’s an easy way to renew your sense of awe and wonder as you plan for 2018 to be your best year ever. Watch Alex Honnold free-climb the 3,000-foot sheer cliff face of Yosemite’s El Capitan without any ropes or other climbing gear. If he can do that – well I can own my days and my year.